Throwback Thursday: Is Higher Education Manadatory to Be Successful in Life?
I might not be a great person to answer this question definitively since I have both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree and thus can’t speak from personal experience, but I would argue that no, post-high school education is not a necessity to lead a productive and fulfilling life. HOWEVER, whether you’ll be successful without it depends on a few key factors, in my not-so-humble opinion:
- How you define success. If you want the corner office by the time you’re 25, it’ll be a lot harder to do it without a college education. That being said, if you start working toward that corner office at 18, four years ahead of all of the suckers attending university, you may have a leg up after all.
- What you want to do with your life. If your dream is to be a doctor but you don’t want to go to school, well, there’s kind of a disconnect there. But if your goal is to provide for your family and yourself in a job that satisfies you, then you have an awful lot of options that simply do not require a college degree.
- How hard you’re willing to work. For folks without that bachelor’s degree “or equivalent,” which is a major requirement for many job applications, you will need to have either strong experience or some exceptional skill to prove that you’re worth hiring. This is where trade schools and vocational training come in really handy.
Is it possible to run your own business without a college degree? Sure! Both of my parents do it. I have lots of friends doing it. And of course there are people like Simon Cowell, Bill Gates, Rachel Ray, and Steve Jobs who all have extremely successful careers and not a college degree among them. This list of 15 entrepreneurs who didn’t need college, from College Startup, is kind of inspiring if you ask me.
In his “We Don’t Need No Education” Contest (which, just so we’re all clear, is no longer accepting entries), Bosshatch’s Jim Gordon asks readers to explain WHY college is unnecessary, HOW it distorts your goals, and in WHAT WAYS are people prepared for entrepreneurship straight out of high school.
I’m not going to get into all of that right now, but I do want to talk more about this in the future. What I do want to say, though, is that not everyone is cut out for college. Not everyone is cut out for a corporate job. Some people are great at being employees, work hard, and do a good job, and they don’t NEED to learn how to run a business — they just need skills to work. And you know what? That’s okay.
There’s this huge pressure in America to go to college, to get a graduate degree, to pursue post-graduate education. Teachers and school counselors put the fear of God into these kids, making them think that they’ll be homeless bums without higher education. But you know what? The world needs landscapers, hairdressers, truck drivers, teaching assistants, massage therapists, schoolbus drivers, grocery store stockers, deli workers, receptionists, and dozens of other professions that don’t require a college education, and there are lots of people who are perfectly happy in those careers. And rightfully so, because they are dignified, respectable work.
And this is not to say that if you don’t go to college, you have to do one of those jobs I mentioned before. Running a business takes savvy and common sense, and a few supplemental resources like a class or two on specific skills like bookkeeping or contracts might not hurt either. But there is no reason your average, everyday person must have a 4-year liberal arts degree to be capable of running a successful business.
What do you think? Is higher ed a requirement for success in life, or is a high school education all you really need? Leave a comment.
Recommended reading:
- Around The Business Channel: Why Bother Getting An MBA? - from Darlene @ Interview Chatter
Don’t forget to share What You Want to Be When You Grow Up and be entered to win a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card!
(photo via SXC.hu)
Tags: women and business, women in business, business advice for women, do you have to go to college to be successful, do you need a college degree to get a job, is higher education necessary, is college necessary, college degree, undergraduate degree, graduate degree, career, job, simon cowell, bill gates, rachel ray, steve jobs, biz chicks rule, kristen king
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Business Success, Career Planning, Controversial Issues, Education, Throwback Thursday
6 opinions for Throwback Thursday: Is Higher Education Manadatory to Be Successful in Life?
Marijke
Apr 12, 2008 at 7:52 am
I don’t have a university degree - just a college diploma as an RN. I was brought up in academia. My father was a university prof, my mother a teacher. The fact that I didn’t go to university hung on the idea that I just wasn’t smart enough to go.
I think that university absolutely has its place and I think that further education is absolutely essential. BUT - further education does *not* have to mean university. It can be trade school, it can be evening courses to learn how to do things to make your life easier for yourself or new skills.
