Do You Need To Go To College? What I’ve learned
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We all know very well that without a degree, we won’t make enough money to live a good life. My grandmother keeps saying that because she has a small pension. Unfortunately for her and other people in my country, their pensions stay the same, but the costs increase year after year.
As a comparison, people with Ph.Ds and degrees in some domains have big pensions.
So, is a degree the absolute requirement for a good life? The answer is: it depends on your personality and goals. How come?
In my country, there are a lot of people with only maybe eight classes and have expensive cars and huge houses. They didn’t even go to high school but have more money than a Ph.D.
I also learned from “Rich Dad” that you don’t need to go to school to make money because they don’t teach money in school.
If your goal is to make money, you don’t need a college necessarily, but there is a catch: you need to be self-disciplined and a risk-taker.
Let’s be honest: it is much easier and safer to work as an employee; you have a stable and guaranteed monthly payment. Keep in mind, though, that working as an employee is not that guaranteed as you think. I know people who were very dedicated and respected at their workplace, and still lost their jobs because the company needed to cut back on expenses.
It is what happened this year because of the pandemic. Millions of people lost their jobs, not because they did something wrong, but because business began to fail. I lost colleagues because the company lost a client and had to cut down expenses, and I fear that it cand happen to me someday.
We live in days in which it is more important how you look than who you are or what you do. Hence, you need a college if you want to be an employee because the certificate is required.
I have a degree in computer science, but I don’t consider myself a computer engineer because I know almost nothing about electronics and physics. I never liked them because I didn’t have good teachers in school (that’s my excuse, at least). I consider myself a software engineer, though.
I learned to code mostly at home, watching youtube videos, and writing a lot of small apps. I have a passion for web development, which, funny enough, college didn’t teach me anything about it. I am self-taught. Now, I work as a web developer, and people keep recruiting me on LinkedIn for web development positions. It wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t have had a computer science diploma.
On LinkedIn, recruiters don’t look at you, or you don’t even appear in search results if you don’t have a degree and certificate in something. It doesn’t matter if you master any domain; you need a certificate for the employers to pay you properly and to maintain your position. It is how the system works.
The only case where knowledge without proof on paper makes sense is when you create your own business, and you are your boss. If you have a business idea, you are a hard-worker, you are disciplined, and are willing to risk, then college is just an obstacle in your way and a waste of time.
It is better, though, to have a plan B. In case your business fails, what will you do? Also, starting a business requires capital, and it takes years until you make some money out of it. Where will you get the money until then? If you have some wealthy parents, good for you. Few are that lucky.
College is useful as a starting point and backup for whatever happens, but don’t put your faith in it too much. You will still have to research and learn on your own in college as well because no one will push you as teachers did in school.
I had my first job as a grocery shop seller during the summer. Afterward, I worked as a waiter, then in a tv show audience, then as a factory worker, then, for the first time, as a software quality tester. The latter was my first job in my software development career. Now, I am a free-lancer in software development and trying to develop some business of my own, including to invest.
I started at the Employee cashflow quadrant, moved to the Self-employed quadrant, and now moving slowly to the Investor quadrant, and maybe even to the Big Business. “The Cashflow Quadrant” is another book by Robert Kiyosaki that I read and recommend it.
Summary
- college is required if you want to be a well-paid employee (stability and some guarantee);
- we don’t learn money in school, so we don’t need school to make money;
- starting a business requires a good idea, self-discipline, hard work, capital, patience, and guts (know your personality type);
- the best option is to have a plan B; begin as an employee and move gradually towards the forth cashflow quadrant, the big business.
There you have it! I hope you enjoyed it and be sure to share it with your friends and stay tuned for upcoming quality posts. Take care!
Originally posted on lifestylemaniacs.com
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