EASYUNI Ultimate University Guide 2013 Issue 2 | Page 57

O R I E N TAT I ON

 Paper qualification: Is that all there is?
?
An academic degree is like a leather cover of a really thick book that
at
only reveals its perfectly solid exterior but holds absolute ambiguity
y
(or uncertainty) on the inside. A degree serves as a stepping stone
for your career, and only marks the beginning of that journey. That
t
said, it is important to a certain extent; a degree is the key to any
internal and external opportunities in the working environment.
It opens doors to education, social activities and other purposes.
However, its real core value lies in the education you gained while
pursuing that degree.
The academic certificate will not be the sole determinant of your
earning abilities; your experience will also play a significant part.
An degree is not as difficult to obtain as it was before. Therefore,
your experience in college matters. This includes the friends you
will be making and the college activities you will be joining. These
experiences tend to gather and become a set of useful skills and
attributes that could contribute to the possible paths in your
personal development.

 Get real, the experience matters
It does. This can range from your learning experiences in college,
universities, or even at work. Your experiences define who you are; it
shapes your attitude and alters your personality in many unpredictable
ways. It prepares you for the ultimate battle: work.
According to an article by The Huffington Post UK in 2012, author
Lucy Sheriff brought up results from a YouGov survey. YouGov, an
international market research company in the United Kingdom,
concluded that having industrial experience can be tremendously
helpful in terms of an individual’s employability. This survey also
discovered that many companies acknowledged the vast difference
between graduates with experience and the ones without. Also, most
of the people who were surveyed mentioned better communication
skills and attributes among the experienced students compared to
the non-experienced ones. This is because of their prior exposure to
different working environments, tasks, the people they met, and other
relevant factors.

 Get involved in clubs
For a start, you can opt for different activities
to develop your credentials. There are various
clubs and activities ѡ