When hiring someone, what is more important, experience or a degree? Why?

Question

I agree that experience is key, but how do I convince a potential employer that my 9 yrs. experience (without having a degree) is worth considering? I'm finding that some companies in the state I'm moving to won't even consider hiring someone without a degree.

Answer 1

It's probably always what the candidate lacks that stands out the most. Many college grads with no experience are having a hard time finding a job because they don't have experience. Even if you have held down a few jobs, having specific related experience to the job you are applying for or with the specific programs you will be using (as opposed to similar programs with other companies) is a big deal as well. Unfortunately in certain career paths you get to the point where you might have a lot of experience, but not the degree they want. In technical areas or finance especially this will probably prevent you from moving past a certain point even if your experience dictates it.

Answer 2

You won't get your foot in certain doors without a degree. Getting a degree shows employers that you were able to show up more or less regularly in school, pass certain tests and learn new things. It makes you promotable within the organization, because you know more than just one narrow world of experience, and they can get your transcripts to see if you were an A, B, or C student. Your previous employers cannot "rate" you this way to future employers, so that's more of a blank slate than your transcript is.

Experience without a degree is fine if you want to do that one entry level job, or just one level up for the rest of your life.

Answer 3

I don't know how important a degree is, but I think experience is highly overrated. It may take a couple of minutes or a couple of years to learn a job, but after that it's just the same old same old and in a lot of cases experience on one job won't be worth much on another job.

Answer 4

Experience counts more in my book, but many companies do have hard-and-fast rules which require degrees for certain positions.

The older you are, the further away your degree (or lack of one) recedes into the misty past, and the less relevance it has to your current work life.

You could also mention your interest in returning to school and ask if the company has a tuition assistance program.

Good luck.

Answer 5

I would have to say experience. I just interviewed for a banking position which a bachelor degree was preferred and i have never been to college. I have worked a few years in customer service/sales and they said my interview went perfect and i got the job! I think alot of factors determine whether you will get the job. Your personlality and the impression you give when you speak to someone makes a world of difference. Hope this helps =)

Answer 6

I would have to go with experience. A degree doesn't teach you about the little things that go wrong in the real world. Experience teaches you how to handle them and how to anticipate things. That's just my opinion doesn't mean it is right.

Answer 7

Experience, hands down. You can go to school for years and learn nothing, hands on experience lets ME know that you know what you are doing.

Answer 8

Experience. You'd probably rather work with someone who already knows the deal than someone who is still getting to know.

Answer 9

Experience. The books can't train you for spontaneous situations that have never (or rarely) come up.

Answer 10

dependability, so I think the person's track record. If the person is smart enough to be taught, the first characteristic I would look for would be dependability. that seems to be the missing link these days