The Benefits of Experience

In the course of a 38 year career I have used pretty much all of the runway. I have worked in public accounting, government, manufacturing and long term care. In public accounting I served clients as varied as the Yellow Pages. Blessed with a great memory and a solid education I gained a wealth of experience throughout the years. And although some of the career changes probably cost me financially I would do it all again the same way. It has not been boring!

Why am I telling you this? Because I have noticed of late that experience is a much discounted commodity. In a time when Google makes us internet geniuses it seems that the opinions of people that have ACTUAL experience are beat down by obscure and irrelevant links. Whoever said there is no substitute for experience has been dead a long time.

But is information a substitute for experience? Can access to unlimited information equal the value of having actually done something? I guess it depends on the importance of the matter. If I need heart surgery I want someone trained and experienced cutting on me. If it is some inane trivia contest I'm not sure years as an English professor are required. You can only read so much and eventually have to get your hands dirty to get experience.

And therein lies the problem. While it seems like there is never a shortage of opinions finding one that is backed by actual experience is rare. One reason for that is because such opinions usually cost money. And nobody wants to pay for anything! Lawyers, doctors and CPAs are always sought for free advice as if their knowledge and experience was in the public domain. So you will occasionally see professionals giving free advice generally it is worth what you pay.

So here is some free advice. There are times when the prudent thing to do is find someone with experience to help you solve a problem. I know more about the law than most non lawyers but wouldn't think of preparing my own will. If you have a real estate issue find the professionals that can get you through it. You will have the benefit of their experiences to back you up and someone to hold accountable. Google is not going to be there when you screw up!