Is experience more valuable than a degree?

Yes? No? Why?

daviddd!1994

Hard to tell. For employment these days you seem to need a both although it's hard to get the necessary experience without the degree, so perhaps start there first?

Reply 2

DarkWhite

It really does depend what you want to go into.

So many final-year students focus solely on graduate jobs and training schemes, SMEs are overlooked, many of which will take those with lower than a 2:1 and without any degree at all if relevant experience can be demonstrated.

It really depends on the job! :smile:

Reply 3

Jerome's Niece

If you're a prostitute - yes.

If you're applying for an internship at Goldman Sachs - no.

Reply 4

drummer

I'd say they go hand in hand pretty well but like the others say it really depends on your career choice.

Reply 5

johnnyavfc

If I was an employer I'd value someone with experience more than some 21 year old with hardly any work experience other than working in burger bar with a degree.

Reply 6

ch0llima

Experience will give you the edge against other candidates with similar academic credentials. In my field (IT) practical experience and a passion/willingness to learn will balance out a ropey CV, no question.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 7

M4LLY

I'd rather higher someone who could demonstrate that they have the required skills needed to do a job than someone who only worked in Mcdonalds with a degree

Reply 8

ken2

Both wouldnt harm but nowadays it seems to be 1. get experience 2.get a degree later

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9100

Reply 9

TKC

Depends which degree and what work experience.

Ultimately though it's like saying which is more valuable, lungs or a stomach. Either way you're gonna have a tough time without both of them.

Reply 10

SpicyStrawberry

It depends on the job, if you want a graduate job you need a degree as a basic requirement, but your work experience and who you know is invaluable; every man and his dog nowadays seems to have a degree, you need to set yourself apart. I'd say degrees are important, but experience seems to be more impressive to employers as you can show you have the skill set for that job rather than transferable skills from a degree alone.

Reply 11

tdkr

for law; both are important

Reply 12

hollo

As everyone has said: both.

If you're talking about getting jobs then I would make sure to build up skills through other means whilst getting your degree. Obviously work experience, placements and internships are all important but really any other activity which develops transferable skills is going to be helpful for you and attractive to employers - the usual team sports demonstrating cooperation or being the treasurer for a society or a weekend job all give you a deal of confidence which a lot of people just don't seem to have and if you identify the attributes which they have given you and make sure to point them out in an interview then you'll be earning yourself plus points. Small things like that can be a lot easier or more realistic than arranging an impressive placement, you just need to market them well.

If you're looking at the wider picture I would still say that a combination of the two is important. I firmly believe that if there is a job which you are eager to do and there are multiple entry routes that the one which involves learning on the job is the best option. Yes, university can be a great social experience and offer a lot of opportunities which might not otherwise come up, but going directly into a job shows that you are committed to that career path and lets you earn a wage and contribute more than you would at uni. However I think that if you aren't sure about what you want to do then it is best to study something which interests you as a degree will often boost your chances of getting a 'good' job in the future and open more doors which would otherwise be closed. I can say personally that I learnt more and developed more as a person working for a shop in a year and living abroad for a year than I did in my first year of university: a degree isn't the be all and end all.

Reply 13

username474976

This is almost a trick question.

Having good experience is more impressive in the sense that degrees are not special anymore; they are simply a minimum requirement. However, due to the fact that you need a degree to even apply in the first place means that a degree is obviously more valuable as you can still apply without experience, but not without the former.

Reply 14

EGjeff

As above, degree gets you foot in the door, your experience is what gets you the job.

Reply 15

Weeves

In many cases you need a degree to gain work expirence, and work expirence is more oftenly required nowadays.

Therefore, you could argue that the degree is more important because without it you might not get w.e.
But, you need w.e to get the job, so arguably that could be more important.

OR.... You could say that they're both as important as each other.

WALA!

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 16

standreams

It really depends. Years of experience in the relevant sector can easily make up for lack of a degree. A degree shows commitment and an ability to learn- but I'd want to see experience (whether voluntary or paid) alongside it.

Ultimately, it all comes down to interview- can the candidate show me they have the skills needed for the job, and in particular do they seem like someone I'd be happy to work with? Politeness, conversation skills and common sense go a long way.

I've seen people with fantastic-looking CVs and good degrees who don't get the basics right, and it's always very disappointing.

Reply 17

Rubgish

Its important to distinguish between relevant experience and just experience. Having a degree and (as people in this thread have mentioned), having worked at maccy d's isn't really going to put you in a good spot. Having a degree and having relevant work experience doing a related internship over your summer holidays is going to put you in a much better spot.