Is It Better to Have Education or to Have Experience?

@Paula sorry you are running into this situation. Have you considered the possibility of completing that last year of college and getting your degree. A degree can be the difference between an open or closed door when it comes to finding that right fit. As the article states, you need to show your willingness to complete your education. You could mention it in your cover letter that, although lacking a bachelor's degree, you are willing to take the classes necessary to earn your degree. You also need to communicate that you have knowledge that far exceeds a degree and that would be your experience. Sometimes it's all in the wording. Make sure that you are using keywords from the job posting when you do up your resume and cover letter. Hope this helps. We wish you all the best.

I have a lot of experience in oil, and gas allocations and production data analysis but many companies won't look at me because I don't have my bachelor's degree. I have 3 years of college, but not 4.

@Deon it certainly is a catch-22 situation. We have all been there and have all found a way to make it through. In your case, since you have little experience, you might need to use more of a networking approach; ask around with family, friends, former students and teachers. See what companies your friends are in and ask if there are any opportunities available. It's always better if you can get your resume in front of a hiring manager through someone who is already working in the company. You might, if you can, try to do some volunteer work in order to get some practical experience. You might also want to consider going back to school, if you can, and getting your degree. We wish you all the best.

It goes without saying that experience trumps education. I have some education but little experience, which places me in somewhat of an awkward position in the job market, as most employers (if not all, now-a-days) are requesting that applicants have so much experience. My problem is that no employer would give me enough benefit of a doubt to hire me, let alone grow in their organization to where I would then have experience...*frustrating...but somehow, education enhances one's marketability.

In my experience, education means nothing. So I guess in certain areas or companies they want education but experience is always the only thing they look for on an application.

Both are important. Some jobs are not book jobs and some other jobs are more theoretical than learning it on the job. So it depends which job is in question. But when it comes to high level administrative positions, both are important.

Please remember that workers with decades of experience, might not have had the opportunities to go to school because of economical issues or locality. Thirty or more years ago, things just didn't work the way they do now. If you had a steady paying job, and lived in a poverty state, where the benefits were restricted even for a single parent, you stayed with that job or you didn't eat! There are many things to consider here... long standing employment speaks a lot about one's work ethics and character.

You can read about something 1,000 different ways --- doesn't necessarily mean you know how to do it. Experience is more important (hands on).

Thanks @Manuela and Evan for your comments. Evan it is true that military officers have their degree before they receive their commission. They certainly are there to lead and manage the troops but they receive so much more by being officers in the military. Their experience is much valuable than their education. I can attest to that since I did 20 yrs in the military myself. @Manuela I think that experience is more valuable myself. Education is great and is necessary but education without experience is just that - education. Thanks again for your comments.

Experience is more important. I have lots of education yet I keep hearing that I don't have the experience they are looking for.

At any rate, those with hands-on experience are most likely to become one of two things: Entrepreneurs that create small businesses or go on to work for companies that value their unique skill set-the difference is how driven they are to be above where they are at the time, and by what.

@ Nancy & Jerry: On target from my "experience" as well! If you look at the military, most officers have a degree before getting their commission, which means that over-all, they have only an understanding of the tasks and problems that are faced by those who really do the jobs. They are there to "lead" those under them, and be a figure-head that can sign-off where needed to complete the mission by the more (hands-on) knowledgeable(on the whole-not all are like this example of course).

@Jerry that has been my experience in some cases also. Depending upon the type of position, sometimes it's better to have a boss who learned the ropes on the job - not in a classroom. I agree that just because a person has a PhD doesn't make them any smarter than the person who has a HS education. They just have more education! But some jobs require that the person have the extensive education in order to do a good job.

Some of the best system engineers with whom I have worked had no degrees. By the same token it has been my personal experience that those with a PhD, make bad project managers. That is not to say that those with PhDs aren't very smart and driven, but sometimes may be to narrowly focused and lack the organizational and management skills to take a comprehensive view of all aspects of development. I could give specific examples, but that would not be appropriate in this type of discussion.