Michael UngarCEO of the Industry 4.0 Club

Degree vs Experience: What's Best for Your Career?

29 Aug 2026 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:36

In this YouTube discussion, the speakers debate the relative value of formal education versus hands‑on experience for launching a technical career. Speaker B emphasizes that the importance of a degree depends on the specific career goals, highlighting the need for solid fundamentals (circuits, electricity, mechanics) and contrasting theoretical 4‑year programs with more practical vocational training that includes PLC programming and teach‑pendant use. They stress that personal traits—curiosity, willingness to troubleshoot, and proactive learning—are crucial, and recommend gaining exposure through internships, co‑ops, or time spent in manufacturing environments. Speaker C notes the broader industry conversation about credentials, mentioning micro‑credentials alongside traditional 2‑year and 4‑year degrees. Overall, the dialogue suggests that while credentials matter, practical experience and personal drive are equally, if not more, important for career advancement.

Do you see an associate's degree to be sufficient for getting started and then go get that practical experience, or are you really thinking that someone needs a 4-year degree?
You know, Mike, I personally, I think a degree is, is really subjective, um, on exactly what you're trying to do. Um, I think having the fundamentals is always great— understanding how circuits work, understand electricity. the basic of mechanics. All of those things are wonderful and great to actually bring to the table. I think from there it does vary, you know, considerably. You can have the traditional 4-year college that may be more on the, you know, fundamentals and theoreticals, whereas maybe more of a vocational school would be more hands-on. Hey, we're actually going to pick up a teach pendant, we're going to go online with PLC and learn how to program. So really, I think those kind of range, um, you know, but ultimately it also does come down to the individual. What's their curiosity? What's their willingness to learn? What's their willingness to basically dive in and troubleshoot and figure out complex problems? So I would say getting the exposure is definitely first and foremost, whether that be experience with the internships, with co-ops, you know, just general, hey, maybe going and spending some time in a manufacturing facility, you know, but I don't know if there's really a— it should be or shouldn't be necessarily a traditional 4-year college.
You hear a lot of those conversations in the workforce circles. Talk about credentials and microcredentials versus, you know, 2-year degrees, 4-year degrees, etc., etc.