Is A College Education Worth It?

[theoriginator]

I have a question for all those who are successful/ business owners, etc. All through middle school and high school all they push is higher education, "go to college or you won't make it". But being in the real world it seems that most people that go to college end up in jobs or careers that don't require college at all or are completely unrelated to their degree. It seems that people who own small businesses and are involved in blue collar trades are the ones that make real money much sooner, without owing thousands for school. I paint cars personally and I do better than most of the people I know who went to a 4 year school. They drive their Jettas and Mercedes while sipping Starbucks because they think they're better than us working in an office not getting dirty. However, most of the time our net worth is higher than theirs and we're much better at managing money because we're used to not knowing how much we'll make week to week. So the question is where is the real path to success? Where's the real money as far as everyone has seen?

[Bill Howell]

You sound like I did 30 years ago, but at 50 I wish I had gone to school.
I may not have made anymore money but I would not have had to work so hard to get to the same point.

I think engineering is the best bang for the buck right now. I would go back and get a degree in Civil engineering if I were 15 years younger.

[Spiffav8]

You sound like I did 30 years ago, but at 50 I wish I had gone to school.
I may not have made anymore money but I would not have had to work so hard to get to the same point.

I think engineering is the best bang for the buck right now. I would go back and get a degree in Civil engineering if I were 15 years younger.

X2

A friend once told me that an education is the best things you can do for your self and the one thing that no one can take away. It might not pay off directly in your line of work, but it will improve other areas of your life. Lord knows I would be a lot further ahead if I had a degree.

[novanutcase]

They can take away your business but they can never take away your education!

John

[John510]

Depending on what your going to do you may or may not need the college education. Me and my wife own a restaurant which I run. She is a full time RN and has a BSN degree. Without the degree she wouldnt have a job. On the other hand I dont have a degree since I didnt need it to start the business.

[ls1 nova]

I went to 2 different colleges for engineering and dropped out. My wife went to college for business and now owns her own company. We both do very well. The only difference is that I cant seem to get my fingernails clean! I do think it is all in what you enjoy. If you are lucky you can be successful either way. I do really enjoy what I am doing but it does take a toll on your body. I hope I have another 20-25 yrs in me!

[James OLC]

John is exactly right.
Your education can give you opportunities to move when you want or need to. After I graduated university I opened a speed shop which I had for a few years. When I wanted a change I worked in my chosen profession for six or seven years and car building became a hobby. When my industry took a downturn, I looked to other options to make it through. A couple of years later the industry recovered and I went back. Today cars are a hobby (ok - unhealthy obsession) again but as I look to the future I can see a time where I will be building cars full time again.
Education can never hurt you.

[ls1 nova]

I agree education can never hurt you but learn a trade well and the side work is always there. You will pay the bills with side work but the down side is no pension or benefits. If you become good at a trade and have a business sense, I have seen a few people become very successfull without a college degree. On the flip side I have friends come out of college and make anywhere between minimum wage and 6 figures!

[bwhinnen]

I started college but dropped out part way through my third year after being offered full time work. That was 17 years ago, I am now still working in the same industry that my degree would have been in and am further along than those people I was at college with.

Whilst finishing the education hasn't hampered me in any way if I'd not started and not gone as far through as I had I wouldn't be where I am today. So yes it is important to get a good grounding in your chosen profession in any means necessary.

I'm in I.T. by the way, although in hindsight Engineering would have been far more fun and interesting I think...

[novanutcase]

I started college but dropped out part way through my third year after being offered full time work. That was 17 years ago, I am now still working in the same industry that my degree would have been in and am further along than those people I was at college with.

Whilst finishing the education hasn't hampered me in any way if I'd not started and not gone as far through as I had I wouldn't be where I am today. So yes it is important to get a good grounding in your chosen profession in any means necessary.

I'm in I.T. by the way, although in hindsight Engineering would have been far more fun and interesting I think...

