The Unsettled Debate: Work Experience vs. Education

If you are fresh out of high school, you might be debating whether or not to pursue a higher education degree or get into the work field to gain experience instead.

The work experience vs. education debate is a controversial on-going debate that everyone seems to have a say in; professors, work field experts, your colleagues, and even your parents.

Getting a degree and furthering your education has many advantages, and getting involved directly into work after school has just as many advantages. And while both routes have negative sides as well, it is completely up to you to settle this debate and choose the route that is right for you according to your needs and goals.

So, we are here to help you settle the work experience vs. education debate, and present you with the positives and negatives of both sides.

Education

The traditional route of pursuing a higher education may present itself as the “easy and safe” option of the work experience vs. degree debate, and while it may be the safer option out of the two, that does not make it necessarily easy.

So, what makes pursuing a higher education the preferred choice by many? Why are higher education degrees valued by employers? And why do some people hesitate getting higher education? In other words, what are the advantages and disadvantages of getting a degree?

Advantages:

? Getting a higher education enables you to gain much specialized, broad and deep knowledge about your field, which is highly valued by employers.

? It pushes students to gain hard skills related to their specific field of study. This saves employers time, money and effort for minimizing the graduate’s training.

? Many students would have already engaged in mandatory training by the time they finish studying and obtain their degree.

? Getting higher education enables students to gain soft skills such as communication skills, team work, and leadership skills; these are highly valued by employers, and they can be implemented in any type of work environment and role.

? The higher the education the better the paycheck.

? Essential if you aim to pursue postgraduate studies

The advantages make it crystal clear why getting education is the traditional and go-to route after high school. But what about the disadvantages?

Disadvantages:

? Time consuming; those are - at least - four years of your time spent on studying, rather than getting work experience (and getting paid.)

? Higher education is increasingly getting more expensive, and people are getting wary about student loans.

? Depending on your program and university, higher education might spoon-feed you and/or make you dependent on your professors instead of seeking knowledge yourself.

? Your degree will be - in a sense - irrelevant if you are pursuing a technical degree, as the constant changes in your field will require you further education, qualifications, and/or training.

Work Experience

Work experience probably presents the side of the “work experience vs. education” debate that is despised mostly by parents and professors, but receives am impressed look from employers, and you.

If you are thinking about getting into the workfield right after high school, and avoiding getting yourself into loans in order to get a degree, you might want to take all advantages and disadvantages into consideration before moving further with your decision.

Advantages:

? Enables you to learn through practical experience and trial-and-error, instead of being spoon-fed.

? Polishes your commitment and seriousness towards your professional goals.

? Makes you more responsible and self-motivated.

? Enables you to gain hard and soft skills specific to your field’s needs and demands.

? Mostly suitable for those having a particular talent in a certain field.

Those advantages are able to set off a successful career with your commitment and professionalism, making it easy for you to excel at your current role and get to your next one. However, consider the disadvantages as well.

Disadvantages:

? Time consuming; getting into the workfield early - comparatively speaking - with no degree requires lots of time to gain much specialized knowledge that is broad and deep enough for your career’s demands.

? This option may not pay well, especially in the beginning of your career.

? It may be initially hard to find a role that aligns with your goals but that you are able to fulfill with your academic qualification.

? The set of skills you gain may not comprise transferable skills, which can limit your career advancement.

Settle the Debate yourself

Choose your next step after graduation by following these steps:

? Specify your field of interest.

? Outline your short-term and long-term career goals.

? Brainstorm all possible ways to achieve your goals.

? Specify the best ways and what makes them the best ones.

? Pick the work experience route or the high education degree route accordingly.

And In case you are struggling with applying for jobs, check the?iApply job application services and features .?iApply is the right artificial intelligence engine for you that helps you with getting your desired job, no matter if you get a higher education or want to get into the workfield directly.