A Different Road To Work, Bypassing College Dreams: Is a College Degree More Important Than Experience?

by thezilch Posted 2012/07/30 17:00:00

Related Topics: College, Work, Employment, Work Experience, High School, Student, Graduates, College Degree, Student Debt, High School Graduates, NPR

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357 votes
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	A college degree is the most important	83 votes	23%
	Experience is more important	274 votes	77%

NPR.ORG reports:
With college costs rising and student debt mounting, some high school graduates in Charlotte, N.C., are opting for an alternative route: European-style apprenticeships. One straight-A student has shifted her sights from an international relations degree to becoming an engineer.

european-style apprenticeships straight-a student shifted sights international relations degree engineer

+17

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Heisenberg 2012/07/28 23:13:51

Experience is more important

+7
I wasted my time and my parent's money on university.
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More polls by thezilch

America... to Heisenberg 2012/08/01 22:34:30

How is it irony?

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Heisenberg to America... 2012/08/01 22:35:58

LOLZ

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Geswin ... to Heisenberg 2012/07/31 01:27:01 (edited)

+1
Well I kinda disagree on that both are important degree & jobs in my opinion & you can not
change my mind because my parents try to teach me to look for a job & since I am looking for a school yet & with no job yet ,but for me degree comes 1st : sources 22 year old
fujian province u.s. special ed student

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Elementer to Heisenberg 2012/08/01 15:32:46

What did you major in?

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Heisenberg to Elementer 2012/08/01 15:38:59

Public policy. How about you?

Funny how he did not answer my question.

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Elementer to Heisenberg 2012/08/01 16:15:36

+1
Criminal Justice.

You know, it's funny because I'm attending college moreso because I feel I have to rather than I want too. All throughout my senior year, my teachers would rant and rave about we needed to go to college, college was a must, etc.

I starting to think I would've been better off getting a trade. Electricians, plumbers, and even police officers make as much as the average college grad and they only require a few classes and certifications.

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Heisenberg to Elementer 2012/08/01 16:27:32

Government pays well until the government goes bankrupt.

My first career was in government.

I joined the private sector and I am far more satisfied.

I wish you luck!

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Brosia 2012/07/28 21:21:15
Ron in Oregon 2012/07/28 19:55:11

Experience is more important

+1
You can always get a degree, but experience is priceless.

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freakoutnow... cuz mom's here 2012/07/28 18:22:45

Experience is more important

+2
College learning is ''book smarts'' and book smarts are mostly obsolete within ten years of you learning them. Real world experience is timeless and priceless. Trade schools and apprenticeships are more valuable than college in most cases because you have a trade/skill and skilled labor is always needed whereas college graduates often only have an expensive piece of paper (the degree) and nothing else. Also let's not forget what works in theory or in books doesn't always work in the real world/real life or in practice.

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Ken 2012/07/28 17:30:21

Experience is more important

+3
Experience

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poet4justice 2012/07/28 14:56:10

A college degree is the most important

+1
because you are experiences as you go to colleges

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Racefish 2012/07/28 13:13:25

Experience is more important

+3
A degree only means you can learn.

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sportsone234 2012/07/28 12:50:31

Experience is more important

+1
You should have had an "it depends" choice, because it does depend. I hold 2 degrees, but degrees without real life experience can be useless. Talking about useless, how bout our fake pResident, BHO? Dumber than a stone when left to his own devices. Hey, where's that teleprompter?

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mike 2012/07/28 09:07:14

A college degree is the most important

+1
But its just not for everyone. I went back to school in my thirties and got an associates, it was fun, but not what I wanted to do.

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Don Leuty 2012/07/28 06:48:01

Experience is more important

+3
A college education is experience through books and lectures. Hands on is worth much more in a number of positions requiring certain skills.

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gidianedwards97 2012/07/28 05:45:13

A college degree is the most important

+1
once you have intellect experience becomes easy to experience.

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moonlight 2012/07/28 03:39:22

Experience is more important

+3
sure you need to be smart but not all college graduate are smart people.. nothing beats experience

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S and S 2012/07/28 02:29:19

Experience is more important

+1
techincal colleges (manual trades schools) are WAY more valuable over traditional 4 year liberal arts schools. there is a massive shortage of machinists and welders in the countrys. probably because high schools say "everyone's going to college" only 5% tops graduate and less tha 50% get jobs in their field. Go to tech shool for Instrumentation and there's 20 jobs for each graduate. lowest starting pay this graduating class was $25/hr. Not bad for a 20-21 year old 2 year graduate.

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Raphy 2012/07/28 02:12:02

Experience is more important

+1
But the degree will get you higher pay. But nothing beats experience..

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skroehr 2012/07/28 02:05:06

Experience is more important

+2
I sure wish employers looked at it this way.

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Lady Wh... to skroehr 2012/07/30 18:53:51

DITTO!!!

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Fashionable60s 2012/07/28 01:38:30 (edited)

A college degree is the most important

Now that I am no longer competing in the work place, I am certain that my college degrees were two of the reasons I was hired. There rest, among other things were competence, diligence and experience. If you are one of those Bill Gates and/or Steve Jobs type, you do not ever need a college degree but so very few of us are like those two. Most of us wound up working for companies and have to prove ourselves instead of being entrepreneurs or creative geniuses like them.

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HenriLewkowiczhenri 2012/07/28 01:23:21

Experience is more important

+3
COLLEGES ARE PRODUCING A LOTS OF EDUCATED DERELICTS ...,.,.,......

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bmxschoolbus 2012/07/28 01:18:44

Experience is more important

+3
it all depends on job but I think experience is more important

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Odinsown 2012/07/28 01:14:07

Experience is more important

+1
Experience is becoming the most important thing.

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Lester 2012/07/28 01:13:41

A college degree is the most important

I think an implicit assumption in this question is that "more important" means more important to earning money. For that question, it really depends on the individual, their financial situation and objectives, and even their temperament--there is no general answer. For the more general question of whether college is more important to one's life than starting to work earlier, I can only speak for the people I know. Overwhelmingly they seem to think that the college experience added more to their life than the additional money four years of work would have contributed. My guess is that would be true for many (but not all) other people.

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Michael 2012/07/28 00:59:53

A college degree is the most important

to potential employers,degrees count more. problem with European style is you must chose first.no exposure to variety,then you are stuck.also,you don't have a choice if you don't have the prior grades.here you can still get the education.

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jc 2012/07/28 00:46:59

Experience is more important

+3
I had a sports scholarship.But,I chose to start working construction at 20.I learned a trade and got to be a master at it.And work for myself.Love it!

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les_gvt 2012/07/28 00:45:03

Experience is more important

+3
reality will always trump theory

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thefatguy 2012/07/28 00:44:59

Experience is more important

+3
But, it depends on the career. Some of the most foolish people I know have multiple advanced degrees. They've been sheltered in the academic bubble for so long, they are unable to relate to the real world. Conversely, I know very successful people with no degree but lots of real-world experience.

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NPC 2012/07/27 23:48:34

A college degree is the most important

+1
If you do not go to college then you better have some skills to open your own successful small business.

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