Every year in Europe around 20 million people decide to go to the university. We study in order to get familiar with the subject that interests us and acquire compelling job with good salary. It's a common sense that the higher your degree is the better you should prosper since our society created this career ladder.
Unfortunately this is not happening in many cases, there are many obstacles on our way that have to be overcome. One I see coming up often is a long period of time when you have to study but you can't work at the same time. My good friend is getting her master degree as physiotherapist (you have to study for five years) yet she only work in profession for less then a year. In order to obtain even higher education she will have to study for another four years as well as write an article's and practise specified number of hours. To sum up she has to study for nine years and after that she will be able to gain experience. Of course you can work in the industry while studying to fasten the learning curve but it's even harder. I can see similar cases in other professions where you have to decide if you want to study and gain theoretical knowledge or work and build practical experience. Another problem I encounter quite often is fact that you have to start learning from the beginning after getting a job in some company. Sure you build a startup while studying but after becoming an employee you have to adjust to the workflow prevailing in corporation. This is another path that you have to follow in order to become better at the work you do. Interesting online scholarship start appearing few years ago. They are lead by top people from the industry. In my case game related, where you have an opportunity to learn from people who create world famous products. With this solution you might learn work flow of company that spark your interest as well as gain experience from people on top that can share their knowledge as your tutor's. In my opinion this is a game changing point because you can acquire specific know-how in relatively short period of time as well as potential life long support from successful people.
I enjoyed my studies and definitely learn a lot but I'm also aware of the fact that there is an inequality of learning curve that occurs when you clash job related tasks and tools with those used in universities as your guides.
1. Have you ever encountered similar issues related to education?
2. What do you think about online education?
3. Would you prefer to gain specific knowledge from your employer or study job-related material first?
Comments
1. Yes, and I’ve even written a big article about this in previous semester. You can read it here: https://konwersatorium1-ms-pjwstk.blogspot.com/2019/05/week-7-605-12052019-do-we-need-higher.html
(I’ve just realized that I used a small font myself…)
In overall – I think that we are at the beginning of the crisis of the higher education. We only do this to acquire a title which looks good in the CV or LinkedIn profile. If we were learning valuable things at the university, we wouldn’t need to look for a job.
I got my first IT job at the first year of the bachelor studies after winning a competition, but I had to quit soon after the end of the summer vacation, because the overhead at school was to big to handle those two things at the same time. I got another job during the second semester of the second year and it was tough, but definitely worth it. I’ve been working as a programmer since then while studying full-time and even though it leaves me with very little free time, I don’t regret, because at work I am learning useful things as opposed to the college and without experience – higher education doesn’t change much.
2. I have tried some Pluralsight courses which covered specific subjects and they were good. I learned in a week something that would last half a year at school.
3. I would prefer to study and use the knowledge at work later and I’d believed that it would be that way once before, but the reality forced me to learn from my employer.
2. I learn a lot online and most of my knowledge is gained there. But to keep my engagement I have to study full time :-)
3. I probably prefer to learn on my own for now.
I like on-line education, because it is very comfortable, but I think with good teacher you can learn much more from face to face contact.
In general, during college years you can learn basic things and develop your mind which will probably help you start first job, but work experience is definitely more important. At the end I have to add that if you are studying just for paper is not worth it, because doing something without conviction and devotion don't make sense for me.
However there are some fields where universities still play important role - as an example I would use medicine and future doctors. I can't think a better one, because it's an occupation with probably the biggest responsibility. To face it properly, a medicine student must be well prepared - it's not possible without educational institutions.
2. Online education is in my view a great alternative to traditional way of learning. Those both methods complement each other very well. At the same time, as my personal experience, can't say it works alone. When I use those online curses to expand my knowledge, I try to implement things, try on my own, because when I don't, there's a big possibility that information may quickly disappear.
3. I think I'm quite torn apart with that question, because it's hard for me to choose one. As I know how much valuable can be learning from specialist, employer at first, personally I feel comfortable only when I'm well prepared. But if I had to choose one I think, I would want to gain knowledge through study job-related material first, as I think there is always possibility to listen to the others and update your knowledge.