My oldest two are in university, one going for a degree in economics, one for a degree business. I think the business one will end up with an MBA eventually.
My third? No visions of college or university, but he wants to be a recording technician. So, until he can get into a program, he will be taking college courses to improve his chances and maybe take some business courses in case he gets to run his own company one day.
Higher education is for growth, not paper. I take courses often, but I still don’t have that university degree.
Dan Rafter
Apr 12, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Hi, Kristen:
This is a great topic. It’s one I struggle with all the time. As a full-time journalist and writer, I did earn a four-year degree. But really, once I had managed to find my first job, no one really cared about that degree. Potential employers wanted to see my writing clips and little else.
I do think that a college education, though, is becoming more and more of a must. I know I’d be horribly disappointed if my son skipped college. The folks I know who didn’t get a four-year degree aren’t necessarily poor, but they all had to work extremely hard to achieve financial success.
Thanks for a great topic.
Dan
Bill Dueease
Apr 13, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Kristen,
Congratulations! You have exposed one of the most pervasive and many times one of the most damaging myths in the US. That myth in “That you must obtain a college degree, and even an advanced degree as a basic requirement to success.” Balderdash!
There was a two year study done by the Kaufman Entrepreneurial Leadership group, Oxford College (in England) and Babson College (I believe is affiliated with Harvard) that concluded in writing, among other things, that a person cannot learn anything about starting and running a business in any college or University in the top ten economic countries (the report studied). The list of successful business owners who started businesses so successfully, because they did NOT attend college is very long and Impressive.
Not everyone will do well in college, nor improve himself or herself by going to college. Your other examples are right on point.
I want to take this point even further and bust another nasty myth. Many women who have chosen to be mothers and devote themselves to their children, at one time or another feel the urge to return to the work force. This makes real sense, if you explore and understand the reduction in time and energy it takes to continue being a very successful mother, as children grow up. For example, mothers do not have to work hard at mothering from 8:00 AM till about 3:00 to 4:00 PM while the children are in school. But the myth these returning mothers accept is that they need to return to school to be good enough to be hired or produce in their new roles as working mothers. Once again Balderdash! The qualities, experience, confidence, and maturity mothers gain by being good mothers provide them with outstanding qualities and experience to succeed in many working rolls, without further schooling. Mothers and people doing the hiring miss this vital point much too often, because of the myth of needing more schooling.
You also addressed another vital ingredient to success. That is: How does a person define success. The individual definition of a person’s version of success will dictate whether going to college is best. I will stop now, because I wrote a whole article on this subject at the request of an editor, and I must wait until it is published.
Kristen King
Apr 13, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Thank you for your detailed and insightful comment, Bill! Please come back after the article is published and give us the link where we can read it.
kk
Bill Dueease
Apr 14, 2008 at 11:58 am
Hi Kristen,
I will submit the article as soon as the publisher allows me. Thank you for your interest.
I have been reading your blogs and realize that you and Bridget are onto something and something real big. We at The Coach Connection (TCC) have been not only telling women and mothers the same thing, but we have assisted many women business owners and mothers over the past 3 years to take control of their work lives on their terms and succeed way beyond their wildest dreams, BECAUSE they did it their way, and not like others. (Read men) We have assisted many women to put your theories into successful practice. Keep it up.
Women have everything it takes to enjoy and thrive in the working world on their terms. The only people who do not know or believe that to be true, are the women themselves. May I invite you to read my article entitled “The Amazing Profession of Motherhood” http://www.findyourcoach.com/0o-workingmother-coach.htm#mother that explains the why and how for you and other mothers to take control of your working mother conditions and do it your way on your terms? We even have a special section for working mothers.
PS, I’m trying to figure out how to subscribe to your blogs, but (this may surprise you) I am technically challenged. I will get help.
Kristen
Apr 14, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Thanks, Bill.
For you and others who might be struggling with subscribing, all you have to do is go to the upper right of the page and click on the link that says “Subscribe to Biz Chicks Rule | Who Says It’s a Man’s World?” next to the orange square. You can select to have posts e-mailed to you or read them in a feed reader. If you’re tech challenged, just use the e-mail option because it’s easiest.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: