Can You Succeed Without College Essay Example

Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs are all big names in the world. Some of the richest men on Earth, and yet, they all dropped out of college to pursue their dreams. Parents in every country push their children towards a career through a college degree, but is all the time and debt worth it to work an average job and live an average life? American businessman Chris Gardner wrote an article in the “The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education” that stated "Education is the best road to success. That's certainly the way you bet. But sometimes the bet is dead wrong." Getting a degree can be a path to success, but failure is still possible. College is not necessary for success because many successful people struggled in school and still persevered, changing times are making degrees less valuable, and success doesn’t always directly correlate with net worth. 

Taylor Nicole Rogers at Business Insider did an article on Forbes titled “13 billionaires who dropped out of college before making their fortunes” which documented that, “Approximately 1 in 8 billionaires on the 2018 Forbes 400 ranking of the wealthiest people in America was a college dropout, Business Insider's Rachel Premack previously reported.” If a group of billionaires dropped out of college and still compiled their fortune then it is not impossible for others to do as well. While the 1 in 8 are very uncommon people, they do prove that a degree is not the only determining factor in becoming wealthy. There are many factors such as determination, work ethic, and discipline. Success is also possible without being a billionaire. An interview by CNNfn was done for author; John Murphy, in which he said, "Well I have met representatives of every level of a corporation from the president to all the vice president capacities to the financial people all of whom didn't have college degrees." Committing to an organization early on and working your way up through the years is also a viable option for those who would prefer that path towards wealth. Trades such as being a welder, mechanic, or lineman are great inlets to large industries that are easy to excel in with solid work ethic.

Currently in the United States there is a large demand for workers, regardless of their education level. There is a very high unemployment rate and many businesses just want anyone to keep the company alive. An article in The Economist titled “No Degree Required; The Job Market” visits a drywall corporation in Texas. "Now it has to place an ad, and I'm lucky if I get two or three people in the door," moans Mike Sireno, a manager. He once looked for ten years' experience; now, two or three years' is a triumph, and he will happily hire workers "right out of high school with no experience whatsoever"." Degrees are becoming less and less valuable. If there is an immediate demand for labor then anyone will be taken in, despite lack of age or experience. Managers and owners of establishments don’t mind training and developing new-comers if there is intent of staying with the company. Having a degree does not prepare you specifically for most jobs. There are many technicalities and tricks of the trade to be learned that aren’t going to be picked up in college. "You need specialized training for many jobs, but to insist that all applicants for good, well-paying jobs have a college degree is ridiculous." says Tom Ede from The Washington Post in his article “College education is not necessary for most jobs” Whether it is through becoming a billionaire or working a steady and reliable job for years, there are many ways to find wealth without a degree. But sometimes it isn’t wealth or a large net worth that determines a person’s success. 

A journal titled “Most Rich Americans Have Worked Hard to Obtain Their Wealth” highlights that, "Many of the people who graduated top of their class did not do well," he said. "People like [billionaire] Donald Trump did not graduate high of their class. You have to be able to get along with other people and be able to adjust to the world around you" to be successful in life."(B. Z. Khasru) Adjusting to the world and thriving despite the conditions around is a viewpoint that can be taken into consideration when defining success. While there are many definitions of success and various interpretations, the U.S. as a whole is starting to believe that possessing a degree alone means success. David R. Francis addresses this in his journal, “The American Dream Is Slipping Away”, in which he expresses that, "What that means is that the US is becoming less of a meritocracy, where skill and intelligence determine success, and becoming more of a class-bound society, where economic background, including the better education money can provide, matters more." Class and possession of a degree are believed to hold more value, however, experience, work ethic, loyalty, and determination are really the factors that employers will look for when looking to bring someone into their company. Having these abilities can make you more successful and fulfilled than those who have more money. Money doesn’t determine a person’s success. It is up to the individual to define it on their own.

However, going to college doesn’t guarantee failure either. In fact, college is actually a perfect opportunity to get ahead of others in various aspects. A degree can open up many paths and a variety of new experiences to the individual who pursues a career through a university. There are ups and downs but for the majority of the population, college can be the right choice. An article titled “The Rising Cost of Not Going to College” from the journal “How Valuable is a College Degree” written by Noël Merino remarks that "When it comes to their current jobs, about half (53%) of all employed college graduates in their mid-20s and early 30s say they are "very satisfied" at work. In contrast, only 37% of comparably aged Millennials with a high school diploma or less are as satisfied with their job, according to the Pew Research survey." More people are satisfied with their jobs that go to college and that is because those who get a degree also seem to have high paying and more respected occupations. One downside to college though is that it is extremely expensive. America Magazine states, "Student loan debt, at more than $1 trillion, has surpassed credit card debt in size." in an article titled, “The price is not right” One trillion dollars is a massive debt that cannot go overlooked. The upsides to college are numerous but that does not mean it is the only way to succeed. With a college degree, many job opportunities will be available that would not regularly be if no degree were present. Don’t disregard college completely because it is a totally viable option for a career path.

The point of this essay was not to dissuade one away from a college degree, but rather to prove that success is still a possibility without a university education. Going certain places or being of a certain class does not confine one’s abilities, nor does it define everything about a person. It is up to the individual to choose how they define their success, make their path in life, and the decisions they make that lead to the course of their lives. Joseph Kenneth Malone says in a letter, "Maybe it's time we recognize that while nurture and nature are important, success in life, regardless of how one defines it, tends to be a matter of choices." Choices determine the person and choosing between college and forging a path of one’s own will start a path that decides how their life will go. College is not necessary for success because many successful people struggled in school and still persevered, changing times are making degrees less valuable, and success doesn’t always directly correlate with net worth, but that doesn’t mean college is wrong. Choosing a path for success is up to the individual.