Education or Experience: Which Will Get You Farther?

About 30 years ago, a person could go pretty far without anything more than a high school education. An intelligent, dedicated worker could get an entry-level position and work themselves up the corporate ladder. Promotion consideration was based as much on merit as education. Of course, the top ranks were still almost exclusively reserved for those with a sheepskin, but that did preclude the occasional star performer with a lesser education from reaching the top. Even without attaining executive-level positions, employees with modest educations still swelled the ranks of many businesses.

That was then, this is now. Employers have since exacted stricter standards in both their hiring and promotion processes. There are still plenty of entry level positions available to applicants without degrees, but more businesses than ever are edging their requirements higher than previous years. Jobs that once simply required aptitude and desire now require an Associates degree or better. Job seekers without a degree are finding it harder and harder to find gainful employment with any amount of upward mobility.

When it comes to promotions, employees with just a high-school education often find themselves shuffled to the bottom of the list, in favor of those with more education. Many human resource managers value education over experience when it comes to promotions, even to the detriment of business performance. Many of us have seen highly experienced workers passed up for promotion for those with much less experience but more formal education.

None of this is to say that folks without a degree aren't being hired or promoted. In fact, degree-holding individuals still represent the less than 20% of the workforce. This means that even if you don't have a degree, there's a fair chance your competition doesn't either, at least at the lower end of the spectrum. As one progresses through their career, education requirements ramp up as well, especially in larger businesses.