Education vs. Experience: The Debate Continues
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. King was passionate about learning and understood the value of a formal education, having gained a doctorate in systematic theology from Boston University in 1955.
He also understood what students should gain from attending college, and that this involved far more than just learning to reel off facts from a book.
Many people believe the purpose of a degree is not merely to teach a particular subject, but to teach people how to think, so that they graduate from college equipped to learn more from the world around them.
But fast forward to today, and many have other ideas about whether college is really worth it.
“The college ‘brand’ will eventually collapse,” says entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuck. “Parental pressure isn’t a good reason to acquire enormous college debt, which is also a bad idea if you want to become an entrepreneur. You get good at entrepreneurship by doing: Plus, there are endless free ways to learn about business.”
Vaynerchuck goes on to remind us that many leading businesses—Google, Amazon, EY, and his own company VanyerMedia—do not require a college degree anymore.
These are both pretty persuasive arguments. Education is important, and taking time to figure out how you learn and teaching yourself to think critically will position you well for a successful career. But nowadays, the cost of a college degree is astronomical, and there’s a chance you could be learning the same amount on the job while earning money.
Of course, there are professional fields where experience will definitely take applicants further than formal education—sales, for example. On the other hand, stats still show those with a college education earn more on average than those only possessing a high school diploma. Plus, getting an interview is undoubtedly more difficult without a degree, even if times are changing.
One thing that we can all agree on is that learning is essential, unique to each person, and easy (not to mention dangerous) to get wrong. Going down the wrong path for you can waste valuable time and money, while not putting time in to educate yourself can mean you miss out on many potential opportunities.
Degrees are certainly not essential for every job nowadays, but for some, you won’t get very far without one. Where does procurement stand, in particular?
Do you think a degree is still necessary, or are they not worth the paper they’re written on?