Do You Really Need a College Degree to Thrive?

One of the top questions that we get these days is simple: do you really need a college degree to thrive? This is something that’s going to take a little longer to answer. Sure, we can say that yes, you do — but is that the case? Not necessarily. On the other hand, we can also say that you don’t really need one…but is that the case? Not necessarily! It just means that you need to think very carefully about what is one of the top decisions in your life.

When you haven’t graduated high school yet, you might feel like everyone has a different path for your life. While they mean well, you are the only one that can ultimately decide what happens in your life. You are the only one that can decide what you will do. All of the financial well wishing in the world isn’t going to help you get any closer to your goals. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but it really does make sense in the long run. What you need to do is think about how college affects your goals.

We hate to break it to the anti-college crowd, but there are just some fields that really do require a college degree. Accounting? You need to get a degree. Engineering? You need to get a degree. Sure, you can be an accountant without a degree but it’s much harder to break in. you’re going to have to start with some pretty low level jobs before you really get to the point where you’re building a career. When you decide not to go get your degree, you have to commit to being even more strategic because you’re not going to have the built in social network that college often provides. Think about it — how many people do you know who are still friends with their college buddies? Quite a few!

What you need to honestly think about is trying to figure out what you want to do. If you are interested in something that doesn’t need a college education, then you need to learn everything about it. You need to identify jobs that will give you experience. You need to connect with people that can really give you a strong leg up. You need to figure out how all of these things really play into your goals, because without them, you’re not going to go anywhere fast. You’re not going to get things done. You’re not going to be able to figure everything out, and you’ll just fall further and further behind people who are taking the time to stop and ask these questions.

Figuring out your life is never easy.

Do you really need college? Again, if you’re going to enter a field where college just is the default, you have to prepare yourself now. Saving money for college is a wise move, but it can be difficult. Don’t expect your parents to pay for everything. See if you can work in some summer jobs in order to get the cash that you’re looking for. Being able to work on your own also gives you a sense of freedom.

Got the itch to start a business? That’s one of the top reasons why you might be considering leaving college behind. What you’ll find is that with the power of the Internet behind you, there’s no reason why you can’t actually do both. You can build a business that works while you sleep, or even while you’re in class. If you’re really interested in starting a business, then you need to read absolutely everything that you can get your hands on. This isn’t the time to go with only bits and pieces of information. You need to have as much information as you can possibly get. That’s going to be the real key to getting things done. That’s going to be the real key to having everything fit together properly. That’s going to be the real key to a life beyond your wildest imagination. But we aren’t trying to fill your head completely with dreams. Building a business is really hard, and it ends up eating up a lot of your time. Trying to balance the demands of your new business and school is rough and it’s not for the faint of heart.

But if you’re really committed to getting things done, we really can’t think of anything better than starting your own business. The sense of ownership that you will have is very high.

Is there any love left for college? You know what? There’s plenty of love for college. There’s plenty of love for the pursuit of education. There’s plenty of love left for the thrill that comes from finishing something that others don’t finish. But college requires strategy on its own. You have to go in knowing what you want to study. You have to go in knowing that you want to focus on something for the long run. You also need to go in thinking about how each and every person that you need and befriend can serve your best interests…and how you can serve theirs. You see, it’s not a bad thing to want to help people out at every turn, but it can indeed be a bad thing when you really have nothing else going on. It can be a bad thing when you need to keep your mind sharp on other things. It can be a bad thing when you don’t have a lot of choice in your life. There are a lot of different things at play here, and it’s important to really get a firm grasp on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.

Overall? Good luck. We really mean that, too. It’s not easy to figure out all of these things. The good news that you need to hear right here, right now is that you don’t have to figure everything out at once. You can take your time. You can focus on just what’s really important. And that’s okay — taking small steps is definitely better than never taking any steps at all. You have all of the power in the world to change your life…will you? That’s up to you!