<Author>RM</Author>
<Nationality>New Zealander</Nationality>
<Gender>Male</Gender>
<Age>NA</Age>
<First language>English</First language>
<Other foreign languages in decreasing order of proficiency>NA</Other foreign languages in decreasing order of proficiency>
<Last degree>BA</Last degree>
<Years of staying in China>1</Years of staying in China>
<Topic>13</Topic>
There is little doubt that our modern society is obsessed with the notion of a university degree. Tertiary training of one kind or another is obligatory in almost every field of occupation. Real estate agents , hairdressers, kindergarten teachers, and even taxi drivers nowadays need a certificate or diploma of some kind or another in order to progress in their profession.
Our concept of how readiness and competence to do a job can be measured has narrowed alarmingly so that there appears now an inverse relationship between the level of an individuals paper qualifications and his, or her, actual practical skill. 
The problem expresses itself in several ways. Two of the more obvious are the fact that many, if not all employers want first of all, demonstrated practical experience to match paper qualifications. Yet the very time and effort it takes to qualify on paper in a given field these days means any aspirant worker has less time and opportunity to gain such experience. So he or she assiduously pursues the study goal until the degree is achieved, only then to find the job market virtually closed to those without a history of work experience.
In the past we had a much wider awareness of the forms competence at, and readiness for, any given job could take. Much more notice was taken of personal qualities, attitudes to others, ability to cooperate, innovate and learn from actual practice than is the case today. The notion of apprenticeship, of learning at the side of a master was more highly valued than long hours studying theories which may, or may not, have much practical application. We seemed to know then that in many fields what counts most is an implicit desire to do a given job, and that the only way to really test or validate this was to get ones hands dirty.
Even in highly skilled and knowledge-based fields, it is often the case that the master practitioner is born into a skill, not taught to do it. The awareness of theory and the value of study is more likely to follow than to precede practice. The best doctors, teachers, leaders of all kinds may be highly certificated, but their most essential knowledge, the implicit abilities which make them masters of their trade, were born with the love of doing the job, and given with the personality and attitudes they developed.
The degree, even the doctorate, is the final stamp, the outward show of far more subtle and elusive qualities. To worship them as we do runs the risk of twisting our education system, and our selection of job applicants, out of a truly human shape.