The Internet is filled with stories of college dropouts, who in spite of not having a degree, have gone ahead to become successful entrepreneurs.
There’s Steve Jobs who attended college for just one semester. Between 1976 when the late Apple cofounder released his first Apple product, and 2015, the company has grown into a successful brand with a net worth of over $700 billion.
Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard after starting a social networking site in his dorm room in 2004. Today, Facebook is a foremost social networking site that’s worth over $45 billion.
Richard Branson never even made it to college. He dropped out of high school when he was only 16. He is famous for his conglomerate of businesses bearing the Virgin brand. His self-made business has driven his personal wealth into several billions.
These, and many more, are the examples which education skeptics cite to justify their argument. They argue that if these people didn’t need a college degree to be successful, perhaps you don’t need one, either.
Although, there seems to be a growing number of skeptics who believe that college degree doesn’t guarantee success, not everyone agrees with them.
Bill Gates was a dropout, yet he thinks everyone should attend college. Although, he dropped out of college to pursue a career in software, he believes getting a degree is a much surer path to success.
Often times, what we read are stories of the most successful college dropouts. Nobody really talks about dropouts who didn’t succeed.
Again, it will be interesting to note that none of these successful college dropouts has a work force full of dropouts. In fact, they hire highly educated, hardworking and skilled people, to help them build their business brands.
Sheryl K. Sandberg, the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, has a B.A. in Economics at Harvard. She also earned her M.B.A (with the highest distinction) at the Harvard Business School.
Steve Jobs also had Tim Cook. The latter who took over after the former’s death, graduated from both Auburn University (B.S) and Duke University (M.B.A).
Again, Will Whitehorn, who is widely seen as Richard Branson’s second in command, attended Edinburgh Academy and Aberdeen University.
The significant roles played by college graduates in these organizations, describes why successful college dropouts aren’t skeptical about the value of education.
Today, many economies have ultimately benefited from continuous investments in education. David Autor, an economist at Massachusetts, suggests that more educated societies generally become richer, healthier and better functioning over time than less educated societies.
Here are the four reasons why you need to get a college degree:
- You need a degree to get a decent job
A degree increases your chance of getting a decent job. With a college degree, you’re more likely to find a rewarding job and earn higher income than a high school graduate.
According to Professor Peter Cappelli, Director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources, the average college graduate in the U.S. makes 60% more than the average high school graduate.
Again, Georgetown University’s Centre on Education’s and Work Force has projected that by 2025, two third of all jobs in the United States will require education beyond high school.
If this projection is anything to go by, it means that college graduates will remain economically better placed than their less educated counterparts.
- Only college graduates can handle certain jobs
Certain careers require the services of highly skilled and qualified individuals. Most times, these jobs require years of rigorous study at college.
For instance, you can’t be a medical doctor without attending medical school. Nobody even dares to consult a quack. Same goes for professions such as law, accounting and engineering, among others.
These are jobs which can only be taken up by persons with certified college degrees, and as such this increases their chances of success.
- College gives you more exposure
Colleges provide great networking opportunities for students. It offers a unique opportunity to learn from more experienced people, with great wealth of knowledge.
It is common to find professors giving advices on how you can succeed in your chosen career path. They could even set you up with opportunities through their connections, if you’re smart enough to ask.
There’s no doubt that exposure increases your chances of success, and you can get enough of that in college.
- College teaches unique life values
A student faces many obstacles throughout his stay in college. He attends classes, takes several assignments and tests, and studies hard to pass exams. In doing these things, students learn to work hard, follow instructions, and meet deadlines.
In addition to the academic training that students are exposed to, they also learn the important value of completing tasks, and enjoy the feeling of confidence which comes with such accomplishment.
Apart from this, college trains students to make certain decisions independently. It allows them to form unique personalities, shapes their thought patterns and helps them to choose unique career paths.
Conclusion
While it is important to identify the real causes of increasing college dropout, the few successful ones should not be used as yard stick to justify dropping out. Entrepreneurship should not be seen as an alternative to attending college, rather it should be embraced as an effective way to reduce the skyrocketing rate of unemployment.
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