Wikipedia defines experience as a general concept that comprises "knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event." One with a lot of experience in a certain field knows a lot about that field and can be called an expert. An expert solves problems both effectively and efficiently. Experience therefore is a big part of expertise. It lies in the core of maturity.
Firsthand experience is good becuase of the opportunity to see how things actually work in a real circumstance. Some experience can even change one's perspective and thinking at a fundamental level, triggering a chain effect in his/her life. However, firsthand experience may be biased by personal interpretation. Besides, given the limited amount of time that can be devoted to experiencing, we can't simply rely on firsthand experience to grow our knowledge base. Although second-hand experience is not as intimate as firsthand experience, there can be more available to promote learning.
For the most part, experience is good. Obtaining firsthand business or work experience adds value to one's employability and can mean something positive in the eyes of the prospective employer. From the perspective of IR (increasing return) effect, it's advisable for a full time student to take the first step in accumulating work experience as soon as possible. On some occasions, however, we want to be careful not to be misguided by our past experience. Things, both internal and external, may have changed and require revision of your knowledge base. It's a good mental exerciese to develop of habit of reflecting on your exprience regarding something and evaluate with a fresh mind how valid those experiences really are. Thinking outside the box often is critical in innovation.
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3 comments:
Dr. Jih,
Experience is definitely a concern of mine when trying to land an IT job. I have not had much experience in the computer field, so earning an internship may even be hard for me to accomplish. The experience I do have is when I attended the Tennessee Technology Center at Shelbyville, a trade school. Most of the in class experience was with networking, hardware, and some software. Along with the experience, I gained a few certifications. The certifications included A+, Network + and MCP. Lately, I have heard these are not credible as once thaught. I hope I can someday obtain an internship, specifically one at ATA in Tullahoma, TN. What do you think?
Nathan
I agree that experience is very important! The jobs come so much easier with the more experience a person has. I think that in every field, if possible, students should have to do internships. They may have to here at MTSU, but at UTC (where I got my undergraduate degree) they did not. An internship would still not be a lot of experience but at least the student could say he or she had some experience. I think experience is a key to many of the nation's successful companies.
My blog address is katieh37334.blogspot.com.
I feel that experience is key in any field and I think that is why so many people change jobs every few years. As people move around to different jobs and positions, they gain valuable experiences that make them more "marketable." It used to be the norm for someone to stay with one company for many years and now it is common for people to switch jobs every 3 or 4 years. In the accounting field, it is very common for a practitioner to work in public accounting for several years and then move into private or corporate accounting.
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