Does a person’s level of education guarantee professional success? Should you align professionally with degree holders?
I recently had a discussion with a person that really got me thinking. Her perception was that someone with an MBA is undoubtedly intelligent and certainly someone to align with professionally. She contended that the more education a person receives, the more successful they are professionally. She dismissed colleagues with little or no credentials as incompetent and less knowledgeable.
This began a discussion around the connection between intelligence and education. I argued that the there are many people on the planet that are uneducated and very successful and that street smarts, life lessons and experience can account for wisdom beyond that gained in an academic environment.
From a combined list of 714 famous high school drop outs, 25 are billionaires, 8 are US Presidents, 10 are Nobel Prize winners, 8 are Olympic medalists, 61 are Oscar winners, 55 are best selling authors and 27 have been knighted, among other honours. (Source: Noted High School and Elementary School Dropouts )
Being a university instructor, I value education. But I also value practical experience. There is no teacher like experience. Innovative thinking does not require a degree.
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Barriers to Career Goal Attainment
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