Both of my parents were entrepreneurs, and neither finished college. When I was in high school, I didn’t even realize that going to college was an option for me. I certainly didn’t understand how closely education and career development would become connected in my own life.
I eventually went as an adult and earned two bachelor’s degrees, one in Communication and one in Psychology, followed by a master’s degree in Communication from San Diego State University.
I loved college. I loved learning, conducting research, writing, and exploring different perspectives. Competitive speech helped me develop my communication and presentation skills, and my master’s thesis gave me the opportunity to explore something that has stayed with me throughout my career: how damaging interactions with supervisors influence working women’s decisions to leave their jobs.
I wouldn’t change those educational experiences. But looking back, there were some important things I didn’t understand about building a career, and having three degrees didn’t automatically help me figure them out.
After graduate school, I wanted to move into training and development. The job market was difficult, though, and I ended up returning to administrative work.
I had the education and a clear interest in the field, but I was struggling to get someone to give me an opportunity to do the work I wanted to do.
Eventually, I started creating some of those opportunities myself by volunteering to lead training initiatives and help develop learning experiences within my department.
That experience taught me something I now see regularly in my work with executives: having the qualifications to do something and convincing someone to give you the opportunity to do it are two different challenges.
A degree can open doors, but what happens when you want to change direction?
An Entrepreneur article published September 8, 2026 caught my attention recently. Its headline suggested that, for the first time in decades, not having a college degree was producing better job-market outcomes than having one.
I can understand why a headline like that would get people talking, particularly when so many graduates are questioning the cost of their education and struggling to find work.
But the underlying story is more complicated.
The article discusses a Burning Glass Institute analysis of workers ages 22 to 34. It describes an unusually difficult period for young degree holders alongside comparatively favorable conditions for workers without degrees, partly in the context of demand for skilled trades. It also acknowledges that degree holders still have lower unemployment rates in absolute terms.
The broader data matters here, too. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2025 education and earnings data, workers age 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree had a 2.8% unemployment rate and median weekly earnings of $1,578. Workers with a high school diploma had a 4.3% unemployment rate and median weekly earnings of $966. These are population-level figures, not guarantees for individual graduates, and the 2025 annual estimates exclude October because of the federal government shutdown. see this as a reason to discourage people from attending college. My education gave me experiences and capabilities I continue to value.
What concerns me is the assumption that completing an education automatically prepares someone to understand the job market, identify opportunities, communicate their value, and make informed financial decisions about their future.
Those are different things, and I wish I had understood the distinction much earlier.
My career didn’t follow the path I expected
When I couldn’t move directly into training and development, I started looking for ways to do more of that work within the position I already held.
Volunteering for training initiatives gave me practical experience and helped me begin developing a professional identity beyond my administrative job title.
Later, I discovered coaching, completed my coaching certification through iPEC, and realized how much I enjoyed helping people recognize their strengths, work through limiting beliefs, and move forward.
After I was laid off, I participated in an LHH outplacement program. That experience helped me recognize that career transition work was what I wanted to do.
I persisted until I was hired and went on to spend 14 years helping professionals work through job loss and career changes. Eventually, I established Precision Resume Solutions because I wanted to expand the work I could do with clients.
When I look at that progression now, I can see how the different parts of my background contributed to what I do today. Communication, psychology, research, training, coaching, and career transition work all became relevant.
But that connection wasn’t necessarily obvious when I was trying to move from one position to another.
I had to learn how to recognize the value of experiences that didn’t fit neatly into the job title I wanted next.
That is one reason career transitions can be harder than they appear from the outside. A senior professional may know exactly what he or she has accomplished and still struggle to understand how the market will interpret it. I wrote about that broader challenge in When Did Looking for an Executive Job Become a Full-Time Job With No Job Description?, because today’s executive search often requires far more than simply identifying a role and submitting an application.
And that is where this conversation becomes particularly relevant to executives.
Your job title doesn’t tell the whole story
I work with accomplished professionals who have impressive credentials, substantial experience, and years of business results behind them, yet they sometimes struggle to explain how that background translates into a different role or industry.
An executive who has spent years leading operations may have developed capabilities in technology implementation, organizational change, financial management, and talent development. Depending on how that experience is presented, however, an employer may still see only an operations executive.
