Education vs. Experience

Before class, I was talking with Lina about work vs MBA/graduate school.  It seems almost as though it is one or the other.  Here are the options:

• Work in a job that will further your career and be a hands-on learning experience
• Go to school full time and get your MBA by the time you’re 25
• Do both – Work FT, then take a night class here and there and get your MBA by the time you’re 32

Why do we go to school?  To get a better job!  What happens if you have “the job” though?  So we started talking about Education vs Experience, and which is more valuable to a potential new employer.  Hands down, I think experience with suitable educational background is most valuable.  So do you quit your job to get your MBA, when everyone else who is getting their MBA wants your job?  It’s a toughy.  School is priority.  School comes first.  But if you have the opportunity to have a job due to prior education and work experience background, ISN’T THAT THE POINT??  Isn’t the end result supposed to be A JOB?  So if we’re satisfied with our current job, why do we kill ourselves to continue to go to school to get an education to land the job we already have?

Then Lina brings up a good point:

If everyone is getting their MBA due to a lack of job availability right now, isn’t the new standard going to be “Masters Degree” instead of “Bachelor’s Degree” ??  THEN where does experience play a role… I have years of experience and no Masters, whereas someone else may have a Masters with zero years of experience.

It’s a wonderful debate, and at the end of our conversation I don’t think either of us left with a “right” answer, or even an answer that made most sense.  We just danced in circles around the topic for a half an hour with no ending conclusion.

Okay, the end.