Degree Or Experience? What Matters? What Counts?

Steve! you have a point there. I am a businessman and have a very practical mindset and approach to business. All my hirings are based on experience and skills. I am not concerned about Bachelors or Masters. I have worked with people who have tons of knowledge and experience but no degree. In some cases, MBAs and MCAs with little experience used to beg an opportunity to get trained under their supervision/leadership. As i mentioned earlier, for someone who really want to learn something will definetely find ways to acquire knowledge and internet and trainings courses provide that platform to get started. The more they dig-in,the more they get hands-on. The culture and trend is changing in many groups and MNCs accross the globe. Applicants with No-degree are being considered. I have no much idea about India and Indian HR practices. I have been living in Saudi for the past 21 years. Experience counts here too. One example is my staff (designers) couple of them do not have bachelors, but they are champions of their domain. I did not see their certificates, but yes during the time of interview i looked at their work which impressed me a lot and i took them aboard.

Experience matters. Qualification also matters. Companies prefer to have a person who is well qualified and well experienced.
What is most important is to have a qualification relating to your profile.
My personal observation is that Your qualification (whether degree or diploma) is only a Gate pass to enter into an organization. After entering into an organization, it is the work experience and exposure, that really count!.
Thanks,
regards
R K Nair

If you are just starting out in your career, then having a degree is obviously more valuable than not having any at all. Experience give you value over a period of time. Just having a degree is not enough. One needs to have a good percentage to have an edge over other candidates in the industry. Similarly, having x years of experience is not enough, one had to have a measured and proven track record. Also, in either case, one needs to express to impress. Having a fancy degree or having 10 years in a fancy position will seem to be useless if you cannot express your knowledge and experience.
In conclusion, "degree will help earn you a living, but experience will help earn you your fortune"
Avinash Tavares
Trainer & Life Coach
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Hello amjadlala,

Your comments seem to be corroborating what I mentioned in my last posting--"....Reference Point I would apply--in general--will be the DEMANDS OF THE JOB......." AND ".....at the end of the day, it's the WHAT, WHY, HOW & WHEN the job was done--NOT 'WHO' did it".

By & large, it's the 'Balance' between the relevant Knowledge [brought about by education--leading to Degrees] AND experience which is what finally matters--at least has to matter. When one factor is less--let's say, Knowledge--what will matter to that person & to the organization is if the overall Balance is achieved by a larger dose of the other factor--Experience--to compensate for the lack of the former........and vice versa.

The Designers you hired obviously fall in this category--no/less education [which could have led to knowledge] compensated by a large experience [which obviously led to knowledge]--with YOUR focus being on their 'knowledge' that you felt the job needed.

Coming to Steve Brass's query, I suggest you just replace the word 'degree' with 'knowledge'--you will have the answer. Unfortunately, in today's world, 'education/degree' has become synonymous with 'knowledge'--which IT'S NOT--else, amjadlala wouldn't have started this Thread.

Just like in every phase of life, any extreme idea/position about this issue also would only lead to lop-sided & ill-conceived decisions being taken--which in the long-run would invariably be counter-productive & detrimental [to both the individual & the organization]. I have seen it happen on quite a few occasions.

Rgds,

TS

Dear All,
This is very intresting discussion. It is assumed that if any candidate has particular degree, he/she has gained knowledge in that particular stream and hence while recruiting any candidate the certified qualifiaction is preferred.
Many corporates, to maintain their standards in the market want to hire highly qualified candidates. So that in market they can show they have qualified staff. In such cases, for any candidate having good and indepth knowledge and experience but lacking certified degree is difficult to get job.

Dear dbpawar,

Degree in many cases is just a piece of paper. A lot of students these days depend on "model papers", "guess papers" and "cheating" - A few hard working students gain depth of knowledge because they are dedicated and they really work hard to get that certificate. In past 5 years i had interviewed a number of MBAs who were worth nothing. I gauged them through the poor knowledge and skills they have. They claimed to have worked with some reputed names in India. It was very shocking to me. This experience changed my view towards hiring talent and since then i started hiring people on the basis of experience, knowledge and skills. Degree does not necessarily mean knowledge - for sure! There are a number of ways to get minimum passing marks to obtain that certificate. Knowledge come hard way through hardwork and efforts.

I am sure many of us might have experienced this when interviewing candidates. Whats the ratio of real knowledgeable candidates vs Fit for nothing degree holders?

I totally agree with you and few other gentlemen that degree does get you the entry ticket, but remember, that ticket is for a short show.

I personally DO NOT agree on hiring on the basis of Degree. I prefer to give equal opportunity to non-degree holders. End of the day what matters to me as a businessman is productivity & quality. Non of my clients ask for my staffs qualification. They guage the quality of work we submit. What they want and what we deliver matters.

it does not matter what degree quelification you are having.if you have depth knowledge about any field than its ok and that really count it means that expouser,(hands on)experience play vital roll.Further ......
Warms & Regards
Pramod Mishra

Hello My Dear Netizens,
I myself is literally confused with degree or experience. I surely say that nothing counts here in India, except your regional back ground i mean Kannadiga, Telagu, Tamil or Malayali. If any one dare to say no to this, then I have my own example to narrate.

If I need to appoint any one I will see his experience only. Educational degree l wont consider at all.
I have seen many MBAs who are only bookworms and cant perform independently.
An employee if experienced then will add more value to business with his practical knowledge.

hello everybody,
AMJAD LALA's Q is really interesting... but m sorry not getting a proper answer..all the hr professional kindly help with little more inputs....
thanks