It has been a speculation that a DEGREE can get you places. Studying in big colleges and the best of the education institute can give you best of the jobs around the world. But are we trying to say that a person coming from a lesser-known institute or a smaller degree isn’t smart enough?
To find out answers to these questions, we need to go back a few decades, where you have the best of the industrialists and inventors, coming from lesser known educational institutes and backgrounds. They have made it big and doing the best in their industry.
What made them successful? Was it their big degrees and best institute? Did they do well in schools? Did the best of inventors, were excelling in their schoolwork? From our history, we have learnt that they have all failed in their educational institute or have dropped out from their studies. But the fact is that, they had the brains and intentions to make the things better in life.
So what makes anyone, getting good grades in their school and having x amount of percentage in their college smatter enough to go and work in their premier companies of the country. It would unwise for me to name the companies, but it’s well known that you need a certain amount of marks to get into these companies. The worst part is that these companies do not see their talent, but only their marks.
Coming to more a more serious note, these same companies demand the same sort of marks and percentages, even if the candidate has an experience outside. So are we trying to tell that all the experience gained in the industry is worthless?
Why is the topic ganged around a Pizza Delivery Person? Most of us have gone to pizza restaurants and have seen these young boys and girls, who would speak very good English (that being the only basis of knowing whether a person is educated), and friendly enough. They take our orders and deliver the pizza in time and make sure that we are looked after well. Have we tried to figure out where they come from? Most of them are either new to the city, searching for their better job, or coming from smaller and lesser-known engineering colleges and trying to do a course, which would secure them good jobs later on. They would work hard and study harder. If you speak to them, one would find that their smartness level isn’t below our high marks students. They are also street smart, as they know what it takes to survive. They are equally good in their “Coding” as that’s what is required to work in the IT Company, especially in the big premier companies.
If you ask these pizza boys and girls to sit in the same entrance test for the company, chances are that they would also score the same marks, if not more as these big companies deal mostly on aptitude, and who better to score on these, than a person who has seen the hardship and different walks in life. But the fact is that they are never given a chance to even come to close to the vicinity of sitting for these tests. Their resumes are sent in the garbage bin of the computer, because they do not match the stipulated marks in their school?
I had the opportunity of meeting and working with some of the finest minds in the industry and I can safely say that they were the best brains and have gone a long way in the industry. I had the chance of working with a M-Tech from the US and an Ex Bell Labs employee, I had the chance to sit and work with a Botany graduate, a science graduate, an Arts graduate and I can safely say that they have been able to bring in loads of business to the company we were working for and have excelled in what ever they have endeavored.
But they all did without a formal educational background, barring one. In the same lines, I have had the opportunity of working with the engineering graduates, coming from premier institute and having a big degree in their hand. But their formal training in the labs and the seats of those schools and colleges, has just given them enough information to talk endlessly, but when the goods have to be delivered, they have not been able to, in the same manner as these “lesser-fortunate” employees have been.
Am I saying that education is nothing? No, I do not believe that. I am a firm believer that education is the foundation of the person, but then it should not be used as a basis of telling someone that s/he is better of than the other person, who got less marks. How about just giving a chance to them and seeing them excel.
My first campus interview in a college was my most memorable one. Why? Well we had not put a cap on their marks and education qualification. All we said was, make sure you have cleared your 10th and 12th and clear your college when you come to join us. We do not care if you got 40% or 80%. Yes, you have to clear my written test and my interview and what do you know, we got the finest brains, and the privilege of working with them. These same minds are now working elsewhere and have formed a solid foundation for their companies. But the funny part is, if they still approach those “premier” companies, they are respective e denied even an interview, as their marks wasn’t good, even though they could be the best suited for the job posting.
I think in this age of information science, we have to stop being naïve and stop judging the book by its cover. We have to start looking at the fresh minds, the lesser known faces, because who knows, we get the next best thing from them.
And yes, I firmly believe, we can make an IT Guru out of a Pizza Delivery person, because the same person has what it takes to work hard and make it big. Let’s just give them a chance and see how it goes.
- kNiGhTrIdEr
Tags: Degree, Delivery person, education, engineering, industry, IT, Pizza, smart, studying