Don't you just love doing software rollouts or clustering servers?!? LOL!

JOhn

[bigvegan]

Whatever you do, MAKE GOOD AND DAMN SURE that what you want to get an education in is what you actually want to do.

Otherwise you may end up taking the socially acceptable route and end up with a B.A. and a law degree and an assload of student loans, without any interest in the actual field whatsoever (Dealing with lawyers for the rest of my career? Really?), and a salary that's not nearly what it should be, since there are so many other people competing for the same spots to pay off THEIR student loans.

(I have nobody to blame but myself for this bonehead move, but I'd hate to see anyone else make the same mistake.)

So, if possible do the following:
1. Go to school to learn how to do something you REALLY want to do with your life, and that will actually pay the bills, not just for the "intellectual experience".
2. Make sure at least one of your majors provides a lucrative skill at the end of it, without the need for substantially more schooling. (Unless you're going to med school. Knowing how to do emergency surgery makes you a very useful person to have around, regardless of whatever else you end up doing.)

This should be completely obvious. I did not get the memo in time.

Good Luck!

[Damn True]

Steve Jobs - No degree
Steve Wozniak - No degree when apple was founded but he got one later under a pseudonym
Larry Ellison - No degree
Bill Gates - No degree
Dustin Moskovitz - No degree


Can you get a good job with apple, Oracle, Microsoft or facebook without a degree? No.

Interesting paradox, but true.

Here's the thing. Having a degree means nothing. I know MBA's who can't find work. I know a dude with a psych degree who is head of engineering development for a server company. I know a guy with a biology degree who was the CTO for Seagate and is now on the Board of Directors of three corporations, two of which will make a Billion dollars this year.

What a degree does is open doors and provide options. You can get a highly focused degree that will prepare you for one thing and one thing only....and hope you like it and the industry remains solvent. Or, you can get a broader degree and morph your skillset to the demands of the workplace and your interests.

I find that I am most impressed by job candidates who have worked in a trade THEN gotten themselves a degree. Moreso by the people who have done the above at the same time. They seem to know what it means to work your a$$ off. Understand that reward comes from hard work and have less of a sense of entitlement.

My recommendation would be to learn a trade (in the military or private sector but I prefer the former). While doing so, or afterward, get a degree and don't marry or have kids until both are complete. You never know when your company is going to get bought out, or your entire industry might decide that it's best to do things overseas. Having the trade to fall back on could prove to be a valuable insurance policy but absolutely will teach you the value of hard work and that is something a potential employer can see from a mile away.

[derekf]

Can you get a good job with apple, Oracle, Microsoft or facebook without a degree? No.

Can't speak for Oracle or Facebook, but you can at MS... or at least it was that way a few years back.

I find that I am most impressed by job candidates who have worked in a trade THEN gotten themselves a degree. Moreso by the people who have done the above at the same time. They seem to know what it means to work your a$$ off.

That's where I am. I'm already established in the field, and just now am I moving forward with the book learnin' - 4 years into what seems to be an 8 year plan. It would have worked out better for me, I expect, had I got my degree earlier in life though.

[406 Q-ship]

I would say College is like anything in life you get back what you put into it. I know alot of people who have no college and are sucessful, and those with College degrees that are doing great too. When a person has a position that isn't related to their degree and is sucessful, college degree is more than just about the field in which one studies. The experience of College can be more educational than the class work.

I believe anyone can be great at anything with or without a degree, but any education is a plus and as it has been said education can never be taken from you.

[Paul_J]

I think it really depends on what you want to do. I agree with you that the current education system wants to push everyone into college and that's too bad for the students that would be better served going through a trade program. For myself, I struggled to make it through high school. My I.Q. is in the high 130's taking the REAL tests but academics are not something I have the aptitude for so traditional education doesn't work for me. I'm ok with that reality and I've worked around it. I'm an Electrical/Mechanical Designer for an MEP Engineering consultant and I make a good paycheck. Not nearly as much as a P.E but again, I don't have the ability to do that. As a side note I also know a lot of P.E.s that can not tie their own shoes! If what you want to do and are passionate about does not require a degree then you do have a choice.

