The UnCollege Movement

Is College Necessary for Success?

  • Total voters
    42
OU Pokemon said:
Even though it will be a few years before I get into college, I do believe that college is practically the only way to succeed in life, since the technology we use rapidly gets more intricate, a college degree is indeed required so that you'll be able to understand more of it.
And in case you're wondering what my future plans are, it's either going to be a politician,
Wall Street banker, scientist, engineer, or a neurosurgeon, or if I get extremely lucky, a CEO or the "dictator" of the world.
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For the record not all jobs require technology much less technology the gets updated that often. For example carpenter's tools don't really get any more advanced, and when they do you learn through experience, and you don't need a 4 year degree to learn how to do the hands on labor.
 
College is useful if you want to get a salary rather than wages at a company...

If you make your own company, to heck with college. The only thing that MIGHT help you is a degree in business or the connections you get from going to college (usually that only applies if you go to a well-known college, eg Harvard, Stanford, Yale, etc). Otherwise, you don't need the degree to help you do your job or to get hired.
 
I think the biggest advantage of college is always having something to fall back on. Even if being a musician or artist or whatever is your long time passion, getting a two-year nursing degree can be the difference between flipping burgers and living on the street, or having a home and a decent life with your family. (Assuming you don't become the next American Idol, which, sadly you won't)
 
idk. College doesn't guarantee a job nowadays with like (i forgot what it is now) 9% unemployment and around (again off the top of my head) 22% underemployment. Success is not GUARANTEED with a degree. Because I want to start a business, college does not really offer much in the form of learning and experience, however it does allow me to network more easily. It would be a better learning experience if I skipped college and just did everything off my own. I have a high chance of failing, but I could always go to college later.

BTW: I will be going to college because Florida has this scholarship where you pretty much go free except for room/books. I won't have this opportunity later in life if I fail. I will, however, continue my business in college. I plan to start it before the end of this summer.
 
This creates another question: what is success? We have different perspectives on what "success" is. For me, college is vital if I want to do pharmaceutical research. I'm going to need background knowledge on what I want to do, especially in a medical field. Chances are a pharmaceutical company won't hire me without it, so college is pretty necessary.

Then again, you don't need college. College is a metaphorical cushion if you don't get a decent job after high school. If you go to college, you have better chances of getting a job because of that slip of paper at the end than a teen that came straight outta high school. Experience is the key word there. This doesn't mean that high school graduates can't be as innovative as college graduates. High schoolers that can generate new ideas and begin patenting don't need to spend tens of thousands on education they won't need if their idea is fantastic.

Just my two pennies.
 
My uncle didn't go to college. He now co-owns a successful business with my dad and is very well off.

Our family friend didn't go to college. Now owns a successful company and has been all over the world.

BOTH have told me to go to college. They say that even though now they are successful, they had been denied job after job for not having a degree.

So you don't need college for success, it's just harder to achieve without it.
 
The bottom line is people like to see that you're educated. I'm sorry, but most high schools really are a oke, and are becoming increasingly worse. You won't get away with ANY of the crud you pull in high school in any decent college. If you want to be the best at what you do in ust about any field you go into, college is definitely the way to go.

@ uliacolo (I HATE this keyboard)

While this doesn't apply nearly as much to artists since art is... well... more art than science :p, it does apply to music: GO TO COLLEGE IF YOU'RE SERIOUS ABOUT IT! If you really want to be a musician, I can not stress enough how helpful it is to take lessons at a college. Unlike art, music is REALLY science based, and has a lot of technical stuff that would be very difficult to learn on your own. So, if music is your passion, go for it! Go to college for it. Unless you get really lucky and know a professional performer/music theorist/etc... who can help you, I seriously doubt you'll be able to reach your full potential.

People need to realize that music IS a ob you can make a good living off of, and is worth going to college for... IF you know where to look, and what areas to go into. You might need to have a basic ob like working at starbucks or chicfila for a while until you get established, but once you do, you can be quite well off.
 
I ust find your posts so amusing every since your keyboard had that unique issue, Mr. edi.
Though music degrees are actually serious business; I had the honor of getting a two hour session with a University professor that handles a large number of classes in the Piano (performance) major. The gap between him and I is just inconceivable. Years of practice can't hold a tune to the vast experience that actual professionals can pass down.

Anyway, back to the main topic:
Anyone with a broad enough mindset can understand getting an education does not guarantee success, nor is having one a requirement to succeed. Both Henry Ford and Bill Gates (and there's definitely more) both didn't go/complete their college education simply because their situation gave them better things to do.

