Ochs, Addison: Credentialing

            In today’s society, more and more people are becoming credentialed. This is causing the devaluing of the credential (1). Now that the job market is flooded with credentialed applicants, people feel forced to become credentialed in order to compete for jobs. However, there are alternatives to achieving a master’s or a doctorate. Although applicants are competing with the rest of the world for their niche in the job market, those with more experience and success in a particular field of study can prove to be a more desirable applicant and triumph over an applicant with credentials. Granted that without the applicant’s experience or success, the credentialed applicant is the obvious choice for the job. Specializing is an outstanding way to bypass the stressful and expensive process of becoming credentialed. Doctors themselves specialize in order to break away from the competition. For example, patients who need to have spinal surgery have a choice to either receive treatment from their local doctor, who operates on about four spines a year, or the patient can receive treatment from a surgeon that specializes in spinal neurosurgery and performs about 200 spinal surgeries per year. Specializing without credentialing can also be advantageous in that the money a student would normally spend getting a higher degree can now be put towards programs and internships to gain the experience needed to outcompete the credentialed for jobs.  Also the time spent enrolled in a university is greatly reduced, allowing them to begin their careers earlier in life.

             Currently attending SAU, I am attempting to spend my summers gaining experience in marine biology through Dauphin Island programs as well as the programs offered by the Gulf Coast Research Lab in southern Mississippi. This extra experience will drastically improve my chances of being accepted into internship programs as well as in securing jobs further down the line.