Depends on the path of one's ambition. If keen on working in the academic field then higher education will be best but if aiming to develop a career in the industry, then a professional certification would be better. Of course, there would be a point/level where each certification could cross fields/paths especially at the managerial level but in growing and the development of an executive the monetary value would be different.

Thanks Syamsul Fozy Osman and Samuel Ubani, I appreciate your response. Expecting a more detailed explanation especially with reference to those who studied interdisciplinary studies or general social science courses. Should they go for MA, MSc or a professional certification?

Both are inter-linked. Higher Education stimulate thoughts for getting efficiency in professional certification. As Gandhiji explained, If I learn Carpentry from a illiterate person only he knows how to do carpentry work, But if the person trained with literate person his thoughts will stimulate. This means education provides thought provoking learning.

Thank you vasudeva.

I agree with the answers given above. In my opinion, the way to achieve professional certification in a given environment is to achieve a high level of citizens enrolled in the higher education. Professional certification measures knowledge, skills, and abilities that allow citizens to perform their work properly in a given performance field. The schooling of society up to the highest level is a more integral concept because, in addition to the fact that graduates of this level are prepared to undergo professional certification processes, they are prepared to develop other competences related to: reasoning capacity, investigative skills and to learn to do.

Thank you Michelena.

I agree with all the comments. Higher Education degree is the ultimate.

Nice question and Informative answers thank you all!

It really depends on what you want. If you wish to work for business dealing with infrastructure, then professional registration is important. For your information, the last two CEOs at Caterpillar Inc. (the largest equipment maker in the world) possess a BA and BS, respectively, and neither one has a professional certification!

As a teacher of both, I find different types of students study the different qualifications. Those that study higher education courses tend to be more analytical, and, at times reflective. They tend to be more questioning of received wisdom. Those who study for certificates do so with a narrow career focus in mind, and usually have little knowledge outside the subject. For a teacher, this often seems to equate with different intellectual levels, but is certainly not always the case.

Those who go for professional certificates usually make excellent managers, but rarely I believe head companies.

I agree to Stanley's comments. But the circumstances are very complicated. Here in europe it is very different from country to country. Let us compare France and Germany. If you want to start a career in industry in France it is not a good idea for an engineer to do a PHD because this is in their mind necessary to do research. In Germany it is really different. You find a lot employees with PHD (Doctor degree) in industry. Also at university it is a must for a German Professor in engineering having worked several years in industry. So it is important to know in which country somebody intends to work.

I agree with the answers given above.

In Portugal you can choose in conformity with your plans of life and courses offered: University (Higher degrees: BA 3 years, MA 2 years, PhD 2-4 years), Polytechnic (Higher degrees: Professional certifications CTESP 2 years, BA 3 years, MA 2 years), or Institutes (Professional certifications CET 1 year with 6 months professional training).

At the moment we have a student that started a Professional Certification CET, then came to us for a CTESP (some classes was excused to redo, obviously, so it took less time to conclude the course), and now she is doing her BA.

Another student came directly from a CET course to our BA course, and she is also doing very well.

I think it is easier for people to come to a Polytechnic Institute since we are much more practice based learning than Universities, more focused in research, natural.

Hope this has helped you.

The same thing is apparent in the UK. A recent report showed that students from poorer families were reaching university through vocational courses-known to be easier than other assessment methods.

In many ways, this is a very good sign.

Thank you friends. Really gained different perspective to the question I asked. In addition, I recently hired a Human Resource Manager and she turned out to be an excellent recruit. In fact she is close to perfect, her joining us has helped us picked some of the best marketers for our products. And we have saved more money with her approach. Unlike the previous HRM. The previous manager hard BA Business Administration and MA Human Resource Management. Still his hiring skills were just wrong. The new Human Resource Manager has BA Sociology only and two certifications (SHRM-SCP and GPHR). So, do you think the new HRM is better because of her certifications? Thank you for your responses

It might, it is possible. But also we have to keep in mind the human factor: both will / desire / love of her work/job, and also the will to become part of a group. Also, the sensibility regarding others, the attentiveness towards others needs and performance, and see if all comes together, like a jigsaw puzzle. People need each other to be complemented in their tasks, which is a factor far too often forgotten in a workplace. Happy co-workers = boost in development (personal and professional). L