Learn how to "Connect the dots".

Employers value work experience and related skills when evaluating  job candidates simply because they know that “experience counts”.
I still remember an incident that occurred to me when I was a Nursing student, I scored the highest grade on the procedure of Intravenous line insertion (Lab demonstration and theoretical exam), yet my first trial on a real patient was a big failure for me. True, theory is the base, however, transferring theory into practice is not an easy job at all.
It is certain that textbooks report theories created through, evidence based studies, research, and best practice, but on some occurrences’ we realize that, it may not be applicable in real life situations.
Throughout our career path, how many times, did we hear the following sentence: “This is written only in books “.
Yet, what gets you through the door for any employment opportunity,
–REMAINS TO BE - College degrees.
The challenge is that employers must find the right balance when weighing education versus experience, and the emphasis will depend on the role being addressed, the question of how much degrees earned in the classroom still matter? Depends partly on the expected specified skills of the assigned role.
By research, employers looked for the following attributes, in decreasing importance when hiring : Relevant work experience, Good work ethic/attitude Degree subject studied , Ability to be a team player, Mature attitude, Class of degree, , Reputation of university attended , Ambition and career-minded.
Simply put, the difference between education and experience is like the difference between taking a music course and spending years learning how to play a musical instrument. Experience requires coaching, mentoring, performance consulting and “learn-by-doing” activities. If practicing a skill with 30 years of professional experience involves doing the same thing over and over at least once yearly, then the difference between 30 years of experience and one year’s experience is a value multiplied by (30). How about doing it daily then?
Experienced employees are more likely to find practical solutions to problems than colleagues with less work experience, and they are always considered an important piece of the equation in any organization. Their wealth of personal and professional experience makes them valuable assets.
When it comes to Knowledge vs experience, the really important thing is that experience helps us to "connect the dots". Einstein said "“Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience.”