The same thing can happen when someone wants to move from a large corporation into a smaller business, shift industries, or pursue a position with a different title.
Their experience may be relevant, but the connection isn’t always immediately apparent to the person reviewing their background.
This is one reason I spend so much time with clients discussing what they’ve actually accomplished rather than simply documenting the positions they’ve held.
What problems were they responsible for solving? What decisions did they make? What changed because of their leadership? Which capabilities could they bring into a different business environment?
Those conversations often reveal experience that doesn’t appear anywhere in the original career story.
A credential tells an employer something about your education or professional preparation. A job title provides context about your responsibilities. Neither, by itself, explains the full range of what you can contribute.
When you’re changing direction, you need to help the employer understand that connection.
How much talent are organizations overlooking?
There’s another side to this issue that I think deserves more attention from executives who are responsible for developing people.
When I was working in an administrative role and wanted to move into training and development, I started volunteering for projects that would allow me to gain experience.
That makes me wonder how many people are sitting inside organizations right now with capabilities and interests that extend well beyond their current job descriptions.
Someone working in customer service may have an aptitude for process improvement. A project manager may have the potential to lead a business unit. An employee who regularly helps colleagues learn new systems may have the makings of an excellent trainer or people leader.
Those possibilities aren’t always visible through an organizational chart.
If managers evaluate people primarily through the responsibilities of their current positions, they may miss capabilities that could be useful elsewhere in the business.
And if employees have no practical way to demonstrate those capabilities, they may eventually have to leave the organization to pursue them.
This is particularly relevant when companies are struggling to develop future leaders while also trying to adapt to changing business needs.
LinkedIn’s 2025 Workplace Learning Report 55% of respondents at organizations it classified as career-development champions, compared with 48% of other respondents, expected internal mobility to become a higher priority in the coming year. The report also identifies stretch assignments, job shadowing, and cross-training as ways to develop skills through work. These findings come from LinkedIn’s learning and HR research, rather than a representative survey of all employers. there’s a practical question for leaders here: Are you giving people opportunities to demonstrate what they could do next, or are you waiting until they already have the title and experience before considering them?
That doesn’t mean promoting someone before they’re ready or ignoring the qualifications a position genuinely requires. It means creating opportunities for people to develop and demonstrate capabilities before an opening appears.
Education and career development: why experience matters, too
My experience also changed how I think about professional development.
I value my degrees, and I value the practical experience I gained through volunteering, training, coaching, and working with people through career transitions.
Each contributed something different.
My education helped me develop a foundation in communication, psychology, research, and critical thinking. Practical experience helped me understand how to apply what I had learned, work with different people, and respond to situations that didn’t come with a textbook.
Coaching gave me another set of skills and a different way of working with people.
I don’t think we should be asking whether education or experience is more important as though everyone has to choose one.
The more useful question is how we help people connect what they learn with opportunities to use it.
That includes colleges providing meaningful career guidance and opportunities for practical experience, but it also includes employers offering training, mentorship, stretch assignments, and realistic internal career paths.
For an executive, it means continuing to develop capabilities rather than assuming that an earlier degree or an established track record will always be sufficient preparation for what comes next.
It also means doing some research before assuming a particular credential, role, or company represents the best next step. In The Power of Researching Companies, I discussed why understanding an organization’s direction, financial health, culture, and priorities matters before making a career decision. That kind of research becomes even more important when you’re considering a transition into a new industry or leadership environment. happens to future leaders as AI changes entry-level work?
This is another part of the conversation I don’t think we can ignore.
The Entrepreneur article raises concerns about AI taking over some of the tasks traditionally assigned to entry-level white-collar employees. The extent and long-term employment effects remain uncertain, so I wouldn’t treat that as proof that entry-level professional work is disappearing altogether.
But it does raise a question worth considering.
If organizations automate more of the work that employees traditionally performed early in their careers, how will those employees gain the experience needed for more advanced positions?
People develop judgment partly by doing the work, seeing what happens when decisions are made, learning from mistakes, and gradually taking on greater responsibility.
An employee who never gets exposure to those experiences may have difficulty developing the capabilities an organization expects from its future managers and executives.
I think leaders need to consider that when making decisions about AI, automation, and workforce development.
