Why do credentials have so much emphasis?

[Synapse]

What's the difference between having credentials without experience and having experience without credentials?
What makes a Degree, Diploma, Certificate or Qualification important?
How does having a Degree, Diploma, Certificate or Qualification make you feel?
Why are they important in society? Why are they important to you?

What is a Qualification without experience, what is experience without a Qualification? What is Intelligence without Qualification, what is Qualification without intelligence?

I think in strange ways.

 

[rav3n]

Credentials without experience means you've purportedly received a wider and higher level of understanding in your field, with the dedication to persist to get the credentials. Experience without credentials means you've learned what works in the real world and have proven that you're capable of doing the job. Realistically, books smarts are meaningless unless they can be applied to the job with sufficient flexibility to adapt to the work environment. Experience is meaningless if you're trapped in a box of only one or few ways to do the job and/or are unable to adapt to new techniques and technology.

I have no feelings attached to my degrees. As at the time of acquisition, more relief that it was over and I could finally get out and apply them.

It appears to matter to others who provide income which means I get to eat, play and save for the future. So that's what matters to me.

As for the qualification and intelligence questions, it depends on how you define qualification and intelligence.

 

[Mole]

Knowledge Capital

What's the difference between having credentials without experience and having experience without credentials?
What makes a Degree, Diploma, Certificate or Qualification important?
How does having a Degree, Diploma, Certificate or Qualification make you feel?
Why are they important in society? Why are they important to you?

What is a Qualification without experience, what is experience without a Qualification? What is Intelligence without Qualification, what is Qualification without intelligence?

I think in strange ways.

We are lucky to live in a capitalist economy and so credentials are knowledge capital.

 

[highlander]

What's the difference between having credentials without experience and having experience without credentials?
What makes a Degree, Diploma, Certificate or Qualification important?
How does having a Degree, Diploma, Certificate or Qualification make you feel?
Why are they important in society? Why are they important to you?

What is a Qualification without experience, what is experience without a Qualification? What is Intelligence without Qualification, what is Qualification without intelligence?

I think in strange ways.

They are important from a perception standpoint. It depends on what credential we are talking about though. For example, if you are an accountant, it is important to be a CA or CPA. Doctors have far more rigorous requirements. In reality, I think what it means is you are smart enough and have the drive to pass a particular test or set of tests. It means you have gotten through a particular program and/or have some specific level of experience. It means you are focused enough to get a qualification in something. Credentials in my opinion are a bit overblown, and by the way, I have a number of them.

 

[sculpting]

In the biological sciences often a PhD isnt a sign that you are extremely intelligent...more that you have dedication and will work to the end of a project even if it is a very difficult one.

(I have a masters, as I am a PhD dropout after five years in grad school. hehehe, I wanted employment.)

Where I am now-in Marketing-many folks have an MBA. The diff between them and myself is that they have been exposed to a broad range of topics that I end up stumbling through and learning the hard way. Thus if you hire an MBA grad you can be certain they wont look askew at you, when you request a marketing plan be written.

So I guess-the degrees and certifications make sure that the person at least meets some minimum set of standards.

 

[Scott N Denver]

In the biological sciences often a PhD isnt a sign that you are extremely intelligent...more that you have dedication and will work to the end of a project even if it is a very difficult one.

(I have a masters, as I am a PhD dropout after five years in grad school. hehehe, I wanted employment.)

Where I am now-in Marketing-many folks have an MBA. The diff between them and myself is that they have been exposed to a broad range of topics that I end up stumbling through and learning the hard way. Thus if you hire an MBA grad you can be certain they wont look askew at you, when you request a marketing plan be written.

So I guess-the degrees and certifications make sure that the person at least meets some minimum set of standards.

Even in EE and physics I've beens trongly warned by PhD's that having a PhD doesn't mean one is smart. They said that, more than anythign else, it means you were stubborn enough to stick things ouit longer and put up with more BS to get there. I think it also means [at least for stuff where PhD => LOTS of time spent alone doing technical work in lab] that you REALLY enjoy, or at least can put up with, being alone. Personally, I feel like INT_'s are the only MBTI groups that would put up with that en masse.

