Reasons on Why College Isn't Necessary to Be Successful
It can't be argued that most highschool students go to college within 9 months of graduating highschool; whether that be a community college like YC or a university. Of course some people don't, which is often seen as a bad thing, but why? While college is a great experience and is meant to prepare you for the real world, while also teaching you how to succeed in it; it's a common misconception that students who don't go to college won't be prepared for the real world and/or they will fail at life and end up living miserably. In “why college isn't necessary to be successful” essay answers to these question will be given. While college does offer a very solid road to success, there are many other ways to succeed in life that college doesn't offer, or frankly you don't need to go to college for. So if that’s the case, then is college really worth it?
College is not for everyone for many reasons that can range anywhere from flatout just not wanting to go to not being able to afford it. But whatever the reason might be not furthering your education after highschool however you choose to; is very often frowned upon, especially in today's society. It is assumed that if you don’t go to college you will most likely be poor, a failure, and make it nowhere in life. While there are situations in which that can happen, there are also other situations where the complete opposite of that happens. Many people have made it big with little to no college education. Elon Musk is currently the richest man in the world with a $188 Billion net worth. He did complete his bachelor's degree, but his thoughts on college “ You don’t need college to learn stuff, you can learn anything you want for free …. College’s are basically for fun, and to prove you can do your chores, not for learning.” Elon Musk thinks college is not worth the time and effort people put into it. A lot of big corporations don’t require a degree for you to work for them like google, apple, Tesla, VaynerMedia. In 2016 a study showed that one third of the world’s billionaires do not have a college degree.
Over a million students drop out each year and 70% of them drop out due to financial issues. Everyone knows college costs money, some can be a lot more expensive than others. Some institutions will offer to pay your tuition depending on how good you are at a sport or how smart you are. Another option you have is that you are able to take out student loans. “54% of college attendees are taking on debt, including student loans, to pay for their education …. More than half of all American students now have to go into debt to get through college, and their average student loan debt topped $37,500 in 2020”. It takes a student roughly 20 years to pay off their student loans, and about 7% of students are likely to never pay off their student loans.
It is 2021, people have come up with new and creative ways to make a living. There are also a lot of high demand jobs that don't require a degree that pay very well. Some examples of ways people make money with no college degree that are getting very popular are wholesale real estate, forex, dropshipping, e-commerce, day trading, and/or reselling sneakers. None of these require you to go into crazy debt, and these usually start out as a side hustle and end up becoming the main source of income for people. They require time and effort into mastering just like college would, it’s a skill. These careers have no cap on how much you are able to make, you are your own boss. The point is people are making crazy amounts of money, and they are doing it without the help of college. I want to also include that about 55% of students who graduate get a job that requires a degree, meaning that 45% of graduates get a job that doesn’t require a degree.
Although going to college can definitely be worth your while. Doctors, dentists, lawyers, and engineers are all proof that continuing your college education can be life changing. Many students find college as an awakening, they find what they are truly passionate about because you are able to explore hundreds of majors and minors. Graduates benefit by having more career opportunities, having a better overall foundation for success, and having learnt life skills that will have them ready for the real world . Graduates also earn more on average, while also having lower unemployment rates. If you have a college degree under your name, jobs are more likely to hire you.
College can introduce you to new people from all around the world, it creates relationships with people and improves communication skills. It can also create lifelong memories, and relationships. College is fun you just have to find the right people to experience it with. Happiness is something that is always worth the while. “ 94% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher reported being happy or very happy with life, compared to 89% of adults with no college education, according to the Lumina Foundation report”.
In conclusion, there are multiple paths to take for one to succeed. College is always seen as the best path to take, but that is not entirely true. There are many ways one can achieve success, some are a lot more worth it than others. College can be for some people, some may prefer college over anything but it’s not worth the while. The richest men in the world found college unnecessary, and these men are just about as successful as one can even imagine. Many choose college because it is a lot more secure than not having a degree at all, you always have something you can count on. The truth is there are better routes to take than the college one.