If a task no longer needs to be performed manually, what new learning opportunity will replace it? How will junior employees gain exposure to business decisions, customers, operational problems, and experienced leaders?
Technology may change how people begin their careers, but organizations still need ways to develop the people who will eventually lead them.
The financial lesson I wish I’d learned sooner
There’s one more part of my experience that I don’t want to leave out.
I’m approximately one year away from paying off my student loans.
I loved college, and I wouldn’t give up the education I received. But I also wouldn’t recommend the financial path I took.
Looking back, I wish I’d had better guidance about career options, the employment opportunities associated with different educational paths, and the long-term financial implications of borrowing.
I would have benefited from understanding more about how student loans work, how repayment affects future financial decisions, and what alternatives might have been available.
That knowledge wouldn’t necessarily have changed my decision to pursue higher education, but it could have helped me make more informed choices along the way.
I think students deserve both an education and a realistic understanding of what it may cost them, financially and professionally.
The same principle applies later in a career when someone is considering another degree, an executive education program, or a professional certification.
Before making that investment, I’d want to understand what the qualification will help me do, whether the roles I’m pursuing require it, what practical experience I still need, and how the cost fits into my financial situation.
Financial considerations also continue once someone receives an offer. Salary is only one component of a senior-level compensation package, which can also include bonuses, equity, profit sharing, and other benefits. I discussed those issues in Negotiating Your Worth: Maximize Your Compensation. The larger point is the same: career decisions have financial consequences, and understanding those consequences matters before making the commitment. y be excellent reasons to pursue additional education, but the decision deserves more thought than assuming another credential will automatically create another opportunity.
What I want executives to take from this
When I look back at my own career, I can see that the degrees were valuable, but they were only part of the story.
The opportunities I created through volunteering, the coaching certification I pursued, the experience I gained at LHH, and the decision to establish my own business all contributed to where I am today.
Some of those experiences wouldn’t have been obvious to an employer looking only at my job titles.
That’s why I think this discussion matters to both sides of the hiring process.
If you’re considering a career transition, look beyond the credentials and titles in your background. Think about the capabilities you’ve developed, the results you’ve produced, and how those experiences could apply to the work you want to do next.
If you’re leading an organization, consider whether your employees have opportunities to develop and demonstrate capabilities that extend beyond their current responsibilities.
And if you’re making decisions about education, whether for yourself or someone you’re advising, consider the career guidance, practical experience, and financial knowledge that should accompany it.
Looking back, I can see how much my education contributed to my career development, but there were important things I didn’t understand about building a career, and having three degrees didn’t automatically help me figure them out.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do I need another degree or certification to change careers as an executive?
Not necessarily. Review the requirements for your target roles and identify any genuine qualification gaps before investing in additional education. You may already have relevant leadership experience that needs to be positioned more clearly. If a credential is required, consider its cost, the opportunities it could support, and the practical experience you’ll still need.
How do I identify and communicate transferable skills for an executive career change?
Start with the business problems you’ve solved, the decisions you’ve made, and the results you’ve produced. Then connect those capabilities to the needs of employers in your target role or industry. Your job titles alone may not make that connection clear.
How can companies improve internal mobility and identify employees with leadership potential?
Look beyond current job descriptions and give employees opportunities to demonstrate additional capabilities. Stretch assignments, cross-functional projects, mentorship, and conversations about career interests can help managers recognize potential that may otherwise go unnoticed.
How will AI affect entry-level jobs and the development of future leaders?
AI may change or automate some tasks that employees have traditionally used to gain early career experience. Leaders should consider how employees will continue to develop business judgment, learn from experienced colleagues, and take on increasing responsibility as those tasks change.
About Clair Levy
Clair Levy works with senior leaders and C-suite executives who have accomplished a great deal but are not always sure how to explain it in a way the market understands. She helps them identify the story behind the titles, responsibilities, and years of experience, then turn that story into stronger positioning across their résumé, LinkedIn profile, interviews, and broader job-search strategy.
As founder of Precision Resume Solutions and a Certified Professional Resume Writer and career strategist, Clair helps experienced leaders make complex careers easier to understand and more relevant to the opportunities they want next.
If you’re preparing for your next executive opportunity and want to look at how your experience is being positioned, schedule a complimentary discovery call.