A college education is considered "important" in modern day society and most well paid jobs are rare without one. I understand this. If you want to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or even have a slightly better salary at whatever job you choose, a college degree will get you there.
If you know me well, then you probably know one of my (I feel) largest flaws is my fickle nature. I change my mind. I do that because I have a hard time sticking with a decision. Maybe I am a "grass is greener" girl? I don't doubt it a little. My experience with how I found the LDS church could actually show a bit of my nature. I was seeking a final answer on religion. What is THE church that Christ looks at says, "That is my Church and it is led by people that I speak to". So maybe I'm an absolutist (is that a word? If not, it is now!) I want to know the answers to questions. The right answers. I like to know things. I'm sure my childhood friends can attest to the fact that I've always been a bit of a know-it-all. It is a blessing and curse, I assure you.
But with life in general, there are very little solid, right and true answers. Although, God does provide us with absolutes, but if you don't believe in God...where do you get your choices? There are so many choices. And those choices all have consequences, whether good or bad. At the end of the day, I think I would rather have someone tell me what the right answer is, instead of guessing and hoping that it doesn't flop. That's where the college education comes in. Am I spending thousands of dollars of mine (and other's) money for nothing? Do I really need the piece of paper? I only have a year or year and a half left of school, so I know it would be really dumb to stop now, but on the same token, would it really be that dumb? Won't college always be there if I need it to be? Am I not credible without it?
I've always been one to take my own path, and that path has taken me some interesting places. As things naturally take their course, aren't we supposed to do what makes us the healthiest and happiest? I like to be in charge. I like to take care of people. I like to be needed but not depended on. The older I get the more I realize I have more to learn. I don't know it all, but I do depend on God's inspiration and instruction on where to find the right answers.
So, I know the piece of paper for me is more about finishing something that I started. But the question still remains...is being a college graduate essential in our society for success? According to an article in the NY times:
"Last year, 33.5 percent of Americans ages 25 to 29 had at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 24.7 percent in 1995, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. In 1975, the share was 21.9 percent. The number of two-year college degrees, master’s degrees and doctorates has also risen recently."
That still leaves well over the majority of American's without one. In an article by Huff Post, it gives us a list of 11 successful people who never graduate college. You might find some of these interesting.
- Rachael Ray
- John D. Rockefeller
- Simon Cowell
- Abraham Lincoln
- Julie Andrews
- Michael J. Fox
- Sean Connery
- Wolfgang Puck
- Walt Disney
- Dave Thomas
- Halle Berry
Sidenote: Here are a couple of other major ones - Bill Gates and Steve Jobs
I don't really count anyone in show business as someone who gets big props for never going to college...and the list of actors and musicians who dropped out of college are long. So, in my case, maybe I didn't need college and my money might have been better spent on a really good private teacher. You don't need a college degree to be famous. The people on this list who aren't professional actors or singers are above and beyond in their fields. Bill Gates didn't graduate from college, but I bet most of the people who work for him did. True leaders, like Lincoln and Disney, are born that way. But for those who want to enter the workforce in a traditional environment, the college experience is ideal. My experience at a large state university proved to be a lot of late nights and not a whole lot of actual studying. It was more about being away from home and less about learning and growing. However, my second go at college has proved much different. I was also much older. It has been about truly learning...and learning how to overcome obstacles more than anything. Online universities and opportunities for adults to go to school while they are working full time have allowed more to obtain higher education.
So the question...to be or not to be a college graduate? My answer: Be one.
Unless you're really really really smart and inventive or exceptionally talented and driven. In that case...you probably don't need one.
