I’ve been pointed to a very interesting video that I thought would be worth sharing (kudos to Fabian!). Sir Ken Robinson talks about creativity and how it’s affected by our school system.

Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of Sir Ken Robinson before, neither did I. However, he has some very interesting points and I agree with many of them. More and more, companies are just looking at degrees instead of the real qualities of the people they hire. Especially in Germany, this development is more present than ever before. People won’t give a crap about what you bring to the table as long as you don’t have no formal “proof” stating that what you’re claiming is actually the truth – as if a degree in “Computer Science” means that you’ll be able to design a program in exactly the way a certain company wants you to in no time.

I have been studying for a long time until I realised that it’s not really making a difference. Yes, you do learn a lot of basics, but every company has its own way of running their business. I’ve been doing internships in two companies as part of my studies and everytime, I had to learn how to live up to their expectations – my experiences I made at university didn’t really help. You will always have to adapt, not the company. You don’t learn that in school, neither do you learn that at university. For that reason, in my own opinion, studying can be tiresome and a waste of time. When you get your degree, you will be hired by a company and then you have to adapt to their procedures anyway, so why not start at the company right away instead of “wasting time” at university?

I for example can write articles, translate, plan events, market products in great ways, manage communities and handle customer support. Even though I don’t have a degree in journalism, in marketing or in any similar field. Does that mean I’m less qualified? I don’t think so, but for some reason, companies do. The focus has to shift; after all, companies hire people, not degrees.