Learning and the quest for knowledge has long been a subject of great interest to me. I only wish I had the same enthusiasm for learning when I was at school. When I was at school, I was more interested in playing football. Although I certainly enjoyed maths, art and PE other subjects such as the Sciences, English and Geography held little interest for me.
If you have read my earlier blogs you will know that I fell into Energy Management and learned on the job. And it is this learning on the job that I wish to talk about.
When I first became an Environmental Manager back in 2003, I had a mountain of a learning curve to climb. I had to learn and implement the ISO14001 Environmental Management Standard. This included reading up on a ton of environmental laws. Working out whether they applied and how I would demonstrate compliance.
What did I know about Environmental law? I was a leisure centre manager. Still my Managing Director unwittingly motivated me when he said……
“If you can understand and implement this system, you can implement any management system”
What he was really telling me was that I had transferable skills. All too often I think we fail to realise and capitalise on the transferable skill each of us have. If I can learn, understand and implement an international environmental management system from scratch with no training, just my transferable skills.
Does that also mean I have the potential to read up on adiabatic cooling systems and understand how to best apply them? I think it does. And why not?
Some years later as an Energy Manager I had to learn how to use a BMS (Building Management System) with no training, no manuals, nothing. Just…… Yes you guessed it those....
Transferable skills
The best way to learn in my view is to ask questions. It isn’t rocket science. If you want to be successful, go and ask someone who has been successful how they did it. Ask, ask, and ask again. Particularly if you are the customer.
An engineer on call out fixing a problem for you is a massive opportunity for learning, particularly if you don’t understand the cause of the fault. Keep looking over their shoulder and ask questions of what their doing and why. It was during one such occasion that an engineer talked me through boiler control bands.
I have found that a really good way to understand something new is to seek out two explanations of the same thing. Take harmonic filtration for example. This is the impact various types of electrical equipment has on the incoming sine wave.
Certain loads will cause harmonic resonance which will lead to inefficiencies as the sine wave becomes distorted. Harmonic filtration will smooth out the sine wave by filling in the gaps, so to speak, and as such reduce energy consumption.
I understand this now but when learning about it I inadvertently had two people explain it to me. The first was a hands-on senior electrician. The second explanation came from a highly qualified academic. The real understanding came when I over laid both explanations.
I didn’t go to university and as such I do not hold a degree. Has this held me back??? To be honest, I think it has and it hasn’t, which I will go on to explain. But first I wish to ask the question…….
“Is a degree worth it??”
What are your thoughts? What has your experience been? Earlier today whilst walking to my house I spotted the son of a friend walking down the road and stopped to talk to him. He is in the final year of an engineering degree at Edinburgh University.
I asked him how his course was going and what his plans were. He mentioned that he needed to get a job as soon as he graduated so he could start paying off his debt. I was amazed when he explained that he was in debt to the tune of £58,000.
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How can shackling students with this level of debt be right??? Have universities just become a business? It is at this time I am reminded of the film “Good Will Hunting” and the scene where the character played by Matt Damon reminds the Harvard graduate that he blew $150,000 on an education he could have gotten for free at his local library. This in itself promotes another question.
“Can you get a degree standard education from your local library or from just reading books?????"
Having not attended university I don’t think I am best placed to answer this question. However, this does bring me on to how not having a degree has and hasn’t held me back.
Not having a degree certainly has held me back when it has come to applying for jobs. The vast majority of Energy positions I have applied for has seen me fail to be shortlisted for interview.
I suspect this was because these jobs have specified degree qualified as a job requirement. Therefore, a candidate with a degree in Egyptian cartography would have a better chance of being interviewed for an energy management position than someone with 10 years energy management experience. As mad as that sounds. This has been the reality for me.
Following the continued frustration of applying for numerous energy positions and not getting an interview. I contacted and met with a couple of recruitment agents who specialised in my field.
The purpose of meeting them was I wanted to ask them what qualifications their clients were seeking. The unanimous answer that came back was that none of their clients were asking for any specific qualifications. They all wanted candidates with relevant experience. Fortunately I had that so chose to emphasise it more.
For me Degrees are not value for money at all. The first year of a degree has no bearing on the final score, so what is the point of it? Are students happy that they are being sold something that is completely unnecessary? Something that no doubt adds to the debt they will end up graduating with.
When the internet of things increases accessibility surely students will be logging on to lectures rather than attending them. Not having a degree has helped me massively because I have had to go away and learn for myself. Whilst I appreciate the hard work that goes into attaining a degree, I don’t think they are always necessary.
I think there are not only more cost-effective ways to education. The are more effective ways to educate yourself. When I was learning on the job. I was learning things as I needed to know them. Learning in this way meant I rarely wasted time on something I didn’t need to know.
Whilst I believe education is fantastic and there have been many times I wished I had an engineering degree behind me. I would certainly ask my friends son whether he thought his degree was worth the £58,000 debt he has amassed.
Are degrees the smartest way of getting qualified? Who is asking that question????
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