Steemians, is college the reason why you are successful today?
There is a great question that permeates through modern life that causes a great deal of monetary pain for many lower and middle class families. The question is:
Is Higher Education Really Worth its Price?
Depending on which age group you ask, you'll likely receive more yes than no's. The general response is that higher education is worth its weight in gold. What's my answer?
As a 29 year old Structural Engineer who was born into a low income family and grew into a lower middle class family, I have to say that I honestly don't know if school is the right answer for most people.
Yes, you heard that from me. Someone who has been a product of higher education doesn't quite believe in school.
Let me explain.
Throughout history, education was the only way to get away from physical labor and the grueling work of a common man.
In fact, some of the oldest institutions that still function today date back to 800 A.D. some 1100 years ago.
Back in those times, if you could read and write, you could function at a significantly higher level and work in government as a noblemen. But education was available only to the select few, leaving most people illiterate.
Overtime, basic education became more standardized, and by the mid 1800's, public education began to form, and by the early 1900s, compulsory laws required that all children in every state must complete primary school, at the very least. This meant that the literacy rate increased dramatically. And with that came access to information through books.
While primary schooling reached the masses, higher education still remained something that was accessible only by the privileged.
College and University Level Education was a game changer back then
If you had a higher level education in the early 1900's you were thought to be scholarly and well versed in the problems and solutions of mankind.
Fast forward to the 1990s, education was still considered the end all, be all, of getting out of a common man's role in life. But there was shift during this time because higher education had been sold to the general public so strongly, that it essentially became a norm. The number of educated young adults grew substantially and it wasn't long before a significant number of the workforce had some sort of higher education.
Suddenly, the number of those with a college education who remained unemployable increased as the economic conditions worsened and automation continued to cut down jobs.
Its difficult to put the blame on any one particular thing, because education has become a business of sorts, and like all businesses, some of them are in the business of shady practices, such as taking your money and giving you a degree where the information wasn't anything you couldn't learn on your own.
Meanwhile, the young adults who forgo higher education, but still nursed their creativity and ingenuity were allowed to prosper as the internet and social media grew to dominate.
Is higher education still the way out?
For most, I think higher education is still the primary means of changing classes, but only if you are the very poor, and you are going to school for a technical or professional degree. For those highly motivated individuals who strive to learn in every situation already, it doesn't seem like higher education is the way out anymore in my opinion, but it still has a strong position to maintain its place as "best way to leave poverty".
I'm not saying you shouldn't go to school, I'm just saying you should really consider the alternatives first.
Most people know that you shouldn't go to school just to get an education. If you don't have any ideas or plans on what you want to study, it's better to stay out because you are wasting both time and money. The problem is that people who don't go to school, end up wasting their time and money anyway, and you end up with nothing in the end.
The parents who allow their kids to not go to college, and still force them to do things to grow internally as a person, have taken the necessary steps to nurture someone into adulthood who can feed themselves. Where does this creativity go?
The internet.
The internet has made access to information and new ideas so easy for the common person to gain, that there are children who likely have a higher knowledge base than those who went to university in the early 1800s.
America has always prospered when the common man was allowed to be creative. We've lead the world in inventions, creativity, and also, the most backwards thinking behavior man has ever seen (yet we are still here today). But that is simply a byproduct of how the US has evolved, something that you could discuss in several volumes of writing and still not properly address. The fact remains, the internet has created a new era where formal education is no longer the only way to dig yourself out of poverty. The internet has allowed the birth of a whole group of people who have more access to self learning tools than ever before. Combined with all the free time that one could gain from not attending college, it's likely that we are going to see the return of American ingenuity once again, assuming the economy can support it.For that reason, I don't feel that Higher Education plays as much of a critical role in today's time than before.
Personally, I am only as successful as I am today because of higher education. But I often question what would have happened if I grew up in a family that prized personal growth over formal education and perhaps 5 years later? I would have had access to a significantly larger amount of information through the internet. Perhaps my parents would have understood that I could have been equally, if not more successful, had I had more time to learn how to grow my own personal ideas, rather than learn someone else's idea.
I don't believe I am too young for that. Perhaps it is time for me to quit my job and take some time off and understand where my ingenuity can take me.
Perhaps steemit can help me discover that.
