On-the-job experience and career outcomes

WORK experience matters for careers because true skill development happens on the job. A consultant learns more on projects than "on the bench" behind the scenes; a medical intern becomes more proficient by dealing with various complications than by observing cases.

Opportunities to gain such frontline experience are important, but are often limited within an organisation. Thus, when making choices of which jobs to take, individuals make a trade-off between being a big fish in a small pond and a small fish in a big pond.

The former corresponds to working for a smaller company where an employee is more likely to stand out from his peers and have more opportunities to wear many hats and gain more job experience. The latter reflects working for an elite firm where peers are more competitive and the opportunity to acquire frontline experience is slimmer.