2. I find online learning really useful. To be honest, I'm learning a lot of things by myself from the internet. Maybe it's a good way to fill the gap between university curriculum and skills required at work. You will learn the thoery at uni and add other competences from online learning. Of course, I know that it will make the process of education harder and more time consuming, but it's a solution for another problem. This problem is present in IT - uni can't teach you everything. Imagine how many different programming languages and frameworks are in use. University can give you a taste of certain approaches and prepare to learn and understand certain technology by yourself.
3. I think I prefer to get some related, maybe even more theoretical, knowledge first and then get down to learning practical aspects. For me, it's much easier to learn e.g. to use a new library, when I understand the algorithms that are used inside.
1. Yes I did. There is a lot of jobs that require degrees or experience but they are not balanced as they should be.
2.I think it is OK under some conditions. First of all, you have to be very good at self-working. If you are not, very quickly You will be in a situation where you have so much work to do and no time to do it.
3.I would like to get specific knowledge for the job that i will be doing. Study job can be usefull but often there is a lot of material that you gonna barely use. And practise makes perfect.
Yes, unfortunately I have. I think that very often job responsibilities differ a lot from knowledge and experience learned in school and studies. I agree that education should give us theoretical informations and background to prepare us for the job but distance between them and practical, useful skills is too large.
2. What do you think about online education?
With remote education is the same thing as with remote job. It is possible, but it requires a lot of independence and self motivation. I think that online education is not for everybody but it is great option in some situations when person can't appear personally.
3. Would you prefer to gain specific knowledge from your employer or study job-related material first?
I would prefer to study and understand theoretically knowledge first. It would be easier to understand processes, sense and help me do my job with more understanding. I can't think of any job which wouldn't require even a small theoretical background.
2. Ideally, assume everyone is self conscious and self motivation enough to study online, then I totally support it, because we can not only save the inconvenience of going to school, but also choose what we want to learn by ourselves.
3. I prefer to study job-related material by myself first, it is always hard to gain specific knowledge from employers without any background, so don't waste each other's time if we are not good enough at the jobs.
2. If you are motivated and feel passion to what you do, in my opinion it is one of most effective way of learning. Currently i'm using aviationexam date base to prepare for authority exam. This is distance learning tool. In 2 months i did more than during 1 year of full-time studies.
3. I think these are inseparable things. To learn something from employer you need some base and to be a pro and feel confident in your profession the only way is to work with the pros.
2. Modern society is gradually moving to this format of education. And this is on the one hand very convenient. So everyone has the opportunity to get the knowledge that he needs, but not the knowledge that the institution imposes on him. Through online training, you can develop exactly the skills that you need in the workplace. The era is coming when the employer is not looking at education, but at a set of skills.
3. I would not refuse both that and the other. Since each of these types of knowledge may be needed. I think the employee will be valuable when he can combine these aspects.
2. There are lots of different online courses but ones credible enough are usually not cheap so they help primarily those who work already and want to improve their qualification. As for the free ones, they are still useful to those who want to learn something new but it is more up to them to define what exactly they want to learn and to what extent.
3. It is always better to have an idea of what you step into before you actually do, therefore it is nice to get some basic information first and then strengthen it with specific, task-oriented knowledge.
Yes, i am at the last semester of bachelor degree and I am already tired of this academical nonsense as many people that are close to me study many years only to have a problem with getting a fitting job with at least moderate pay. We've getting to much theoritcal knowledge we will never use and thus getting a job and especially job experience is so hard a the begininng as you lack a skill to proper use all that theoretical mumbo-jumbo before deadline. Maybe if eduction become more practical one day, the problems with it and acquiring the first work would be non-existent.
2. What do you think about online education?
It's more of Pareto principle then you thing 80% of the courses are bad and teach you only 20% of usefull stuff. The rest are basically the pearls hidden in mud or worse, but once you find it you are good to go further in your life with happy face and usefull knowledge in your head.
3. Would you prefer to gain specific knowledge from your employer or study job-related material first?
I prefer gaining specific and practical knoledge above everything else. Sitting and listening is good for basic things not the one you want to build your career upon.
