Experience vs degrees?

In my lifetime we started working at quite a young age. Probably also true for the rest of the world. Although our country was caught in “Apartheid” not all citizens could afford to study at University or go abroad to gain international experience! In fact millions of us could not even afford proper education! Even some white kids like myself!

Even in our time some dads were alcoholics and thousands of them were unemployed for at least 30% of their working life! Only the rich dads could send their children to college and University!

Yes, but why didnt you try for a scholarship or bursary, Mike!!? People...., not all pupils are Einsteins or super sports men.

I was the sort of young man that was excruciatingly inquisitive! I so wanted to learn everything on earth so much that I stripped everything broken and tried to fix it! I developed a philosophy “If man made it, I can fix it!” I taught myself electrical, electronics and mechanics and am still learning today. I still can not afford official studies but what I have learnt in my lifetime no University or degree could teach me! I had hands on experience and even today I do not sub contract any of my personal things. I do everything myself! I build, plaster, glaze, erect palisade fencing, electric fencing and even installed my own 8 cam CCTV system and alarm system on my home which I maintain myself. I have built complete houses myself including all electrical installations and plumbing! For a friend though not for myself. The only thing I did not do myself on that housing project was the stainless steel balustrade because I did not have the welding machine! Anything building related(construction) I have taught myself. I can read a dumpy level and drawings and can take your drawing, lay out to true north and set out your buildings and foundation, sewage and plumbing and YES I can build the house from foundation to roof!! I can read E&I and M&P drawings and construct factories and plants.

This is how I grew up. Dad was an alcoholic who assaulted my mom and us children every Friday night. He was a miner and back in the day they had subsidized liqueur at all the mine recreation clubs! Dad would get his pay on Friday afternoon and stop off at the club on his way home! More often than not he would arrive home intoxicated and aggressive! I believe he felt ashamed for coming home without money as he drank it all out! He would then beat my mom as if it was her fault. I was only 5 years old at the time and remember biting him on his leg one time only to collect a full punch to my chest and slide around 15 meters to the front gate. Then he let her have it!!

We were taken to a place of safety by the welfare and I stayed in an orphanage till I was 18 when I joined the military. I stayed in the army for 5 years and when I came out I started working for companies! I was a Sapper in the army and thus built army bases, water plants roads and bridges for the military. I kept learning. Now at 54 years of age I still believe there is nothing I cannot do! I am still learning but can fix my own motor cars, gearboxes and motors. I can manage factories, maintenance of plants and factories and yes I can do all the repair work myself, no matter what the discipline. I had no formal training but can fix computers, laptops and cellphones and this is my hobby because I can not play golf!! I have a one handicap and that is “ME” the whole ONE!! Hahahaha!

I would have loved to study towards a degree but such is life,hey! Some of us need to do the practical while others do the Varsity! This is thus my question! “Would I trade my experience for a degree?” NO, NO,.... NO!!

Experience has helped me keep my friends and colleagues safe! One injury or one death is not worth any degree!

Experience has helped me do successful projects and has really been the one thing that has made me who I am today!! I am not putting down any degree qualified engineers or learned people, I am just saying that we as experienced artisans are just as important as those degree rich people! After your degree you need practical experience to grow and we are the guys that give you that. No company would employ an inexperienced degree certified individual and allow them to trial and error with their money or am I wrong? No company would let you rig 100 tons without experience as the risks are just too big! Legal liability does not look at degrees or experience because when someone gets injured or dies, someone has to take the blame or risk losing your operating licence. It does not matter what industry you are involved in! Experience does count,do you agree?

I firmly believe in this quote: “It is better to know a little about a lot of things than to know everything about one thing!” Regards, Mike De Araujo (ps: I have been legally certified dead twice in my life but still going strong! Once hijacked with a 9mm and once stabbed in a robbery. So I am even experienced in death, hehehehe!)