Degree vs experience for the job

While a formal education may seem unnecessary to some people, it actually helps managers to make wise decisions. Giving a person a promotion because he has experience has one great downfall. Knowledge of the job is only based on what happened before and not the numerous possibilities that could happen.

Scenario 1

“I have been working my tail off at this organisation for ten years. I do most of the work in the company. I come in early every day. I work on my days off. I work overtime. And, never once have I asked for anything more. After all of that, they tell me I am not qualified enough to get a promotion. I don’t have a degree. So what if I never went to university? Does my experience not count for something?

“I get so angry when I see younger people come out of their big universities and get placed in higher positions than mine. So what if they hold a degree? I have experience. What is more important, a person who knows about the job or a person who can do the job? It is so unfair!”

Younger employees with a degree

In this scenario, an employee grumbles that younger people who possess a degree are being placed in high positions. This is a common grievance among older employees at workplaces.

What they don’t consider is that the degree holders bring something else to the table that experience alone does not. They bring modern business jargon and have formal training in business, accounting, communication, maths, biology, geography and literature.

Scenario 2

In the hospitality business, a waiter’s job is to interact with the kitchen staff and the customers. He does this for numerous years and is really good at his job. As a matter of fact, he is one of the reasons many customers come to the establishment.

One day, the waiter approaches his manager with a request for a promotion. He applies specifically for the vacant supervisor’s position. The waiter believes that he knows all the workers and customers well enough to supervise the restaurant.

Unfortunately, his manager refuses him the promotion because he does not possess a degree. The manager reminds the waiter that years ago he was originally hired as a dishwasher who was promoted to waiter.

However, the job of a supervisor requires more than knowing how to wash dishes and wait tables. He would have to roster workers, write reports, deal with inventory, and communicate with customers. The conversations would be about food and beverage on an intellectual level. The manager advised the waiter to take some classes, get certified with a degree, and apply again.

Degree needed for responsibilities

In the second scenario, the manager refused the waiter the promotion because he was not qualified. What if the waiter has never met a customer who complained about food poisoning? As a supervisor, what would he do when everyone turns to him about something in which he has no experience?

To the worker who feels cheated, it never hurts to improve yourself, even if it’s for a promotion.

See also:

Get a job if you don’t pass exams!

Report writing lesson for security guard

Mom in school – adult literacy support

SEA exam: 5 tips for stressed-out parents

CXC/CSEC exam tips for students ready or not

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