2. It seems to me that online education is a good alternative for some people who don't like regular programs, while being very diligent and consistent learners. Secondly, not everyone likes to work in a group, not everyone finds themselves in student classes, so online learning is a better choice for them. Depending on the type and class of the course, I think that by completing the best ones, a student can be better prepared than the most urgent student in a regular school.
3. Every company has its own rules, which is why the knowledge acquired at school is not always reflecting the employer's requirements. In the case of special knowledge, employer assistance is necessary. Although, if it's possible, I would always prefer to be prepared for job before starting it than to receive education in the workplace. This way, you will have a better start and greater employer recognition.
2. I think this type of education is our future. It does not matter whether we study daily or not. Online studying may be a filler to what we learn at the university.
3. It is definitely better to get the knowledge from the employer. It is more specialised and you learn what the work requires from you specifically. However, to be able to effectively gain knowledge from the employer a certain base is required. That is when university experience or degree can be found very helpful.
2. I think online education is very convenient, yet not so effective. What I have noticed in IT sector about all the bootcamps, courses etc. happening now is that most of them teach you very specific tool or technology. This is fine for solving specific issues and working in a quite narrow scope, but if you encounter unconventional problem, you don't know how to deal with it. What's more, the thing about tools or technology being popular now is that it is not eternal. Anytime a completely new approach can appear that will outperform the current one. I think in this situation theoretical knowledge, that you can get from university, is more important than ability to work with specific technology, that you get most of the times get from online education.
3. I would definitely prefer to firstly get some knowledge from a job-related materials, then get a better grip of subject at work.
2. Online education has two sides. On the 1st one it's very convinient, on the other it might be not good enought. A lot depends on the student's involvement and the way the classes are conducted, but same problem, but in this case a similar problem concerns traditional learning. Personally I don't have much experience with online learning, the current English course is my first one.
3. In my opinion, gaining knowledge in practice is much more effective than theory, but that does not mean that the theory is completely useless. Knowledge of a topic before you start working in it will significantly speed up the learning process and reduce the chance of error.
2. I think that it's very good idea. Personally, I prefer classic education. I think online education is the future. It is a great alternative for working people who don't have time to go to university. However, online studies require self-denial and urgency.
3. I would prefer to study first and after this gain specific knowledge from my employer. I prefer to have some basics before I start learning specific knowledge.
2. In my opinion it is great option because online education offer us a large variety of course we can choose from. In addition it is comfortable, because you can work in your place and you don't need to fight traffic, leave work early for class, or miss important family time.
3. I prefer studying first, becuase from my point od view it is more effectiv. Additionaly we can do anything better and faster if we have a theoritical background.
I believe that online education has pros and cons. As a plus, we can study at any time without being forced to come to the university for a specific time. On the other hand, let's look at the doctors. Any of us would like to be operated on by a surgeon who has learned his profession through online courses? One hundred percent no. Therefore, online learning should be selected for a given profession or for the importance of a given subject.
Back to the main topic if I had a choice between going to work and learning the profession with the employer and learning the issues alone without hesitation I would choose to study with the employer.
Online education is very convenient way to acquire new knowledge or just to strengthen skills you already have. But it is not for everyone as it requires a lot of self discipline and free time. And also there are things that are impossible to learn via internet. Although I think constant growth of online courses platforms etc is one of the greatest things which come from the internet. There are so many places you can learn useful stuff even for free.
I think studying work related materials are very helpful in the long run so the best option is to gain experience from work and study theoretical material simultaneously.
Online learning is very good, assuming that is thought by someone who is an expert in the domain you want to learn, The pros I see in online learning is : adapting it to your schedule and you can narrrow the subject to specifically what you like. As con i would list that not necesarly will be cheapier and the knowledge of the author of the curses could be insufficient.
I would prefer to gain experience from an employer,but here i think, its a paradox because very few hire someone without a degree.
I had some moments,when I for one month get more knowledge than half year in university.
2. What do you think about online education?
Its very nice, I want try some online courses now.
3. Would you prefer to gain specific knowledge from your employer or study job-related material first?
Of course form employer is better, because its knowledge + practice.
