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Matthew Wilkins
Miss. Turnbeaugh
English 1010
December 1, 2012
Education vs. On the Job Training
I chose to write on the topic of Education vs. On the Job Training since I feel there is an
equal ground to both and I wanted to know what others thought on the matter.
In analyzing this subject I came across some questions. When it comes down to it what
really matters the most, is it the person that has the Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, or the
PhD? Or is it the person that has 2 years experience, 7 years experience, or 15 years experience
in the job that needs to be filled? These are the very questions that employers are asking
themselves when a job becomes available. Who is best going to help the company move forward
and progress? In this essay I would like to talk about the different perspectives that some
scholars have on whether it is more important to have more education or work experience or
more work experience or an education?
My first question is why is education more important than on the job training?
Initially, my impression of education is that it cost too much and yet so many people are
going to school. In college I have learned that when the economy is down, the numbers of
college students go up! And when the economy is flourishing, the attendance of college students
drops!
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Why is this the case? To me it seems backwards and that is why I’m so interested in why
education is so encouraged. My research gave me some in-depth insight in regards to education
and work experience comparisons.
Education is important to us because it helps us gain knowledge, absorb
information, and interpret things correctly (Uthappa). By teaching us these things it helps us with
what we do every day. The biggest things that help us improve everyday are mingling and
socializing with our family, work, and our peers with hope from all of this that we can turn out to
be civilized citizens in our community to help it and us improve daily.
With the education we learn we are always judged by one thing, our manners. We first
teach manners to our children. Kids must learn to be polite, learn telephone etiquette, socialize
with other kids and develop values. All this can be taught at home as well as school. Teaching
your children good manners creates a foundation for them that will follow them through life
(Uthappa).
Everything we do in our lives is judged by our peers as to whether or not we are doing
things correctly. Even if we do not know we are being judged, we always are purely by our
actions. The reason why education is so valued is not only because it teaches us how to analyze
the jobs we do every day, but it teaches us how to work with our peers each day as well. So in
return for all the hard work and papers we write, an education not only teaches the things we
need in our job field but also how to communicate those things to everybody we will be in
contact with. All of these extra things that are included into our education beyond the book work
are taught so that we can be successful when joining the different areas of society with which we
choose to be involved with.
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My second question that I had was why not on the job training more? With this question I
decided that I would go out and talk to some people that work in the community and ask them
what they thought in regards to on the job training and education when they are looking to hire
someone for their company,.
As a recruiter for JC Penny I asked Tracy Taggart to talk to me about what he looks for in
a candidate to help him hire the right person for the job. He claims that “In talent management,
when you interview and define where people could fit within a company, some things that I look
for are candidate attitudes, why they left prior employers, and why they want to work with your
company. It’s not an exact science, but it offers a lot of perspective when making a decision for
top talent.” (Taggart). Another thing that Mr. Taggart brought up is that he looks for someone
that can function in a group setting and that can also handle group projects. He quotes,” I would
rather hire someone who not only can work independently, but that also has the capacity to work
well within a group setting.”(Taggart).
As a fellow student was peer reviewing my essay Spencer James Halford gave me some
insight on his life and those around him. Spencer tells me about his life and what education has
done for him. Spencer has worked in construction for the past 8 years and he says” I know just as
much as the next guy.” But because he doesn’t have a contractor’s license, Spencer has to inform
those that would like him to do work for them that he doesn’t have license, but the work would
be done right. Spencer also talks about his cousin and how he has his contractor’s license and yet
he stays inside working at a desk. He has never spent anytime outside in the field learning on the
job what he was taught in school. Spencer feels very passionate about the unfairness when
education is given the upper hand when Spencer can do everything in the trade but doesn’t have
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the degree yet! Spencer feels that it should be both education and on the job training before you
can get a contractor’s license.
Another story Spencer gave me was about his wife when in her job there was a position
that opened that required a Masters degree and she only had an Associate’s degree. However,
because there wasn’t anybody that the company could find that had a Master’s degree they gave
the position to Spencer’s wife. They continue to threaten her and tell her she needs a Master’s
degree for the position but yet a year later she still has the job and is doing really well in it also.
These three examples all talk about how on the job training has its benefits over an
education and why they feel this way. It makes me think how someone may have all the
experience needed for a job and yet they will not get it because they do not have a piece of paper
stating that they have the “knowhow” behind it.
So with education and on the job training being a very deep conversation with research
that can go into more depth, I want my readers understand what it is like in the workforce when
you have both as the graph below depicts:
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Some interesting facts for you to consider are people like Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple. He
dropped out of college and never had a degree and yet look how far he went and look what his
company does for us today! Another example is Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft. You would have
a really hard time writing a paper these days without Bill Gates development to help us improve
ourselves daily.
So this leads me into my third and final question and that is why can’t there be equal
ground between Education vs. On the Job Training?
In the article (The Great Debate – Education vs. Experience), it gives great insight on
this matter. It analyzes which is better, Education or Experience? The best answer is that it’s not
education or experience. The best answer is education AND experience. They go hand in hand
and are a complete package. This combination shows employers that you have the needed skills
that you learned in school to handle the work load that may be important to understand and
achieve but also the work experience gives the employer the knowledge that you have had these
kinds of problems before, and can make the correct choices because of it. Furthermore, it gives
them a higher chance at getting the job because of it; they are equally balanced to help the
company progress.
What I take away from this research is that I feel this article puts real perspective on the
subject of Education vs. Work Experience. I have always struggled with why we can’t have one
or the other. As I have done my research getting different opinions and viewpoints from many
different sources, it shows me that those who are working and getting an education at the same
time are benefitting from it. This is a great answer to my question as I personally progress with
my everyday challenges in the business world. It reassures me that I must continue working and
going to school so that I can have the education coupled with the work experience to help my
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career progress. Having this background, a future employer can see not only that I have an
education but I also have the work experience to back it up and that I’m not just some college
graduate that knows everything or that I’m an experienced worker that doesn’t understand why
education is so important.
When I first started researching for this project I feel that I definitely was a little one
sided. I sat on that side being assuming on the job training had a step above an education. But
after taking the time and researching my questions, I’ve come to find it more than just a matter of
one’s opinion and there is always more to the story than one might think. I now conclude that
you need BOTH education and on the job training to progress and receive the maximum benefit
in a career.
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Work citied

Sanjana Uthappa N; why is Education So Important in Today's Society? Ads by Google;
Published: June 14, 2010, Web

Sanderson, Tana. “The Great Debate – Education vs. Experience.” 2 March 2011. Web 29
October 2012

Mueller, Annie. “Work Experience Vs. Education: Which Lands You The Best Job?”
Investopedia. 17 May 2011. Web 12 November, 2012

Ha, John.” Education vs. experience: The debate.” Reliableplant. 1 March 2008. Web 29
October 2012.

Sanderson, Tana. “The Great Debate – Education vs. Experience.” 2 March 2011. Web 29
October 2012

Yeaple, Ronald. “Is On-the-Job Training Better than an MBA?” 18 June 2012. Web. 29 October
2012

Taggart, Tracy. Personal Interview 2012
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Spencer Harold. Personal Interview 2012