Do you agree with people who say that you can only have a good career if you get a college degree?
Getting A College Degree
- Thread starter dannyboy24
- Start date
Untrue, there are many careers that require only licensing along with a high school diploma that one can even strive for the moment they graduate, that will pay upwards of $20/hr at entry level. Such careers include electrician work, plumbing, welding and other trades, along with careers that only require you to have good people skills like sales positions. If you're a particularly clever kid, you might even make something sustainable online like many here vie to do.
You can even go into voice acting, music, sports, or even become a comedian if you really want to. Each of these things have varying degrees of difficulty, but it's more than possible to get into any of them, do well, and make a lot of money while you're at it, sometimes even more than you'd ever make with a career that requires a degree.
You can even go into voice acting, music, sports, or even become a comedian if you really want to. Each of these things have varying degrees of difficulty, but it's more than possible to get into any of them, do well, and make a lot of money while you're at it, sometimes even more than you'd ever make with a career that requires a degree.
jamesmajin
Member
On paper it might set you up for a good career but it is definitely not the case that it always does. There are so so so so so so so many exceptions. Look at pop stars. Jay Z, 50 Cent they grew up in some of the roughest areas of the USA and look how rich they are now!
Although I am currently studying to get a degree, I would disagree. Some of the most successful people in the world didn't have degrees, like Steve Jobs, for example. I think the main factors in getting a good job and thus a fruitful career are a good work ethic, positivity, passion and being able to think creatively. Studying at college level can develop you in all of these areas, and I think that's the most important aspect of getting a degree, rather than some words on a piece of paper saying you know a lot about one subject.
jamesmajin
Member
Yeah, agree. And up until university level, at school in england the work you do is just a test of memory/who can be bothered to learn it, rather than genuine intelligence. So having good grades etc doesn't actually prove intelligence. Just work ethic mainly.
I was just talking about this with a couple of 'old friends' (who went to school with me ages ago, revealing what 'school' is really for---not so much 'that you're learning anything,' but that you're 'gaining comerads (sp?) by the fact that you're all battling the same enemies'), and we came to the conclusion that you only STAY in school if you want to WORK in school (like one friend who got a Master's in education-or-something (like my mom did) and now is a teacher (like my mom is)).
Of course, that's not thinking of all the trade-schools or -of medical school or -of seminary---schools that are practically 'on-ramps' to the careers they train you for.
Right now, I'm 'reading' the 'schooling'-system (I almost called it "the education-system"
they've hypnotized me too!) and seeing that it is mostly a big test to see how far you can ride along with a system you know is 'wrong' without acting out against it :sneaky:
Of course, that's not thinking of all the trade-schools or -of medical school or -of seminary---schools that are practically 'on-ramps' to the careers they train you for.
Right now, I'm 'reading' the 'schooling'-system (I almost called it "the education-system"
they've hypnotized me too!) and seeing that it is mostly a big test to see how far you can ride along with a system you know is 'wrong' without acting out against it :sneaky:
It's funny; I always hear about high school and college dropouts who go on to be entrepreneural geniuses then end up making millions of dollars in their fields, and sustain these businesses, too. People such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Gabe Newell, James Cameron, the list goes on and on. However, this doesn't mean dropping out correlates with being rich, as there are actually far more rich people with degrees than there are rich dropouts. The funny thing, though, is (according to sources around the net) dropouts who are that rich are in fact a few times richer than the rich with degrees.
It is probably because they simply think outside of the box. They don't constrain themselves to the educational system of specialization where you get a certain job to do with a certain pay rate. They look to other, larger options, but I have a feeling that only very few dropouts with such ideals ever make it to that level of wealth. Essentially, these people are risk takers and they succeeded, getting a degree is still the safest route to take in terms of financial abundance.
It is probably because they simply think outside of the box. They don't constrain themselves to the educational system of specialization where you get a certain job to do with a certain pay rate. They look to other, larger options, but I have a feeling that only very few dropouts with such ideals ever make it to that level of wealth. Essentially, these people are risk takers and they succeeded, getting a degree is still the safest route to take in terms of financial abundance.