But there is a place to be such a problem that a person receives a diploma, leaves the University and, in fact, does not know anything. This is partly because universities have subjects that are introduced for general growing and are not need at all in work or there are too much theory and no anchoring in practice. It's distracting and head-clogging. Solution: short theory in schemes or theses and more practice in which real problems are parsed. This will slightly solve the problem of synchronous study at the University and work in the specialty to gain experience.
2. In the 21st century, the age of modern technology, I really like the idea of online learning only if it is organized correctly. It is fast, convenient and really gives knowledge. By "correctly organized" I mean having a teacher who will correct mistakes and guide you, or a well-developed platform. Or there should be such tasks, where it is difficult to guess the solution, you need to really think. If you have a certificate from such a place, I think it can be a good indicator.
3. I would have preferred training in the format of "problem - solution". If such format is possible at one point with employer - it is ideal. But it seems to me, it strongly depends on how the person got used to receive knowledge.
1. Yes of course. Problems are at virtually every stage of education: elementary school, high school or college. And what are these problems? We spend too much time on theoretical classes, which are not only hard to absorb, but also outdated materials.
2. In my opinion, online education is an interesting option. It has its advantages and disadvantages, although it seems to me that they are mainly advantages. There are a lot of them: time saved for commuting, greater and wider access to materials (you don't have to bring them to the university), more convenient communication with tutors and other participants.
3. Of course I would rather study work-related materials first, but not in large quantities. The minimum needed. And then get specific knowledge from your employer, because this is what matters in the labor market - what you can do (experience), not a diploma from a university.
2. As I see it, online courses are an excellent tool if you want to get boosted in some specific knowledge.
3. From my point of view, a good employer generally has educational courses for specific things you will work on, which is pretty nice because you will learn exactly what you need. If not - then you will have to do it by your own.
2. Online learning is convenient, I agree with that. However, nothing replaces in some situations a living person who imposes discipline and greater motivation to act.
3. In my opinion, if someone doesn't want to learn something by himself, then nobody and nothing will help him, even the best teacher. Therefore, at the moment, I prefer to learn independently but I think that professional experience is something that now matters.
I think that these days the main problem is that parents can't understand the fact that studies are not the most important. The fact is that the most employers require experience and not the paper. I'm talking about IT industry in this case because I know it from my experience.
2. What do you think about online education?
Online education is okay but materials provided and communication must be good quality. Otherwise it doesn't make any sense and is just a waste of time and money.
3. Would you prefer to gain specific knowledge from your employer or study job-related material first?
I think that knowledge from employer is better. It actually depends on the employer and industry but everyone in most industries will tell one thing - nothing will teach you more than working.
Yes, I think I have. It's hard to measure every uni and every type of work in the same way but I think that universities aren't really preparing their students for working. I think that very often material that students are provided with during their studies is just simply outdated. Obviously it depends on a branch but in my case 80% of my programming skills I acquired during my working hours and not in uni.
2. What do you think about online education?
Honestly I think it is a good idea and I enjoy this form of studying. However, there are many subjects that you can't learn properly online. I think the best solution is mixing online education and normal one. Thanks to such approach we don't lose that much time and quality of our learning experience isn't droping.
3. Would you prefer to gain specific knowledge from your employer or study job-related material first?
I always prefer to first read about a topic myself and then ask other people. This way when someone explains something to me I will understand them faster and easier. This results in me not wasting that much of their time. I think it is a good practice to first look for an answer to any question by yourself and only if you can't find it, then turn to one of your collegues at work.
2. I think online education is very helpful especially when we work and study at the same time and we don’t have enough time. We can study at home, at night, on a train – when and where we want.
3. Few years ago I thought that it’s better to study job-related material first to be prepared for a future job. Now I think that we shouldn’t wait to start our first job until we get a degree because at work we learn much faster and we keep our skills up-to-date.
I personally never had this issues. In my opinion every one needs to develop good time management skills. If you manage your time properly then it's not so hard to keep up with the university and at the same time work in some company part-time getting real experience that you mentioned while still having some time left for yourself. Last point is very important as i believe having work-life balance is crucial in our lives.
2. What do you think about online education?
I think it's very useful as additional source of knowledge but i would never consider it as a primary form of education especially when you are still not an adult. In school you also learn something you won't via internet ( social skills etc. ).
3. Would you prefer to gain specific knowledge from your employer or study job-related material first?
I think having at least some knowledge in the field you are applying for is crucial. With it you can easily learn your job with the help of some mentor that would be willing to show and explain you everything there is to know.
2) Online education is one of the best ways to learn. In many areas, you can become a specialist without leaving home. Of course, this does not apply to doctors, construction workers and professions in which you have to gain knowledge in public institutions. But, for example, you can become a first-class graphic designer. Or gain additional knowledge in your field. This is a great alternative for those who do not want to spend a lot of time in regular universities, and get knowledge in a short time and immediately apply them to work.
3) Each employer has its own requirements. And in most cases, the employer wants the employee to come prepared, to not waste time on his training and preparation. I would like to be prepared when I come to work, but also, I want the employer to provide all the conditions in preparation, to help in matters that I do not understand.
2. Online education has it's pros and cons. It's easier to organise the time and plan when you want to study, but in most cases, you don't have the same encouragement as in the classroom with others
3. I'd much rather gain specific knowledge from my employer, because he has experience and can help you based on real problems that occured in his career
2. I really like on-line education, I think that there is a lot of valuable learning materials on the internet, which I can use, but on the other hand full-time studies allow me to stay motivated and share my knowledge and interests with other students
3. I prefer to study job-related material first because later it gives you an opportunity to fully understand the specific knowledge from an employer, it is very hard to understand detailed knowledge if u don’t know the basics.
I think it’s something that opens a lot of development options for a very vide range of people and if makes it makes education and getting a degree more achievable. It makes it possible gain theoretical knowledge and work while building practical experience at the same time.
I would prefer to gain specific knowledge from my employer first.
2.I believe that online education offers great opportunities. Her main car is the fact that without leaving home we can expand our knowledge. However, it seems to me that this is not an ideal method.
3.From my own experience, I think it is better to go to university only after graduation to gain specific experience from the employer.
2. Online courses are very useful nowadays. Online learning flexible and offer up to date information and knowledge that will help with your job. For me, online courses have one major problem: online courses everywhere. It's very hard to find really good courses.
3. I prefer to get as much practical knowledge as I can handle and then dive into theory and algorithms. For me, much easier to learn new information when you already used it and know the final results and what to expect.
2. This is a good way for some. However, I think that not everyone can learn like this.
3. Now I think that it is better to learn on a regular basis by working, I think it is more effective.
2. I think that studying online is not the best possible form of learning because it is not for everyone and sometimes you need to contact with your teacher (to see and understand better). In addition, it requires self-discipline. However, there are also classes which don’t need our presence
3. The theory is often needed so it is important. Thanks to the knowledge of theory, it is sometimes easier for us to understand our tasks at work. And our results are important to employers and for
Online education is the best what the internet offers. People all over the world can share their knowledge, learn practically everything.
I certainly prefer to gain specific knowledge from job-related material before even going to interview. Presuming that employer is going to teach me anything is a misunderstanding. It's up to employee to create value for the company and the quality of your work determines the salary you get.
2. I think it's very convenient, but it requires more individual effort from the learner. In some situations it's better to meet a teacher face to face and get the explanation of a problem than communicating with emails or chat.
3. I think everybody should have some theoretical knowledge before gaining specific experience.
2. This is really good way of learning but not for everyone. A lot of self-discipline is required in such courses, but you dont have to come to academy and can learn remotly.
3. I would choose knowledge from my employer, because its better to learn with people who use their knowledge on daily basis in their job.
2. Intresting option, but I prefer the old school methods. Meeting with colleagues, tutors or discuss on some topic. Communication during online education is much harder and also student has to be very disciplined and do what he has to do. So it's not for everyone.
3. I think first of all you need to get some basic knowledge and then you can start getting knowledge from the employer.
2. I think that on-line education is mostly meant for specific type of character for example people that are a little antisocial. I consider regular teaching methods more valuable than online ones.
3. I would always pick practical knowledge from employer over study job related-materials because it's much easier to learn on practical examples than trying to create practical applications by ourselves. Of course it's uch easier to learn something with basic knowledge but it's not neccesary in my opinion.
