Prompt: Completing university is thought to be the best way to get a good job. On the other hand, other people think that getting experience and developing soft skills is more important. Discuss both sides and give your opinion.

There is an ongoing debate on whether pursuing postgraduate education is the best to secure a job or working across companies and gaining more hands-on experience is considered to be more beneficial. In my opinion, I believe the former is more fruitful, however, this essay will discuss both sides of the argument. Ċ There are two reasons why it could be argued that gaining work experience is more crucial than post-graduate education. Firstly, through universities, a student mostly gains theoretical knowledge, which has little impact in the corporate world. There are several on-the-job skills such as time management or storytelling that cannot be taught at institutions. Secondly, while applying for jobs, there is a general consensus that the recruiter pays more attention to the work experience of the individual over education. The reason for this is that the company hiring would then benefit from the perspectives and training gained by the employee from the previous company, thereby saving the employers time in training the individual from scratch. Ċ However, I agree with those who believe that Universities can have significantly accelerated the career of an individual. To begin with, through various courses and extra-curricular activities, one gets the opportunity to meet individuals from different backgrounds which help in changing their conventional mindset. Additionally, most of the Universities either offer a co-op program or placements, both encouraging the student to expand their professional network and gain practical experience while being enrolled at the University. For example, the University of Waterloo offers an immersive coop experience, wherein the students get a chance to intern with experts from the industry for 6 months which further increases their chances of securing a full-time job. Ċ To sum up, working in a corporate environment or studying at a University helps an individual to upskill themselves. However, graduating from professional institutions would provide an edge over other job applicants due to the soft skills gained while completing the qualification.