Many years ago, back during my debating days in high school, I remembered one common topic frequently chosen by the teachers for debates. it was the question of which is more important, experience or qualification? now personally I would say that neither is more important than the other because both pretty much depend on one another but then again, as a former debater I also know that different ppl have different views and opinions regarding the same matter. some of them are actually interesting too.
for one, some ppl I know seem to feel that qualification is overrated and this is perfectly understandable. and why? in today’s world, a person’s knowledge & skills abt the many things in life is measured solely based on his/her qualifications. not to say that a person’s experience is unimportant or should be overlooked, but qualification has always been regarded highly or more important than experience esp during job interviews. how true is this claim? well isn’t it obvious that when you’re looking for jobs ppl expect you to have some kind of academic qualification first? what is your academic background? how far did you go? which university did you graduate from? only when the necessary requirements are met(in other words, you have the needed qualifications) only then would ppl bother to ask if you have any experiences, particularly work experience which would be an added bonus to your resumé. so if qualification seems all important, what about experience? doesn’t it count as sth in life too?
I remembered this one time when I watched a debate on the same topic in a national level competition among all residential schools 4 years ago. there was this girl I knew, a former teammate in a mock debate competition at IIU the year before, and she was proposing the idea that experience has more value than qualification in achieving success in life. one of her arguments was that experience helps us overcome the many miseries in life or sth to that effect, and the one example she gave was ‘love’. she contends that through experience, one learns how to deal and overcome the many hardships of love and relationships, becoming wiser and perhaps bolder with each passing challenge and eventually achieving happiness in life. and so, she believes (or at least she seems to truly believe) that experience is much more important compared to qualification since experience helps us gain happiness, altogether suggesting that experience alone is vital for success in life. now frankly speaking, I have an utmost respect for this girl for who she is but after hearing everything she said, I couldn’t help but laugh by myself at what has got to be one of the most ridiculous and intelligence-insulting pile of bullshit I have ever heard in my entire life.
to a certain degree she was right. sure, experience does help us in the process of seeking happiness. her example on love? quite true actually. but I really have to disagree when she implied that experience is more important based on the example that qualification has no part in love. I’m actually guessing that she, and maybe most ppl who feel that experience has more significant value, have a misconception of what qualification is truly all abt, hence why they would come to such a conclusion. is qualification really abt having degrees, certificates or documented proofs of excellence? the answer is simply NO.
having a qualification was never abt having a degree/masters or a phd from a famous university or what not, it was never abt having a license that permits you to do things like driving (hey, you hafta admit that a driver’s license IS a form of qualification, no?) and it was never abt having certs, documents, papers which states that you are qualified to do certain tasks. it was all abt “preparedness”. yep, that’s right. the fundamental idea behind the concept of qualification was to make a person meet certain criteria, specific conditions that must be achieved so that he/she is ‘considerably prepared’ to undertake a certain task. in life, everything that you do requires at least a certain amount of preparedness from yourself. say if you wanted to become a surgeon, and you’re expected to perform a surgery on a patient, so what does it takes to make you ‘prepared’ for that job? you need knowledge & skills of course. and this is obtained by earning them at educational institutions, acquiring a degree as a proof to everyone that you have what it takes to become a surgeon. you have the extensive medical knowledge, the skills and the abilities that would make you prepared in the operation theatre and perhaps provide a certain amount of guarantee that your attempts will not end in failure. all of these for the sake of having a sense of self-preparedness in what you do.
some ppl might argue, who is to determine whether a person is prepared or not to do a specific job? well I say that depends on the task in question. you can’t expect other ppl to easily trust you to perform surgery on them just because you ‘think’ you’re prepared. you need to convince them, hence why complicated jobs like surgery requires a proper form of verification to show that you truly have the necessary skills to conduct one. however, certain things in life on the other hand demand different requirements as a form of ‘qualification’. it requires you, yourself to be the judge whether you have met the qualifications or not. let’s take having children for instance. you think a person doesn’t need any form of qualification to have kids? WRONG. based on the concept itself, having qualifications is abt having certain requirements for the purpose of preparedness. and the desire to have children DOES demand certain conditions that must at least be met before you start chugging out your sperms. what are they? well for one, as a future-parent, you should be a responsible person, someone who is willing to deal with his/her children in all possible situations regardless of whatever happens.
ever wondered what’s so wrong abt teenage pregnancies? lack of preparedness I say. well, not in every single case of course. but when you’re a teen and you give birth, and then you eventually end up dumping the poor baby somewhere in a toilet or a dumpster, you’re definitely not qualified to be a mother. sure, you can argue that the requirements for things like becoming a parent is way too subjective, but the main point here is whether you’re prepared or not. a person who is ready to be a parent might still have difficulties raising the child, but if he/she thinks that he/she has the guts, that he/she can be responsible enough to have another soul brought into this world, at least he/she can be considered having a certain amount of qualification to do so.
now back to the girl’s argument on love. being the skeptic of the works of Cupid that I am, I have always questioned the validity to as why ppl would fall in love. you develop an attachment to someone, and then shit happens and you break up. you also end up becoming some bitter pussy who might or might not handle the aftermath of the relationship easily. so what’s the point in that? it makes me want to believe that you need some kind of ‘qualification’ to fall in love too. no I’m not talking abt having degrees like performing surgery, but more along the lines of having the sense of responsibility first, like my example on having a child. sounds stupid? not at all. if you claim to wanting to form a commitment so badly, you should at least know whether you’re up to it. this is to say that if you probably can’t maintain a relationship or handle a break up, then just don’t succumb to the temptation of Cupid’s arrow in the first place. I’m not saying you should forever lead a life of celibacy, but until you know you’re ready, or at least you ‘think’ you’re quite ready, that you are prepared to face the consequences of a relationship, don’t ever fall in love. simple as that.
there was this one other guy who told me that a person’s qualification can always be fabricated, hence why experience is always superior. now this guy was someone who I respected but I disliked a bit and this was probably because he was always trying to pick an argument with me anytime he can. the guy’s a great thinker but sometimes he can be such an ass because he always tries to make a fool out of me when we argue. I guess my reputation as the guy who never quits at verbal fights does have its own drawbacks. anyway, he argues that ppl actually make forged copies of documents, degrees and diplomas. some of them can even be bought easily. in other words, he is implying that the value of qualification is “cheap” since it can always be bought or obtained through illegal means. I thought abt what he said for awhile, and it was quite true. but then I simply smiled and responded,”well, doesn’t that show you how qualification is so important that ppl are even willing to do any form of illegal means to obtain one?”. I sure served him a plate full of his ass with all the trimmings back then. I mean how could you possibly say that experience is greater than qualification when both are actually of equal significance in our lives?
maybe it’s just me. I really don’t care if ppl would think otherwise but I can never believe that a person’s experience should be valued more highly than his qualification and vice versa. maybe the reason I’m still single is because I feel that I ‘lack’ the qualifications to be in a relationship. who knows?…by the time I win my bet to remain solo till 28, I might think that I’m ready enough for such a thing. maybe I needed the time to understand more what love is all about. maybe I need to learn more abt members of the opposite sex. until then, only time will tell……
