Education and experience as barriers to career advancement in business

Personal Success Characteristics

One of the characteristics that I think attributes to my professional success is my ability to learn quickly. I also have the ability to adapt well in new situations, which I think is due in large part to the fact that I am pretty fearless when it comes to new situations. I have never been afraid of being rejected because I feel that if you don't put yourself out there, one is -- in a way -- rejecting one's own self. I've always believed that you can't get ahead if you don't try, so I continuously strive to put myself out there and accept new challenges with fervor. I did this all throughout my professional career (thus far) and I honestly believe that this is why I excelled in every position in which I worked. Despite my lack of a bachelor's degree, I was able to get ahead and do the same type of jobs that those with a bachelor's degree were doing. I took great pride in this fact, but the truth of the matter is that it wasn't enough. To get where I wanted to go, I needed to not only have the experience, I needed the education. This is what prevented my continued success. This is where the roadblock emerged.

One of the things that I feel has prevented me from being more successful is my lack of perspective related to the fact that for a long time I did not have the formal education to go along with my entrepreneurial and business skills. It wasn't necessarily my lack of a bachelor's degree that prevented greater success as I always held positions where the degree was required, but I was given chances in those positions and I flourished in them. Where I see myself being prevented from climbing the business ladder was in the fact that I did not have a master's degree. This is really what I knew I needed to obtain in order to get where I wanted to be professionally. I had the experience that I needed, but I also needed the MBA. My ambition to go far in business have always been great, but it wasn't until I got to a certain level in my career that I realized I needed the full package in order to compete on the level that I wanted.