Knowledge can be defined as familiarity with something, which can include some facts, information about a particular topic or subject, descriptions of experiment or study, or skills acquired through experience or education. Knowledge can be of two types:
Theoretical knowledge may be attributed to the theoretical clarity of a particular topic or subject, wherein person has quite an understanding about the things going around, and the principle of their working, but cannot control the things. For example, if a person studies about a car and its engine parts in a classroom from books and presentation slides, he would, of course, have knowledge about what are the parts of the car, and what is the principle of working, but he would lack practical knowledge about it. In the absence of this practical knowledge, the usefulness of that car for him is zero. He cannot drive that car without proper practical knowledge, he cannot repair it in the case of some fault, and he doesn’t know anything about its machinery. Theoretical knowledge may be something that would help an individual to gain a good grip over practical knowledge. Knowledge is incredibly important to any career and life in general.
The world is progressing day by day, and we are getting more and more modernized every day which demands a lot of changes from some previous conventional techniques that were followed. Rapid changes in working life, society and information technology have increased the demands for experts in every field. Today the need for expert professionals is raising day by day who are expected to have good knowledge, excellent social and communication skills and who are able to utilize their skills in a positive way in life.
Theoretical knowledge is as important as the practical one. Without having the proper theoretical knowledge, practical knowledge may sometimes prove to be dangerous. As they say, that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Theoretical knowledge and learning are necessary parts of expert knowledge. Formal learning occurs normally in a prescribed learning framework and in an organized learning event in the presence of a tutor, who himself must possess clarity of facts. For this reason, theoretical knowledge is usually gained by theoretical studies. Theory generally teaches us ‘why’. It helps you understand why one technique works while the other fails. Theoretical knowledge generally serves to focus on giving complete knowledge that builds the context and helps you set a strategy for dealing with the practical application. Theoretical knowledge can often lead to a deeper understanding of a concept through seeing it in context of a greater whole and understanding the why behind it, but still practical gives out the much wider review of the facts.
Theoretical Knowledge vs Practical Knowledge
As discussed earlier, when it comes to knowledge there are different kinds of knowledge and different ways of acquiring each kind. On one side is theory and on the other side is the practical application of theory. We cannot sideline one form or the other. Both types of knowledge are important and both make you better at whatever you do. Whether it is theoretical or practical knowledge, both are important. Both works hand in hand with each other and even if we decide to compromise on one form, there is a great amount of risk involved when related to your career. Those who really want to advance the furthest in life have to acquire knowledge at both ends of the spectrum and acquire it in a variety of ways. Neglecting one can also prove to be a great loss.
Practical or informal knowledge manifests itself as skills or ‘‘knowing-how’’. Practical knowledge is very important to understand how things actually work. As it occurs and develops in those concrete situations where it is learnt, it is contextual and social in nature and helps you acquire the specific techniques that become the tools of your trade. Practical knowledge leads to a much deeper understanding of a concept through the act of doing and personal experience. Practical knowledge is found to be of much use in our actual day-to-day work. There are a lot of things you can only learn through doing and experiencing; no matter how hard you try to learn that through theoretical means. For example, if you try to learn how to drive a car by theoretical means, you will probably spend your whole life to learn and still won’t be able to drive without proper practical training, hence practical is the must. Where theory is often taught in the idea of a vacuum, the practical is learned through the reality of life.
Both of the above are important. You won’t survive in any career unless you can bring results and to do that you need practical knowledge. There’s no avoiding to any one of these. At the same time learning how to solve a specific problem only teaches you how to solve that same problem again. Practice can only take you so far. Theory helps you apply what you learned solving one problem to different problems. And practical is the application of theoretical basics in real. The basic difference between theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge is that theory teaches you through the experience of others, on the other hand in practice you tend to learn with your own experience with the particular task. Advantages of practical training are:
Acquisition of Knowledge: Practical training or Internship allows participants to acquire the practical knowledge and abilities offered by the professional world which they wish to form part of, and at the same time to improve their curriculum vitae. Though you may have theoretical knowledge about the subjects and topics, still it is not enough. You cannot achieve career heights with just theoretical knowledge. It is very important to possess practical knowledge along with some theoretic concepts. Without practical knowledge, things are really incomplete. It is like having a bicycle without tyres.
Entering the World of Employment with a Bang: Having a sound practical knowledge gives you an opportunity to show the organization your professional potential with a view to a future job offer. If you have some excellent professional skills, you would not have any problem entering a professional life. Also, it would become really easy for a student to face the transition from a learner to professional when he has a good knowledge of all the facts related to his topics. You tend to impress you seniors and stand a chance to be among the best employees of your organization if you have good practical knowledge. Remember the first impression is last, and if you are successful in giving out the first impression successfully at your job, you tend to gain the trust of your seniors and also some useful tips from them.
Makes Resume More Presentable: Students have the opportunity of applying the reality of work to the theoretical knowledge acquired in the classroom, thus adding a new professional experience to their curriculum vitae. Hence having a good practical knowledge or some internship can become a highlight of your resume. During your interview, you can clearly make a good impact talking about your practical experience and the fact that you already handled a practical situation can be useful for you in getting a job. Today competition is very high and it is not enough to secure a job based on your academics. Time has changed and organizations are looking in for talented individuals who can effectively handle work without wasting time and money on training.
Work feels Good: Students entering professional life are found to fell really bored with the official work if they are new to such behaviour. Having a prior knowledge not only makes your work easy, but you also tend to enjoy, what you do. Things come in a really organized way in your life if you have prior experience of some practical work. Practical knowledge is something that a lot of student’s lack, because of this reason they are not able to understand well their jobs and tend to make mistakes and this behaviour may lead to a feeling of getting bored from your job. Having practical knowledge tends to make things interesting for you.
It is very important for every individual to possess sufficient knowledge to lead his life smartly and successfully. It does not matter if you are a student, professional or a businessman. Knowledge is something very important in the life of an individual. Gaining theoretical knowledge is important but without practical knowledge, it is of no use. Practical knowledge empowers an individual to achieve something that he has been studying about. It is worth noting that not only in professional life; you need to have in good practical approach for your life in general. Hence it becomes really important for proper growth and utilization of your knowledge that you have a practical edge too, otherwise, there is no point having theoretical knowledge also, when you can’t apply it in practice.