Thinking Outside the Classroom: Understanding the Relevance and Value of

Professional Experience
By: Cameron Wilson
 What is your GPA? This question from family members puts pressure on college students
around the world. The late nights finishing projects, missing meals because of homework, and
walking back to the dorm from the library are all in an effort to get a good GPA. If people want
their loved ones to get a job, maybe they should also be asking another question.
In 2012, The Chronicle of Higher Education and Marketplace used Maguire Associates
Inc. to execute a survey of employers.1 One finding from the survey was that internships are a
more important job qualification than GPA.1 Maguire Associates, Inc. created a scale from zero
to 100 that graded the relative importance of students’ qualifications.1 Internships scored a 23,
employment during college scored a 21, and GPA scored an eight out of 100.1 In Maguire
Associates, Inc.’s “Key Findings” it states, “Employers place more weight on experience,
particularly internships and employment during school versus academic credentials including
GPA and college major when evaluating a recent graduate for employment.”1
Internships and cooperative education (co-op) programs, which both provide professional
experience, are two examples of experiential learning. The University of Colorado’s Experiential
Learning Center states, “Well-planned, supervised and assessed experiential learning programs
can stimulate academic inquiry by promoting interdisciplinary learning, civic engagement, career
development, cultural awareness, leadership, and other professional and intellectual skills.”2 I
want to focus on “professional skills” in the following pages, particularly the professional
experience of internships and co-op programs. Companies want students who have been around
the block with internship or co-op experience. This professional experience gives students an
opportunity to make mistakes and learn how to do the job better.
The two major kinds of education in the United States are the following: a liberal arts
education and a professional development education. The first teaches students to be well-
rounded in several different subjects, but the latter teaches students to focus on one career path
and gain professional experience through programs like internships and co-ops. Elon University
has both types of education as all students need to fulfill their “Core Curriculum” requirements—
classes of all different subjects, but the business and communications schools are professionally
focused. For instance, in the School of Communications Elon students have to do an internship
and develop a project portfolio to show employers. So, which of the two educations gets jobs?
One hundred and sixty-nine employers3 took the National Association of Colleges and
Employers’ Job Outlook 2017 survey.4 The responses showed that 91% of the employers want to
hire people who have had a job.4 Sixty-five percent of the employers want to hire people who
have had a similar job.4 Only 5% of the employers said jobs aren’t a qualification they look at.4
Internships and co-ops are noteworthy on an applicant’s resume. According to the Job Outlook
2017 survey, 56% of employers want applicants who have had an internship or a co-op.4
Internships and co-ops aren’t the only methods that help students have success. A liberal
arts education, which does not typically focus on getting an internship or co-op, has proved to
graduate many successful citizens. Williams College, the #1 national liberal arts college in the
United States according to the U.S. News & World Report,5 graduated Oscar-winning Elia
Kazan who directed A Streetcar Named Desire in 1951 and On the Waterfront in 1954.5,6
Davidson College, the #10 national liberal arts college in the United States according to the U.S.
New & World Report,7 graduated 2014 Poet Laureate of the United States Charles Wright.7,8
Even though Kazan and Wright went to a liberal arts college during a time when internships and
co-ops weren’t as important as they are today, their stories prove that a liberal arts education can
produce success. On the Liberal Arts and Science section of Thomas Aquinas College’s website,
it states: “The liberal arts are often said to be essential to the cultivation of critical judgment and
independence of mind. They are widely considered to be indispensable in a ‘well-rounded’
education.”9 The professional experience of internships doesn’t teach students the “well-
rounded’ education” that a liberal arts school teaches.
Others have reached success with neither a liberal arts degree nor a professional
development education. For instance, Ellen DeGeneres, a world renown talk-show host, didn’t
get a college degree.10 She has a net worth of around $400 million.10 While DeGeneres is unique,
her story shows that internships, co-ops, and even a liberal arts degree are not absolutes for
success.
But with the majority of people, internships and co-ops are necessary to boost their
network and experience. The National Association of Colleges and Employers’ 2018 Internship
& Co-op Survey Report,11 which describes a survey of 309 employers,12 said that employers hired
59% of their interns and 34.6% of their co-op participants.11 Even Temple University’s College
of Liberal Arts requires its students to take a professional development class and provides
students with advisors to help them prepare for their future careers.13
My high-school friend, Langston Hines, worked at a co-op program with Rockwell
Collins, a company that merged with UTC Aerospace Systems to form what is now Collins
Aerospace.14 Hines spent eight months working in Cedar Rapids between his freshman and
sophomore years. He mentioned the beneficial aspect of co-op programs for both students and
employers. Before the program, he said he “wasn’t entirely sure if engineering was going to be
the thing for [him].” Hines said a student doing a co-op program can see whether he or she wants
to work at the company or in the industry. The employer can also figure out whether he or she
likes the student’s work ethic and thinks he or she would fit in the company’s environment.
Hines referenced a quote that he had heard: “Co-ops and internships are like the longest
interview to be a part of.”
So maybe your family should remember to ask: “Have you been applying to
internships?” after they ask “How are your grades?”
 Works Cited
1. The Role of Higher Education in Career Development: Employer Perceptions. chronicle-
assets.s3.amazonaws.com/5/items/biz/pdf/Employers%20Survey.pdf. 

2. “University of Colorado Denver.” What Is Experiential Learning?,

www.ucdenver.edu/life/services/ExperientialLearning/about/Pages/WhatisExperientialLearning.
aspx.

3. “The Attributes Employers Seek on a Candidate's Resume.” National Association of Colleges and
Employers, 7 Dec. 2016, www.naceweb.org/talent-acquisition/candidate-selection/the-attributes-
employers-seek-on-a-candidates-resume/.

4. “Employers Prefer Candidates with Work Experience.” National Association of Colleges and

Employers, 5 Apr. 2017, www.naceweb.org/talent-acquisition/candidate-selection/employers-
prefer-candidates-with-work-experience/. 

5. “Williams College.” U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/best-colleges/williams-college-

2229.

6. Willis, Henry. “Elia Kazan Biography.” IMDb, www.imdb.com/name/nm0001415/bio.

7. “Davidson College.” U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/best-colleges/davidson-college-

2918.

8. “Charles Wright.” Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/charles-wright.

9. “The Liberal Arts & Sciences.” Thomas Aquinas College, 14 Sept. 2016, thomasaquinas.edu/a-
liberating-education/liberal-arts-sciences.

10. Schrodt, Paul. “15 Super Successful People Who Never Graduated College.” Time, Time, 9 Nov.
2017, time.com/money/5013563/15-super-successful-people-who-never-graduated-college/.

11. “Internship & Co-Op Report 2018.” National Association of Colleges and Employers,
www.naceweb.org/store/2018/internship-and-co-op-survey-report/. 

12. 2018 Internship and Co-Op Survey Report. 2018, 2018 Internship and Co-Op Survey Report,
www.augusta.edu/careerservices/students/2018nacecoopinternsurvey.pdf.

13. “Professional Development.” Temple University, liberalarts.temple.edu/advising/professional-

development.

14. Collins Aerospace, www.rockwellcollins.com/.