I do not agree at all. Education is so important to me since I'm in school to become a future teacher, but I have seen people spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on an education and land no jobs. It's so depressing! Then, I've seen a lot of people with not even a high school diploma land really great jobs. It all depends on who you know I think.
jamesmajin
Member
It's a combination of who you know, having parents who know how to guide you to do the right things, and a willingness to work hard (which partly comes from your friendship group and parents)
I don't agree with it. How many people with college degrees don't make it and the opposite as well. Of course you need to acquire certain skill and knowledge, but some things are just learned on the job and it is your spirit and capacity that will determine if you have success or not.
No, I do not agree with that statement. There are many people with degrees that have no jobs. The career they have a degree in may be outsourced or dissolved due to technology. Being creative, thinking out of the box, and having a trade or skill gives you a much better chance of getting a job in today's market.
That's hard to answer because everyone has a different idea of what a "good career" is. Some things obviously require a degree (a lot of medical jobs for instance) so if you wanted to do that kind of work you'd need that kind of degree. But there are plenty of people out there that have degrees and are unemployed and can't get even the most basic kind of jobs. But there are high school and college drop outs that became business people or invented something and now they're filthy rich. But just because you have a degree doesn't mean you'll be competitive in today's job market. As a matter of fact I was watching something about this on TV the other day and they were saying that LOTS of people have degrees. It's a very common thing these days. So it no longer makes you stand out like it once did. At one time it was a very special thing to have. Now you're just another face in the crowd.
I'm from Mexico and here for most jobs you are asked for a college degree but the truth is that you end up doing something that you could easily be doing without the degree. There are some cases of people that have succeded without a degree and also lots of entrepeneurs that are doing just fine.
I do have a college degree but I don't think it is necessary to be successful.
I do have a college degree but I don't think it is necessary to be successful.
I'll put it like this, getting a degree doesn't guarantee you a good career. And of course, not every person with a good career has a college degree. But not having a degree undoubtedly shuts a lot of doors. Jay-Z and Bill Gates don't have degrees, but they're different because they run the companies, they ARE the business. When you start your own company, you set your own requirements. But when Jay-Z and Bill Gates go to their business meetings, I can guarantee you that they don't have a bunch of people without college degrees sitting at their table. It can be done, but it's certainly more difficult.
I agree with the career part of the statement, but a good career does not guarantee success in life. It's good to have credentials, but that's just for boasting to your pals and for pushing your kids to stay in school. It's how you apply the knowledge acquired from college that matters. I've seen high school drop-outs who are living much better lives than college graduates because they apply themselves and work hard to make it.
All the years I spent in school, I never thought, "I'm doing this so that I can get a job." Because--as George Carlin says--employers don't want 'highly-qualified people' working for them, they want "obedient workers"---drones (like George Lucas's clones, the stormtroopers).I don't agree with it, nowadays getting a degree isn't a guarantee of a good job so what you end up with is a job you are overqualified for on top of a pile of debt
I remember Napoleon Hill's analysis of "education" (as opposed to "schooling") in his Think & Grow Rich, where he recounted automotive-pioneer Henry Ford's lawsuit against the newspapers that slandered him as "uneducated." On the witness-stand, newspaper-lawyers "quizzed" Ford on all sorts of 'trivia-questions' we spend elementary-through-high-school years learning the answers-to; and he replied with common sense (but not necessarily "correct") answers---"How many soldiers returned to England after the Revolutionary War?" "Considerably fewer than arrived here before the war started."
After Ford got tired of the trivia-quiz, he told the court, "I make automobiles, and so 'how to make automobiles' is all I need to know; BUT--if I needed to know any of these trivial facts you've been grilling me on--I've got a row of buttons on my desk in my office, and can push the right button to call upon the right person to get me that answer!"
And that's what schooling makes you---the right person to bring the right answer to the 'unwashed' executive who pushes your button ... arguably not the most-desired position (most of us WOULD rather be 'ignorantly ordering folks around' than 'fully-informed & powerless'), but more-crucial than 'humbleness' would let you realize.
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