Educational Background or Work Experience

As with so many things, it depends on many different things - the person, the company, the interviewer and how many others have applied.

Good to know your positive thoughts. Yes educational background is foremost priority but you can't work without experience.

I can understand up to a point, and with certain jobs requiring certain qualifications. But for a lot of things, I've never really understood why I need to tell a company about GCSE results I got 20 years ago. I wouldn't mind but they mostly ignore them anyway. I used to have a problem of not having work experience, then it was that I didn't have certain qualifications, then I got the right qualifications but needed a different one. I've worked in childcare for most of my working life but can't get a better/permanent job because I don't have the next level qualification (even though it is not really any different from or any better than the level I have).

Who knows! I have been asking myself this question for years - do employers WANT education or do they mainly want EXPERIENCE? I am leaning toward a mixture of both. Many jobs require a bachelor's degree but don't seem to care what field it's in - but then agian, most jobs also require a lot of related experience. It certainly makes it tough for those of us college students who don't have experience in our desired fields. Grrr!

I prefer working experience and skill rather than qualification.

Each case is unique. My daughter was turned down for a job because she did not have the qualifications or the educational requirements, the person who recommended her knew she was capable. The company hired someone qualified who was terminated in six months. My daughter was hired and was the top sales manager within a year.

I had the same experience.I'm applying for a major career shift turns out im not qualified then i better stick the course i had graduated to.

I think at the beginning they may really be focused so much on your educational background but after having experiences wherein you have already proven that you know how to do your thing then I guess it's all that you need. Goodluck my friend happy mylotting!

it seems that working experience made up of very successful people like Steven Job, and you are asking a question of all time why they require education paper, the truth that never reveals is people who are building system need a good team, and nobody likes to see a bad team to work for them, those who hire people (boss, no matter he has a great educational background or not doesnt matter) but this is from a deep human's mind of education (certificate and stuff). Becuz they feel spending 4 or 5 years, learning so hard to get a college degree, if they quit the job, then feeling lost, ashamed or nowhere to be found, but at least in a company or an organization, you are right there and has a potential to have a defined to compete with. This is is how the boss will definitely love to employ people with high education background since they are not gonna leave the job which will make a great teamwork. But more in the future the online work will replace some part of the office work since everything can be outsourcing, then that time the real experience and working skills needed not anymore the papers. Actually, i got the papers of my chinese, English, whatsoever, gone, just this Asian country is full living out of fake fame

i like this discussion! educational background should never be discounted even if you are experienced in an industry. some employers might found a suitable position for you not based on your work experience but based on your education especially if you're a college graduate.