work experience vs. post graduate studies

Philippines
May 5, 2009 7:14am CST
Being a high school teacher, I came through the pressure of taking masteral studies to jack up my "professional growth." And so I tried getting a few units from my spare time which I gave up after one semester due to a lot of conflicts. The demands of the school in terms of requirements affected my performance in teaching my students. My students are far more important, so I have to give way to my job first before my personal development. Funny though is the fact that most of things that I learned from my graduate school experience is not applicable to what I teach in high school. The fact that the preparedness of students are put into question, they simply cant understand post graduate knowledge at this time, considering their age. They are trained for the rigors of tertiary level or college. I guess the course that I finished is more than enough to do it. Though I dont have anything against the idea of learning more, should post graduate studies be the basis in professional ranking? I have seen a lot of young professionals, complete with MA or MS degrees, taking top positions in a company and replacing those who havent taken such programs despite having vast experiences in running their respective posts. Though they lack the extra letters after their surnames (MA, Ph.D), their contributions to the company will always remain immeasurable, helping it to become established and recognized. When should post graduate studies be included in considering personnel for the top post? Should it weigh more than the experience a worker has?
1 response
mylesnarvaez
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
5 May 09
unfortunately my dear, a great many institutions still are from the old school belief that the higher educational attainment you have, the better you will be with your job. that isn't always the case though. i used to have an american boss who was so good at her job that she has been a candidate for a higher position in the company but was passed on in favor of somebody else. the main issue against hers was that she was a highschool graduate, the other one has a doctorate degree. fortunately, she has moved on to an EEO company giving equal opportunities for whatever gender, race, nationality and educational attainment one has. and now she's doing great in her senior position. i too, don't have anything against the pursuit of higher education. i believe one must continue to learn and apply what they have learned and share this knowledge to others. but sometimes, higher education is being used as the step ladder for getting top positions even as a newbie. it is highly over-rated. honestly, they are so much better on paper than hands-on, at least most of the ones that i know of (pardon me if i offend anyone). and i actually admire companies who invest on their personnel for their employee's personal and professional development... sending their own employees to gain a master's degree or higher level of education. experience enhanced by higher education can be a powerful tool. i believe in equal opportunity. one must prove himself worthy of the position, with or without the post graduate diploma.