How to find success without going to college
“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.” – Paul Valery (some dead guy)
It’s true — you can become successful without going to college. Teachers, parents, and the government don’t want you to know that. Why? Because college is a business to make money! (Think of the over-priced books and tuition fees)
Also the millions of people who didn’t go to college — their life is fine.
What to do after high school
Don’t let the teachers scared you into attending college if you don’t want to. After high school, take a year off and think of what you want to do in life.
Perhaps you want to volunteer somewhere. Or get a job to get some experience under your belt.
When I quit high school, I worked as a locksmith. I picked locks, drove around in a van, and ate ham burgers with the boss. Afterwards I joined the army because it was the cool thing to do — shooting guns, carrying heavy stuff and traveling across the country to train. (But I didn’t go over-seas ought … I gamed the system)
Take a year off — there is no rush to attend college. What is 12 months off your life? Not much. 12 months will let you decide what career path to pick. Don’t be like this one woman (25 years old?) who emailed me … she said: “I regret becoming an elementary teacher, it’s not something that I expected. I want to quit …”
College is mostly hype
What is college known for — binge drinking, hookups with the opposite sex, and eating pizza. Wait … isn’t this what your’e suppose to do in high school? In fact, college is like High School 2.0. People say they go to college for dependence.
Oh yeah? How about moving out and not letting your parents pay for your posh apartment. That’s indepedence my friend.
But worse … you get into debt! When you’re in debt, you’re a slave to your jobs. Waking up every morning, reporting to a boss, going to useless meanings, buying useless stuff … to pay off the debt.
So why would you get into debt even before you start your adult hood? Doesn’t seem smart to me.
Also — teachers used to say “high school is the best 4 years of your life”. Now college is the best 4 years of your life. It seems like that phrase is something the marketing department made up. Damn them.
Fact is, unless your job requires some sort of formal certificate (doctor, lawyer, teacher etc) then attend college. Otherwise, skip college and go to work.
The Degree Vs Experience Paradox
Say you finish your degree in Marketing or whatever, and now … it’s time to apply for a job. But the employer wants experience! How are you going to get the job now? So many hoops to jump through huh.
Fact: Degrees is nothing more then a filtering mechanism for employers. They will hire someone with experience ANY DAY compared to some guy with fancy degree and zero work experience (besides flipping burgers when he was 16)
Doesn’t matter what way you look at it — you’re still jumping through the loop like an obedient dog. But alas, that’s how the system works. Too bad for you.
The Alternatives …
School is a job sorting mechanism thinly disguised as “education”. The dumb kids go work at fast food (and eventually become the MCdonalds manager by the time they’re 30), the slightly dumb kids with some ambition head to skills trade, and the slightly intelligent go to college.
But suddenly everyone is going to college nowadays. Doesn’t matter if the kid got room temperature IQ. You got money? Welcome to college! So they get into debt, and they end up working at some coffeeshop and pay off their 40k student loan.
So is there an alternative? I don’t know. The system is rig. You can do whatever you want, because I don’t have a clear answer for you. Even if I give a clear answer, it will be meet with suspicion and doubt. So Bruno, you figure your own stuff out!
- Ken Nubo