 

[Such Irony]

They are important from a perception standpoint. It depends on what credential we are talking about though. For example, if you are an accountant, it is important to be a CA or CPA. Doctors have far more rigorous requirements. In reality, I think what it means is you are smart enough and have the drive to pass a particular test or set of tests. It means you have gotten through a particular program and/or have some specific level of experience. It means you are focused enough to get a qualification in something. Credentials in my opinion are a bit overblown, and by the way, I have a number of them.

Yes to this.

I think credentials are useful for showing that you have the discipline and the persistence to learn the information that is important for your field. On the other hand, sometimes there is just no substitute for hands-on experience. So the ideal situation would be someone with both credentials and experience. However, everyone's got to start somewhere in order to get experience. People who have just graduated with degrees who don't have alot of experience yet but have the intellectual potential should be given a chance in the workplace more often then they are.

On the other hand, school is expensive and time-consuming. What about the highly intelligent, self-motivated types who prefer to self teach themselves in certain fields of study who end up being just as competent and sometimes better than those who have the degree? I think, depending on the field, the self-learners should also be given more job opportunities. I know some computer geniuses who did just that. However, because they don't have the degree, they are more limited as to what they can do careerwise.

O

 

[William K]

Speaking from the IT field, I would think that a basic degree is a minimal requirement for certain jobs at the executive level. This would be the knowledge required to fulfill the tasks of that job.

And working in research, most of the time having a Masters or Ph D is more indicative that the individual is well-versed with the methodology of research, is able to write and publish his work, has the discipline, etc. The subject matter is often irrelevant in IT where technologies can go obsolete at such speeds.

There is also the matter of leading research teams. I don't know how things work over in the US, but over here it's very hard to get public research funding if the leader of the research team doesn't have a Ph D and loads of experience on top.

 

[mochajava]

What about education as a key piece of achieving the American dream? As a first generation US immigrant, my incredible education is the biggest asset I've got. An education is what enables you to "step off of a boat with $8 in your pocket" and own a house and send your kids to college. To me, education is incredibly important.

Also, in today's American economy, you basically need a college degree to do any work that will allow you to have options financially.

Obama has a great quote about education: "One of the luxuries of going to Harvard Law School is it means you can take risks in your life," Obama said recently. "You can try to do things to improve society and still land on your feet. That's what a Harvard education should buy-enough confidence and security to pursue your dreams and give something back."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2008/09/barack-obama-ha.html

 

[IZthe411]

They say a lot, but at the same time they don't say much.

For example: I'm a CPA. It says you are persistent and a hard worker to reach your goals, but you could also just be a good test taker as well. For Entry level, credentials mean a lot, but as you progress through your career, you need some of both experience and credentials.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Credentials are a way of proving yourself to people who don't really know jack about you. Once people really know what you are capable of then credentials don't matter as much.

 

[Falcon]

Credentials and degrees are important because they are a standardized and officially recognized way of measuring knowledge and competence. They provide a certain guarantee as to the level to be expected, and control access to certain professions.

Experience without credentials is an unstandardized way of measuring competence. There is no guarantee that there is a superior level of competence in a more experienced person than in a less experienced person (i.e. you may have worked for 10 years in a certain field, but spent half the time at the coffee machine, you worked with outdated methods, etc.).

 

[slowriot]

We are lucky to live in a capitalist economy and so credentials are knowledge capital.

yes.

plus once you have work experience in the field your degree is in, the less and less important the piece of paper with your grades on it is. Credentials change over time.

There's a bank here in denmark that uses tests in a very particular way when it comes to credentials/skills. They test people to see if what they are doing in the company is to their potential. So according to how you score you might go from working with bonds, stock and so on to working in wage administration or you could possibly reverse it. Its a way to find the real talent instead of just getting people that have the right degrees.