Achievement or success in life is correlated with grades, meaning that the higher someone’s grades at school, the more successful that individual will become in the job market. However, many individuals suggest that social and emotional abilities might be even more important than academic success when it comes to becoming successful in life. This paper will discuss both pros and cons of the matter, and I will express my point of view as well.
Academic success influences one’s success. On the one hand, academic success is highly important for an individual’s success in life. The fact is that those individuals who have favorable grades and educational qualifications will be able to gain access to top educational institutions. At the same time, such individuals will have better opportunities for earning more money, because employers value good academic results since they indicate a proper work ethic. Moreover, academic success is extremely important for professions such as engineering, law, or medicine.
Communication skills, teamwork skills, empathy, and emotional intelligence are crucial elements that help in developing healthy relations and building interpersonal relations, too. As workers will need to collaborate, solve conflicts, and negotiate with clients in a workplace setting, they have to master such skills. People with high emotional intelligence are more effective in dealing with stress, challenges, and team management. They can progress further than their competitors because they possess both emotional intelligence and academic achievements.
In my view, academic success is a necessity for professional success, although social and emotional skills provide strong competition in terms of personal development and career growth in general. Communication and interpersonal skill deficits might prevent an extremely intelligent person from professional success due to an inability to interact and manage relations in the workplace properly. Hence, there should be a balance between academic knowledge and social skills.
Lastly, school programs need to take into account not only academic achievements, but social and emotional skills, too. The reason for that is the importance of both factors for success. Many successful businessmen and entrepreneurs are people who possess not only great academic degrees, but also impressive social and emotional skills.