Many students today don’t realize the benefits that come from having experience with both a career and formal education. While both are standalone pursuits that would promote a person’s knowledge and ability to perform his or her job, having a combination of the two makes for a competitive member of the workforce that businesses will look to hire.
For some positions a formal education is a must have. There is no way around it. The information provided in classes, labs, and study groups are necessary to complete the tasks and assignments that come with the job. Because of this it is important to take each part of the educational experience seriously. Even the classes that you don’t think will be of any assistance, pay attention and take it all in. Once day the knowledge will come back to you and might be critical to your overall job performance.
Career experience is another way to gain credibility on a job interview. Companies don’t just want book learning. They want a person that knows what they are talking about; a person that has participated in the field in some way shape or form and knows something about the day to day flow of the workplace. In this case, taking on internships or low paying jobs to gain experience is a helpful way to learn outside of a textbook and classroom.
With the combination of these two modes of learning you can really set yourself ahead of some of the competition at the next job interview. If you have the education, you have the basic knowledge to be successful. If you have the experience, you can get started right away and begin work.