TheParagon-Education

And a ‘Note to Oneself’:
Spending a lifetime of collecting paper, (qualifications) one can reach ‘a’ conclusion, ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’! (This old adage, that many will ignore, has allowed me to appreciate those that have gone before me…yes! I took notice of this at an early age and it has given me an insight to listen more to my elders carefully, well, in retrospect, it was rammed down my throat by my elders at a very early age). Even though I can consider, it is probably too late for me now especially; if I was to start out again, (as I am closer to retirement now), one gets wiser with age, or so I am told, (I knew there was a reason for Alzheimer’s, it is the minds way of making a ‘Will’, the difference from a normal will is that no-one else can have it)! If one is fortunate enough to have foresight in one’s youth, (rare) our elders’ words can be very valuable; as if like gold dust… so those of a younger age, bear that in mind, as you will join this club one day…

Qualifications only suggests to an employer, one can work to certain specific levels and one is not an expert by any means. Even though as a young person, leaving college or university may think they are the answer to ‘God and the Universe and are indestructible and of course, know it all! Ask yourself, how on earth have you come to that conclusion? You should take a step back, reflect to see how absurd that thought process is; Or is this just wishful thinking? Reality check:

It can take a lifetime of experiences to become proficient in only one small aspect of a chosen profession and these professions can change throughout ones career many times over, through unexpected turns of events and/or changes within technology. One needs to be multifaceted to get ‘the best crack of the whip’; this does not make things easier; hence expanding on one’s self-development with this leading to more qualifications or pieces of paper, (hence the collection over time). One also needs to choose the right topic, subjects of study, to mainly reach a professional and/or academic level and be working towards a number of personal goals, as to know when to be ready to grasp the opportunities if and when they arise.

Within this day and age, becoming an ‘expert or a person in business terms, is someone that is ‘less’ expendable’! Unfortunately; this vision is becoming less feasible into today’s society, especially when we have clowns running the show, hence employers expecting one to sell their soul, to the point of squeezing all the essence of one’s life first, only before having to let you go because, you have served your purpose and you have nothing else to offer. (Within today’s economic climate this can help with the employers cashflow, and it is a competitive employment market, failing that they can always employ a foreigner at a lower pay rate…). An employer can choose if they want you to remain on the payroll or not. The employer will expect also, any other speciality or qualification that could be seen as being useful to them, let’s say useful in terms of e.g., being prestigious to the company image and they will also expect you to come at the same price or salary as terms of employment so, one should not show all their cards in one hand straight away, only those cards relevant to the job one has applied – any other speciality allows one to negotiate during a contract renewal or for pay rises, as and when specialities are required by the employer. Negotiation ‘wiggle’ room when discussing contracts of employment is an edge, remembering if the employer has all the facts beforehand, they will own you. So; one should leave a little mystery in one’s personal employment background as appertaining to ‘all’ qualifications, otherwise an employer can be difficult and be unforgiving to the success of any positive personal outcomes. This can be a double-edged sword however; as with some jobs there may be a requirement for full qualification disclosure depending on the profession.

It can be a minefield out there to have the correct skills and to be given the positive recognition of one’s true value, it should read as an identical page, (except for those pages one wishes to keep in reserve of course, a little like double ledger or accounting) … if there is a mismatch it can prove unfavourable to YOU! This is where one can tap into one’s reserves to add just an appropriate amount of honey to keep one’s potential employer on their toes and they will have to reconsider your worth, remembering it may just be pieces of paper, however; one has also placed many hours into study and possibly learnt something enough to pick the appropriate subjects and this means one has met the required standards and the expectations of an examining board including one’s peers. One should also bear in mind; this does not suggest; that the employer can buy you cheaply. There are other points to also consider and that is whether you have correctly identified the right study syllabus, as they do go out of vogue, trend or fashion so quickly to how they normally arrive. e.g. (Media Studies, Health & Social Care or Tourism, the government’s ‘wriggle’ room subjects does spring to mind, correctly or incorrectly) – nothing against these topic areas, or the attributes required to fulfil the roles, appertaining to them; as they can be considered somewhat valuable to those that pursue them and of course the identified professions in question, (note: regardless of the qualifications they can also give an employer the prestige they require within the industry and this can be the bargaining chip needed, (I too, can boast I have completed a selection of the latter mentioned qualifications, I did manage to spare some time to pursue one or two listed and they can look impressive as an addition or padding to one’s toolbox or CV).

I digress; I will repeat, one does need to update one’s knowledge on a daily basis; as technology improves or changes daily according to company needs or requirement, usually at the faster pace than we can digest them. We can all develop our skills; we do need to hone them through practice and this becomes the backbone of experience. Someone being ‘proficient’ is to combine one’s learning, with ‘experience’ as to really understand the intricacies on how certain elements fits into to the company, their ‘Mission,’ as well as to anticipate the required expectations into fulfilling the job objectives and goals. On the whole, to make sense of the information for practical applications. Also; to appreciate what has NOT been taught, this can be a large learning curve, mainly through trial and error on a practical level, day to day applications within the occupation(s), this experience is considered as very IMPORTANT as errors can cost a company financially, but can prove very beneficial to the employee, bearing in mind possible penalties incurred.

There is another aspect to consider when learning and this is recalling information, for me at least; this can be a ‘Achilles heel', an ideal scenario is to have a photographic memory and information to be placed in certain pigeon holes ready for instant recall, combined with the ability to make the occupation less stressful. This can be a stretch to the imagination and for most of us, like me, a photographic memory is just not there, it remains an ideal scenario and I know it will never happen for me my lifetime, unless I am implanted with some form of advanced technology, (AI) it could be possible with the speed of our daily advancements at a great cost, who knows what the future will bring?

So, what are we saying here? GSCEs, A’ Levels, Degrees are fine, if one wishes to attain and acknowledge one’s level of study, and does that put ‘the bread on the table’? I ask; will you be able to recall the information when you need it? From my personal experience, the answer is a big NO! What does spring to mind though is: “If you have it, you don’t use it, you lose it!”