Increase Your Personal Value

For those of us who work for a company or organization, we’d like to believe that we are making the most we are capable of making in terms of compensation. But the real truth is that we may be shorting ourselves. When you are searching for a new position, one of the most important sections of your resume is: education. The amount of compensation the employer will offer you will be reflected by the amount of education you possess. A two year (associates) degree is more valuable than no college, a bachelor’s degree is more valuable than an associate degree and graduate degrees trump bachelors’ degrees.

The possession of a degree does not make you any more capable, but it is perceived as making you more learned and skilled. The time and effort you took in order to achieve the degree shows the employer that you can set and accomplish goals. In the US, higher education is not mandatory. Individuals who attend college do so on their own initiative. So your college degree gives greater insight to the hiring manager about your ability to successfully complete a goal you set.

Finally, the college education does expose you to ideas, thoughts, concepts, and information you would not pick up as quickly in the work environment. You can learn more about one subject in a semester in college than you might otherwise learn in twenty years on the job.

Don’t sell yourself short. If you want to earn more money in the workplace, make sure you possess the full value your employer is seeking. If you don’t have the education now, take the time to get it at night. You’ll be glad you did.

The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.