Education versus Experience

Okay, apologies, but it’s a soapbox kind of day today instead of a comic kind of day.  

When did theory begin to outweigh practice?  I am talking about job qualifications that require a college degree but ignore experience.  Don’t get me wrong, as the proud holder of a bachelor’s degree, I completely understand the importance of education.  However, being a woman of a certain age, I also hold experience in high value.  

Captain chose to fore-go college after high school because he wanted to farm.  Keep in mind that at that time, agriculture wasn’t the high tech industry that it is now.  All that was needed was a strong work ethic, dedication, and—hey, get this—some experience.  He performed all the duties of a herdsman in his dad’s dairy operation plus was assistant shop mechanic, veterinary assistant, and general farmhand for 20 years.  

Then life intervened and changed things.  Circumstances forced his dad to retire from farming, and Captain was in the market for a new job.  While scouring the classifieds in the local paper, there was a help wanted ad for a herdsman at a large dairy in a neighboring town that sounded good, so Captain called to find out more details.  

The first question the owner/operator asked was “Do you have a degree in dairy science or livestock production?”  When Captain said no, he was told to not bother applying.  The owner/operator didn’t even give him a chance to explain that he had the equivalent of a Ph.D. from the School of Hard Knocks, which is often a more demanding curriculum than anything offered at the iviest of Ivy League schools.  

Captain is nothing if not determined.  He decided, with my full support, that if he couldn’t find a job as someone else’s herdsman/crop foreman, he would just start his own operation.  It was many long, tedious, and often frustrating months later when we were able to buy out his dad’s operation.  This year, 2015, marks the tenth crop season with Captain at the helm.  

Since one man can’t do it all, Captain hires seasonal help in the spring and the fall.  We have been blessed to have a wonderful young man helping us all these years.  Sparky was Young Man’s best friend in high school--still is, actually--and spent much time here.  After he graduated high school and got his CDL--but hadn’t yet found a full-time trucking job--he drove semi for Captain in the fall.  Even now after he has worked for Pepsi for six years, he still comes and helps during his off time.  I really don’t know what we would do without Sparky around to help.  

Did Captain ask Sparky for a college degree?  Hell, no!  His main question was:  Will you come on time every day and stay until we are done for the day?  The answer was yes, so he was hired.  We have never regretted it.  

Education is never to be scoffed at, but I would much rather have some working for me who has actually done the stuff than someone who has just read about doing the stuff and thinks they know what they are doing.  Experience is just as vital as education.  

There have been several news articles or clips on TV about shortages in most of the job categories classified as “blue collar.”  Those are the jobs that require--if anything--2 years of school versus 4 years, and there is a lot of hands-on, practical training that is required.  Jobs like welders, truck drivers, plumbers, mechanics, and electricians.  

At a time when our community was fighting to keep the vocational education program from being cut from the high school curriculum and we were meeting resistance from some influential people, the superintendent said “I don’t know how to fix a toilet, so I want to know there is someone out there who does.”  Finally...someone with some common sense!

I just saw a clip on KTTC the other day about Rochester and the state leadership wanting to keep the “talented” people working in Rochester.  The implication was that these would be associated with health care or technology.  My question is...aren’t we all talented at something?  

Take restaurant servers.  I have met some truly awful servers, and I have met some servers who are unparallelled.  Or how about cab drivers?  It’s the talented ones who can not only get you to your destination in a safe and timely fashion but provide you with entertaining conversation during the ride.  Or we could talk about the Fed Ex or UPS delivery person.  Let me tell you, if I order something, I am glad to know that there is someone out there who can get the package to me with no muss and no fuss.  

Or teachers.  Let’s talk teachers for a minute.  This is a job that there is no way I could do because it takes an extremely special personality to teach children.  They put in many hours above and beyond their regularly scheduled classroom time and often spend their own money for supplies.  They are the ones that we depend on to raise the next generation of “talented” people, whether that is the world’s greatest neurosurgeon or your friendly neighborhood business owner.  Kudos, teachers!

Theory and education are vital and important, no question about it.  However, the laborers of the world deserve recognition as well for rolling up their sleeves and doing the stuff that some of the smartest people we know don’t know how to do.