At my company I do not know which of my 300 employees went to which colleges or what they studied – and I don’t care. What I do care about is how quickly and courageously someone learns, if they believe in themselves or sell themselves short, and their sense of urgency to grow and make a difference here.
It’s the same at many companies.
Comment with the orange button –
Larry, I think college CAN be helpful, but not necessarily in the old tradition. College level learning, if tailored to what today’s job market is looking for, may provide a competitive edge to a job candidate. College didn’t do a thing for me while I was there. I was too immature to use the experience productively, but it helped me get my MBA. I thought all that education was important 40 years ago, but it turned out that it really wasn’t. My former career didn’t require that level of education.
Today, the job market is entirely different. The ROI for a college education is not very attractive. Yet, if a person used college learning to improve communication skills (writing & grammar), analytical skills (logic, basic algebra and geometry), and some human interaction skills, that person might find more job opportunities. And college learning today can be had at lower cost community colleges and even over the internet, but I don’t see any benefit to saddling oneself with gigantic college loans; the ROI just doesn’t warrant it.
I agree with you that successful people don’t have to have been to college. Life experiences are usually more educational than college, so I recommend people travel, join the military, work different jobs, read a lot, and follow their dreams. Plus study the experiences of people who are successful. That is an education with a solid ROI.
Good morning Larry! This touched a nerve with me…I agree with you 100% that a college education should not be necessary to succeed today, but unfortunately, most companies will immediately disregard your resume if you do not have a degree, which is due to the outrageous number of applicants they get, therefore giving them a way to eliminate many of them. They can then boast that their company is sucessful because their employees are all highly educated. What they don’t realize is the talent they can be missing out on doing this, especially in certain fields, such as sales. I know many individuals with master’s degrees that have the personalities of a wet noodle and could not sell a piece of bubble gum…LOL! No offense to anyone, some occupations just have a higher success rate through outstanding personalities and tenacity! Your statement saying “most” companies do not judge by education is sadly mistaken in today’s world…have a happy Thursday!
Larry, I feel IQ has been overrated for a very long time. Regular education focusses on developping skills that are related to IQ, while EQ is what makes us a winner in all respects of life. If only teachers would spend more time helping youngsters to develop that quality, that we do all possess, but which is underrated still!
Kindest regards,
Ingrid Kaffa- de Klerck
Good Morning Larry. In todays society it seems to be very important to have an associates or bachelors on your resume. You could be for example in business marketing for years and years and than try to apply to other jobs, for the same thing you are doing now, but they would still pick the one with a better education over your work experience. I think its pretty sad to say that, because yes education is important I encourage it, but at the same time, college isn’t for everyone. So if someone has the ability to learn and has work experience like someone with a degree can do I say hire them. Good Day 🙂
Larry,
I think that is great idea for most of positions in your company. However, there are many technical professions and other positions where is almost impossible to begin the job without a major amount of training. For example, in software engineering it would be difficult to begin a position without a solid background. That training would not necessarily have to come from a university, but it would have to be present.
Having the privilege to hire in that field for 30 years, I can say that if two individuals have approximately the same training, the non-university candidate will the majority of the time be more successful based on my small universe of hiring.
Like others have noted, it is virtually impossible to have your resume reviewed at most companies without a degree. The hiring manager is many times afraid of the consequences, if a non-degreed candidate ends up not being successful.
This really hit home with me this morning. I have several degrees, one being nationally certified as well. But I don’t think college challenged me enough for career skills or practice. I agree that one does not necessarily have to have a college degree, and real-real-world experience is the best classroom. P.S. Thank goodness for spell check~
These podcasts are worth a listen, if of interest:
http://freakonomics.com/2012/07/30/freakonomics-goes-to-college-part-1-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/
http://freakonomics.com/2012/08/16/freakonomics-goes-to-college-part-2-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/
I agree 100%. It is far more important to me to see the persons track record and character plus attitude
As a guy that has been able to make due with a G.E.D. I could not agree more. Education is important, knowledge is critical, but a degree doesn’t buy anything in our hiring process.
Thanks for posting this.
Ryan
If someone one in sales or marketing needs a degree on their resume to get hired – they are much or a sales or marketer! 🙂