What's in a credential?
Seems to me like there are a lot of people out there who are endlessly chasing credentials around, completing a long series of degrees, taking seemingly endless courses and continuing education, all for the purpose of adding a few more initials after their name.
Half the time, I feel like I'm drowning in credential soup!
At the same time, I have often found myself on the opposite side of the table... not being able to document that I actually knew what I was talking about because I lacked a series of initials after my name.
I suppose the real irony in that is that I have never actually used the credentials I do have, and I don't have the credentials I have often found myself needing!
But does it really matter?
What do credentials say?
I managed to get a very fine Bachelors degree in Finance — with "high honors," even — from one of the nation's major business schools, but it's a credential I've never actually used for anything. In fact, I don't think I've ever worked in a finance related position, or any position where a Finance degree might be an appropriate qualification.
The only time that degree has done me any good was once when applying for a contractor gig with an IT company where one of the requirements was to have a bachelors degree. And it wasn't a bachelors degree in Finance, it was just any bachelors degree. The job I was applying for actually related to writing in English!
In the general sense of the word though, mostly my life situation has been that I'm "undercredentialed" for a number of things I wanted to do, particularly in the self-development field.
What's really irritating ironic about that is that I have periodically found myself losing out on getting into an opportunity... to someone who was actually ill suited to do the job but had the proper on-paper credentials; thereby illustrating the ridiculousness of placing so much emphasis on educational merits rather than practice.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Denmarkguy works as a counselor, guide and therapist, Aside from her ministerial degree in Theology, she's not very highly credentialed. However, due to a massive body of successful field practice, many of her clients are actuually doctors of psychology and doctors of psychiatry, often attached to major hospitals. More evidence, I suppose, of the fact that it's more important — at least in the practical sense — whether you can actually do the job as opposed to whether you're "qualified" for the job.
Now, I'm not suggesting we throw people's educational credentials out the window... especially in the case of those who are freshly baked out of college. But if you're 50 years old, who cares what you did in high school and college?
Evidently, there are still those who do...
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of your week!
How about YOU? Do you have credentials? Have you had to USE them, to get jobs and to get ahead in life? Have you found them to be useful? Or do you think credentials are overemphasized? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 20220209 22:29 PST
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