2. I think that online education is only good if u can motivate to learn otherwise it's pointless.
3. I think u need to know theory first to start doing something otherwise u can mess things up.
- it may turn out that this is not what you really want to do. That was a case for me, I was studying really hard and it took all my free time so I couldn’t start to work in the industry before I finished my Bachelor’s. After that I realised really fast that I simply cannot reach my desired position because chosen industry is just not as developed in Poland as in other countries :)
- usually real companies use waaaay different tools and methods that the ones they teach us at the university. And it’s totally okay, because university just giving us basic knowledge to start, later you have to go your unique way and learn on the go.
2. If online education is based on real-time video lessons then it’s okay. If it’s based just on some written materials and tasks without real tutor’s support (and that’s how most of online studies look like IMO) than it doesn’t even worth student’s time and money.
3. In my opinion it should be 50/50.
On the other hand we have workplaces where we simply have to constantly improve, learn new things, new technologies, and finally, work with it. We can learn how to do something from book but it doesn't mean we'll know how to do it in real life.
At least I feel like PJATK, while still focusing on theory like most universities, tries to teach us more practical things as well. While I was studying on another university or talked with people which study IT somewhere else, I could clearly see the difference. Universities in current state, almost never teaches you towards your specific work, they just give you general knowledge which may or may not help you in the future.
2. Although learning some things is easier to be done in person, online education can be and usually is very good. Main problem with it is probably finding reliable sources. If you already have one, then there are mostly benefits. You can usually use it whenever you want, what makes it very comfortable. You can focus on things which you need or have interest in, which helps in time management, as we don't lose time for those unnecessary things. It's also a lot easier to focus if you're on your own. Things may go a bit wrong through if we encounter some problem, but I think most communities are really open and helpful when you need it.
I have personally used some online courses about few topics and I think that none of them were a waste of time.
3. Like I said in first paragraph, I'm displeased with current state of education while it comes to preparing for future job. And well ... that's the main reason we study. So I'd much rather learn from my employer than studies. But employers often require us to already have knowledge and it's even better if we have experience from other places, so we still usually need to learn somewhere beforehand, and if we're not good in starting something on our own then university can be a 'push towards good direction'. Also if someone isn't sure what exactly he wants to do in future, then this 'general knowledge', can come useful in picking our career path. In the end through even few weeks of work will probably teach us much more than years of studies.
2. On-line education can be a huge possibility in learning enabling people to gain knowledge without having to commute and stress about managing to be in different places. I think it’s extremely useful and comfortable to learn in that way, it’s enabling people to learn many new things while seating at home (or somewhere else, not necessarily at the university) in comfortable environment. Although you need more motivation to do it as there is no tutor monitoring your progress, it craves self-control and discipline as you need to set your own deadlines.
3. I think that it’s easier to learn on real cases that are related to one’s job and skills. Then you get to know how to really implement solutions in daily tasks and responsibilities. It takes considerably more time to obtain theoretical knowledge than to learn from practical cases. That’s why most of the companies are eager to hire students without previous experience or needed skills as they can teach them quickly in their own systems.
2. Online education is hard too. You have to be very good self-organized and motivated or you’ll suck. But this form of studying very powerful!
3. You must be lucky to gain specific knowledge from your employer, because who wants pay to somebody who can’t make a profit ?
We learn a lot of unnecessary things in college, sometimes those who take us back instead of moving forward.
Online education hmm, I think in the 21st century this is the most good form of learning. One of the arguments is that we spend less time commuting.
Another argument is the flexibility of hours of learning, we can go to work full-time and learn without a problem.
It depends if you want to get the knowledge I need and whether it's from employers or university exponents.
1. Yes, these days we are learning a lot of things which we never will use in the future. I agree that we have to know some base knowledge, but not learn the things what we are learning now. Somebody should change it, reorganize and modernize.
2. I think it is a great thing, if you really want to learn something. I would say it is not for a lazy people, it demands some personal features to make it positive. I like online education
3. I think we are learning some base in a study and it is good to be well prepared before starting the job. But in my opinion we gain specififc knowledge only by practicing (work).