re: Who here didn't go to college but found a career that they succeeded in?

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Makes zero sense but it's been drilled into peoples heads that any degree, will trump experience 9 times out of 10. It's the sad reality.

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:kige:

No kid of mine is going to college to get a worthless degree. Not on my dime in anyway. If they are interested in getting a pre-_____ degree then they need to be prepared to go all the way or not at all. I had too many friends in college with pre-vet or pre-med degrees fizzle out and end up doing nothing with their education.

My wife never finished college. She went 2 years to some private school in Pennsylvania, but got homesick, came home, started working at a retail store thinking she would go back and finish her degree.

Well that never happened because she quickly moved up to manager and started making decent money.

When we got married, she was a regional manager making more than me with my degree.

She quit that job for a much less stressful job at a little local boutique down the road when she got pregnant for less money, but if she had continued with her career she would have made more than most college graduates.

College degree isn't the key to success. Ambitious and drive is way more important.

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Some of the most successful people in the country have history, english, political science, etc degrees.

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That's a pretty bold statement considering a lot of the people at the top are drop outs. Bill Gates is a good example.

Anyone here who has ever met or dealt with someone who was super successful knows it's not because of a degree, it's their work ethic. Billionaires are savages and put in more work than anyone, that's why they are rich. It has frickall to do with being able to regurgitate some bullshite for a college professors.

This obviously does not apply to the doctor and lawyer types. They don't really have a choice.

There are some interesting interviews with people who have worked with Kobe Bryant. They say he's the hardest working person in sports. 800 baskets before practice, 800 after. Up at 4am. At the gym hours before anyone else and stays hours after everyone is gone. College can't teach that kind of work ethic, you either got it or you don't.

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Some of the most successful people in the country have history, english, political science, etc degrees.


That's a pretty bold statement considering a lot of the people at the top are drop outs. Bill Gates is a good example.

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I think this conversation is pretty played out. There is a success story for every type of person.

My Grandfather was a legit OT baller and he "finished high school early" (whatever that actually means) to join the service.

You can get rich doing just about anything, but for most people college is the way to go.

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That's a pretty bold statement considering a lot of the people at the top are drop outs. Bill Gates is a good example.

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You'd be shocked see how many CEOs of Fortune 500 companies have liberal arts degrees.
NPR did a great report a few months ago on this very subject.

Look...if you are a focused, determined, and hard working person, chances are you will have success no matter what you do with or without a college degree.

I can promise that having that degree will open many more doors and raise your income ceiling as a general rule of thumb.

Even though I don't work in a field related to my liberal arts degree, my educational experiences and knowledge have served me extremely well.

To the OP;
Oil/gas and related industries, construction, and IT may very well be your best bet if you don't want to go to college.

What if I went to college , earned a degree, but have no career but am a trophy husband for my wife?

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You say that as if zeal is some kind of measure of merit, and it's simply not true. You have a degree in a field you did not peruse professionally yet you attribute, at least a small part, your current success to past experiences giving people answers they wanted to hear. It may make you feel good but lets be honest with ourselves and acknowledge the fact that it does not teach any skills.

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Simple response, yeah...what I learned in school played a huge role in my success. It taught me the skill of critical thinking, analytical reading and writing, how to properly prepare for situations. The knowledge base gained provides immense perspective.
You couple that with hard work (also learned in the classroom and athletic field) and real on the job experience and yeah, it makes me more capable business owner.

I know I'm able to make far better business decisions on a daily basis because of it.


And as far as the Fortune 500 CEOs go, I don't remember the exact numbers but there are more CEOs with liberal arts (English and history in particular) than any other degree, non degree etc.

You cite Bill Gates but fail to realize ( loss of perspective) that he and the handful of others are an extreme minority.
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Every Gates, there are hundreds of thousands of failed drop outs

What you also fail to realize is that a degree is an objective measure proving work ethic. It shows that you have accomplished something.

Yes all degrees aren't created equal but when I hire someone with a degree, I know they were either intelligent or driven enough to earn that degree. Much better odds if being a good employee than some drop out off of the street that has held 6 jobs in the past 18 months.

You are right, work ethic means everything in the work force.
I know I have better odds of hiring a person with good work ethic if they have that degree.

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I'm the opposite of that. Went to college, still terrible failure

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Very, very common. College doesn't teach you to succeed. It teaches you to complete assignments and hopefully use your mind. If you don't apply yourself later, nobody to blame but yourself.

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what's your career? Did it take awhile to figure out what you wanted to do?

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Here's the deal with college. If you want to be a lawyer, doctor, engineer, or accountant; go to college and major in that field.

If you want to be anything else; major in business, computer science, or general studies. Aside from the careers mentioned earlier, the rest of the college grad jobs available just require "a degree".

You can start working at 18 right out of HS, and by the time you're 23 you can make as much as a 23yr old right out of college (maybe more). The difference is: While you're punching the clock and hanging out with GED's 10 years older than you, The college guy is banging co-eds and hanging with future executives.