Having money in life is not always about making lots of it. It's what you do with the money you have. Don't live beyond your means (see current housing/credit crisis), save for a rainy day, make a budget and stick to it and invest some of your paycheck for the future.

And what Tony_SS said below in a lot fewer words!

[Tony_SS]

Look for what you love to do instead of money. And then determine if you'll need a degree.

I have BFA in Graphic Design. It's a valuable education, however, they did not teach me one technical skill. When it came to learning the Mac and it's the programs, we were on our own.

[TPI Monte SS]

Wow, a lot of great stories and advice here so far!

Look for what you love to do instead of money. And then determine if you'll need a degree.

Agreed! I got through two years of college for music education before the amount of work and practicing I had to keep up with took its toll on me. So, I took a semester off and worked two part-time jobs, and also hung around my friend's repair shop. Honestly, I was thinking about becoming a full-time mechanic because I really enjoy working on cars.

My friend said to me one day, "When are you gonna get out of here and go back to school?" I told him I really hadn't decided yet, and he gave me some valuable advice. He said "Take your most favorite thing, and keep it your hobby. Take your second most favorite thing, and make it your career."

So I went back to college, finished my BA and found a teaching job. I really enjoy cars more than teaching, but I could see myself being burned out from fixing customer's cars all day and not having any time to work on my own projects. As a teacher, I have my weekends free, summers off, and I'm home by 3PM for the 180 days a year I have to work. I don't make a whole lot of money, but it's enough to keep gas in my tanks, food on the table, clothes on my kids, and pay the mortgage and bills. And that's all that matters!

[ajjones44]

For one, a college education doesn’t mean nothing compared to experience and training. A buddy of mine just left the military for a civilian job, no college education at all but tons of experience and training. He wasn’t put in an entry level position but in an executive position and now brings in 300,000+. I also now a guy with several masters degrees and even a couple of doctorates. He could find a job to say a life and now teaches at a high school.

My recommendation is to find what you want you really want to do and then find the best path to get there. That path my or may not require a degree. I believe you are already on a good path to success. You don’t have these high student loans and you probably don’t have a lot of debt. If you enjoy what you do stick with it. Continue to better yourself in your trade and then branch at and learn more and before you know it you will be capable of opening your own shop. Then I can be your first client and you can give a great deal.

[NOPANTS-68]

Trust me- stay in school, graduate, get focused, and get it on. I graduated in 2000 with a B.S. in Communication Studies and I never would have thought I would be managing a collision shop at this point in my career, but here I am. Of our four stores, I'm one of two people with a degree among the managers and 20 years younger than the one I just fired. Sure you hear about those without advanced educations making serious money, but you have to understand that they represent a very minute part of the population. There were times when I was stuck in class while my good friends dropped out and got jobs making great money. It seemed impossible to stay focused, but it only took a few short years for those tables to turn. You don't want to be a 32 year old sophmore- just ask one and they'll tell you to stay the course. Good luck. Remember that college is designed to make you a well rounded person, not simply a one trick pony.

[amx2334]

I was a mechanic.3 years of tech. school and 10 years on the job.Burned out. Every guy that I went to school with that I have run into left the business. They make it about 10-15 years and decide that there has to be a better way to make a living. I would imagine that alot of trades end up this way.It's a nice fallback but most people change careers multiple times throughout their life. A college ed. opens up way more opportunities later in life.Not necessarily the education itself but just getting a chance from an employer.
On the other hand I see some pretty crappy jobs advertised with some really low pay and they are asking for a degree. It makes me want to call them and say "for that kind of money your lucky if they have a HS diploma."

He said "Take your most favorite thing, and keep it your hobby. Take your second most favorite thing, and make it your career."

This is why I became a mechanic instead of being a porn star.