Which is more valuable, educational background or work experience?

Both a high level of education and experience are important and essential. What I want to say is that after graduating from undergraduate studies, one must face reality; if one pursues further education not because of a genuine interest in it, but to avoid the difficulties associated with finding a job, then it’s certain that one won’t be able to excel in academic pursuits. The attitude I like is to enter the workplace right after graduating from undergraduate studies and gain practical experience; only after having some experience and interests can one then pursue academic research, which might be more targeted. However, there are also such cases: after completing undergraduate studies, one pursues a master’s degree to avoid job-seeking difficulties, then a doctorate, and after that becomes a mere shell of a person. Of course, there are also cases where the intentions were not pure, yet the results were good. More often, they forget about knowledge and become people engaged in political games. After graduating from undergraduate studies and entering the workplace, I had originally wanted to pursue academic research, but due to work commitments, family responsibilities, and other factors, I was unable to do so. There’s no need to regret such a situation. Let’s see if you can hold on.

I think that if there’s no particular purpose, it’s better to get a job in its current form for now

I think ability is the most important! Whether you want a degree or work experience, ultimately isn’t it all about making more money? What does one rely on to make money? Ability! Only by generating profits for the company can an individual’s salary increase. In this regard, state-owned enterprises, foreign-funded enterprises, and private enterprises are all the same; the difference is that state-owned enterprises sometimes have more political factors at play. However, being able to make a name for oneself in a state-owned enterprise is also a sign of competence ； In foreign companies and private enterprises, it goes without saying that you are paid based on the amount of work you do. So whether you have a high level of education or just some work experience, you need to put in effort; there’s no absolute good or bad in either case. The difference lies in whether you prefer to deal with people or to focus on academic work – follow your interests, and that’s the right approach

Indeed, different people have different views

Under the current circumstances, ability is what matters most. Perhaps at first, leaders will take your educational background into consideration to some extent, but as time goes by, it is your abilities that are more important. Work experience then plays a certain role; it’s up to the person in question to decide what to prioritize.

Well, it can’t be said solely based on employment status or educational attainment. Otherwise, if you start working before finishing elementary school and can’t even do basic calculations, it will definitely be difficult to do anything. In fact, educational attainment merely indicates the level of education one has received; in other words, a diploma proves that one has received education there. But having received education doesn’t mean one possesses talent or abilities. I advocate for learning without being rigid – that is, when studying, one must think critically and flexibly, rather than being inflexible. One shouldn’t let education make one’s thinking mechanical. What’s truly important in learning isn’t just how much knowledge one masters, but what one gains from the learning process, as well as whether there are improvements in aspects such as one’s temperament, personal charm, problem-solving skills, learning ability, and ideological understanding. Only those who learn in this way can play a positive role in their future development. As for employment, it certainly helps to gain practical experience; every company wants experienced workers. However, while experienced workers are easy to find, they can’t be considered true talents. True talents are those who are educated and capable, who may lack experience but have strong learning abilities, active thinking, and great potential for growth, allowing them to catch up with others quickly. In my opinion, having a diploma doesn’t mean much; only those with capabilities are truly valuable. Those with experience and capabilities come first, followed by those with capabilities but no experience, and then those with experience only

Education is an advantage in competing for positions in a company, but having no work experience isn’t acceptable either!

A higher educational background generally means a higher starting point; more work experience makes it easier to find a job, but this doesn’t necessarily mean a higher starting point. They are all reflections of an individual’s abilities; who can really clarify the actual situation?

A college degree isn’t useless, but having an excessively high level of education isn’t necessarily advantageous either. For example, once you graduate, you end up working in companies; even if you obtain a doctorate, job prospects for doctors these days aren’t very good. All those years are wasted, while your classmates who only have a bachelor’s degree have accumulated plenty of experience during that time, and by the time you start working, they are already on their way to becoming managers. Doctor, how many years will it take you to catch up with A? But that’s different if you are engaged in research.

This argument has always existed; it can be said that after obtaining a certain level of education, work experience is more valuable than further studies. However, a higher level of education may allow one to make up for any gap in work experience in a short time. So, if you are looking for a job for the first time, those with a higher education level have an advantage. If you have already been working for some time, then you have an advantage over those who only have a higher education level. After working together for a while, those with stronger skills have an edge when it comes to getting promoted

In the future petrochemical industry, generally speaking, a truly outstanding person must first have a high level of education (at least a bachelor’s degree or higher); this is a necessary condition, as otherwise it would be impossible for them to enter any organization in this field. It is a sufficient condition for someone to be very skilled just because they have a lot of experience; after all, only with sufficient experience can one be skilled. Therefore, educational qualification is a necessary condition, a threshold that must be overcome in order to enter a particular field. A higher level of education is preferable for research-oriented work; for example, in industrial design. For applied fields, an associate degree or higher is sufficient, such as in project management, contract management, schedule control, cost management, and quality control. Experience is a sufficient condition; only with experience can one progress to a higher level.

Of course, it’s work experience; most organizations are like that! When recruiting, they mostly only look at work experience.

Education: actually, a degree merely indicates the education one has received in school. Society itself is also a kind of school where one can learn things as well. Therefore, both are very important – just like eating and sleeping; neither can be neglected.

If you meet the employer’s minimum educational requirements, then experience is certainly valuable; but if you don’t meet those minimum requirements, there’s nothing to discuss. In fact, there’s no easy way around it – whether it’s education or experience, you won’t obtain them without putting in effort. Don’t think that if you’re not good at exams, you can make up for it with experience. To be honest, studying in China is so easy; if you don’t have a degree, it only means that either you didn’t work hard enough or you have low intelligence. What experience do you think such a person could have? So in reality, the talent’s education background and experience are both excellent. Those who talk a lot about the uselessness of academic qualifications and advocate experience over knowledge are usually people who aren’t good at studying or performing well at work, and they use that as self-comfort.

Before entering the workplace, both are considered, but experience is the key factor; after starting work, educational background becomes important, as it relates to promotions

To be honest, I think educational background is absolutely important now; I won’t say anything else – you can think about it on your own

Short-term work experience is more important, while long-term educational background is also significant; having experience at that time is crucial. But 10 years later, when everyone has experience, then the level of education becomes important

There is no definite answer to whether education or work experience is more important; different situations yield different results. In today’s social context, pursuing a degree merely for the purpose of finding a job is, in my opinion, a foolish decision. Nowadays, graduates with master’s degrees are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their qualifications, as the expansion in enrollment has significantly reduced the value of such degrees! Having the opportunity to work and gain practical experience is a great asset; many organizations hire undergraduates, but they don’t even consider candidates with master’s or doctoral degrees! In fact, I think one learns much more at work than in school. Some companies only hire those with work experience; I think this is the best answer to why.