Despite that, I'd still recommend college to be a serious consideration for most scenarios. For those that dropped out of college/did not pursue anything higher than a High School diploma, relatively few do as well as college graduates, simply because there's more doors opened to the educated. And let me put it this way: even if you go to some silly college and barely learn anything there because the class were so dumb, college offers something just as valueable as education: connections. Most of the time, college friends are the ones that will count to your future, rather than your high school friend. Any one of them, or a professor, could help point you to some job opportunity. In actuality, my university has a department that specifically is for getting its students jobs/interships! You can't just read college as a way of simply becoming smarter. It's also there to help you find your way to the future.
 
I'm a college student. I'm looking to someday go to graduate school, as well. I realize the only way to do what I want (working as a counselor/therapist) requires higher education.

That said, college is not for everyone, nor should it be pushed on everyone. I hate so much that schools are pushing every single person out there into higher education, when many of them do not want to/ do not do well in that setting. Some people just aren't meant to go to college- it does make it extremely hard to get a job, though.

I will say, I hope that in the future, the value of a college degree isn't cheapened to the point where "Oh, you have a bachelor's? Go get a master's and come back and then we'll talk"

.:genetbox:.
 
genetbox said:
I will say, I hope that in the future, the value of a college degree isn't cheapened to the point where "Oh, you have a bachelor's? Go get a master's and come back and then we'll talk"
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Unfortunately, I think that's already starting to happen in a lot of fields. Many of my friends who weren't expecting to go to grad school now have to because they're having trouble finding work.
 
CMP said:
genetbox said:
I will say, I hope that in the future, the value of a college degree isn't cheapened to the point where "Oh, you have a bachelor's? Go get a master's and come back and then we'll talk"
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Unfortunately, I think that's already starting to happen in a lot of fields. Many of my friends who weren't expecting to go to grad school now have to because they're having trouble finding work.
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That way, after getting your master's, they can say you are overqualified.
 
Also very true, omahanime. Finding work is difficult no matter your qualifications, but in their specific fields (psychology and toxicology to name some), you'll more likely be told you're underqualified rather than overqualified.

I still stand by my opinion that the necessity of college depends on the field you choose.
 
CMP said:
Also very true, omahanime. Finding work is difficult no matter your qualifications, but in their specific fields (psychology and toxicology to name some), you'll more likely be told you're underqualified rather than overqualified.

I still stand by my opinion that the necessity of college depends on the field you choose.
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I am not arguing with you. I was just being negative about the business world.
 
Oh I know -- I apologize if my post seemed like I thought you were. :) The business world is certainly a difficult one to wade through...some employers may consider a person underqualified while others may consider the same person overqualified.
 
I'll will continue to post news about the uncollege movement and college in general here.

Is college getting easier? Click here


More and more students are getting As and I can tell you that they are studying less and less.
 
Did a bit of looking and found a short clip providing an interesting example. For those who won't bother to watch, I'll cap the main point: National average of studying from one survey estimates about 10 hours of studying a week, way below the amount of what professors recommend to take (around 25 hours a week).

Personally, I feel that as long as the students know the material, give them the A. Forget how long they study. If the institution thinks that their teachers are slacking the curriculum to get more favorable views from students, make a standard. My college has set a Foundation Exam for all Computer Science students that must be taken (and passed) before they can take upper-level classes for their degree. That way, teachers must make sure students know the material to pass the exam, regardless of the grade given.
 
Uncollege now has a wiki page set-up and is looking for volunteers. You can view the wikipage here. If any of you are interested in joining this movement, please e-mail me at [email protected].

Here are our time frame goals for this project:
-create all content for three majors and have live on wiki possibly by July 31, 2011.
-launch to public on August 1?
-have six majors completed by September 1
-have 12 majors by October 1
-have 24 majors by November 1
-have 48 majors by December 1
-have the comprehensive guide completed by January 1, 2012!

As you can see, this group is working hard to get these deadlines met. If you want to learn more about the Uncollege Movement, simply look up Uncollege. Thanks!
 
I agree with you for the most part, sadly most employers do not. They will demand a piece of paper.
So, that means success without paper is limited to a certain amount of professions and employers. I'm still going to finish my Law school, but I think I learned way more from just living on my own, helping others, debating about politics, and even playing games.
 
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/03/unschooling.sudbury.education/index.html?hpt=us_c1

very interesting, a 6 year old takes charge of her education.
 
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