Would you be who you are today without higher education? COMMENT BELOW!
Picture of the day, I threw up my Mavic Drone up to look at Manhattan from Queens.
Excuse me as I stand up while applauding this well-thought out article. I mean... man, that's so good! Often times, the cases of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and the others were used to exert that college is something that should be skipped. I feel like it betrays people and makes false promises. While their stories are certainly to be admired, it isn't the norm. In a sense, they're outliers.
You present a more grounded and realistic view of the topic, and I feel like it's a better basis from which the decision could be based on. Nice of you to present specific facts about the history of higher education. For nitpickers, I feel like adding citations and links would be awesome, but that in itself is the only nitpick I could make. I like the way you framed this post, and I feel like this is a discussion that's prevalent today. Nice work, man!
Ill be sure to add citations next time. I tend to not add them if they are common knowledge, most of us learned about the education system, noblemen, the proletariat etc.
Thanks for the compliment! It feels to good to know my writing is starting to make more sense. I actually wrote this one using an outline/bullet method rather than free writing it.
Bill gates, Mark Zuckerberg and many many others are all outliers. But the crazy people who think they can change the world, are often the ones who do. Its not a coincidence, rather I think its naturally what would happen if we gave people more resources to know themselves at a young age. Granted, some of us are gifted with being able to breeze through public school, and there are many of us who could sleep through an A for most majors. For those types of people, I think school is useless IF, and ONLY IF, they have a mentality of quenching their thirst for knowledge. It took me 6 years to graduate under grad, and i worked all through those 6 years because I had no idea what I wanted to do. Had i just not gone to school, i would of definitely found my self somewhere else doing something for money, good or bad. School kept me out of trouble, thats for sure, but sometimes trouble gets you into some serious opportunities.
This is because they belief. Their belief may at that point still benefit a form of life naivety but that also means they are less burdened by more traditional thinking. Or by fear of failure.
If Zuck didn’t believe in his evolving vision, he would have sold FB at the sweet tone of $1bn.
Square pegs. The crazy ones.
good point. Naivety and mentorship is probably the perfect combo. But the Naive person should always be aware of how Naive they are, and the mentor should be aware not to beat the soul out of someone.
The Internet has definitely democratised many opportunities but as a digital nomad who will never complain about the oppprtunities created, and benefited, I must say if there were one thing I would change when doing life over it would be to go to college.
It was a conscious choice not to, I was too convinced I would drop out because of my ongoing desire to build things. But, despite having an acceptable track record, and having read thousands of (non-fiction) books, at times it feels like something is lacking me. Higher education.
Something I have mostly experienced when working in higher roles in more traditional companies, actually. Not necessarily because of demeaning attitude towards somebody without by the old guard, but mostly because they tend to have a very broad knowledge and understanding. Something which often benefited from being guided by experienced, hopefully also inspiring, docents and lecturers.
My own knowledge, and also continued reading, is much more of a patchwork. Which isn’t necessarily bad a thing tho.
I see your point there, but I'll say that it is very unlikely to find someone to guide you in school. I've attended 4 different universities now, and the vast majority of them are simply money making machines. Most professors are overloaded and few will stay the extra time to help you. If you attended higher institution such as Yale, Harvard, I suppose you will find a much higher quality and standard, but the vast majority of us do not and will not have that opportunity.
You do make a great point about mentorship though. In my career, the governing body called ASCE or American Society of Civil Engineers, posted an article about why the attrition rate is so high. The number one surveyed reason is lack of mentorship.
So with that said, mentorship is a leading point in life no matter what happens, even if you don't go to school. My next blog is actually about that very topic!
As I wrote my comment I realised that I would probably aim at higher, Ivy League.
I agree that many universities are burdened by poor financial, and also organizational, structures. I have personally seen this when I was a regular guest lecturer at lower league universities in the UK (about social media) in 2009-2010. Indeed, they didn’t inspire. Usually the only inspired students were the bright cookies who went out and ahead and whose drive for knowledge was never ending.
After having gathered an own track record in the world of startups, I actually became an almost full-time mentor to startups. With better mentors, we probably wouldn’t have blown the $12m VC on our largest venture in 2012. If only somebody had told me about lean methodology. 🤷♂️
I learned a trade (electronics tech, power distribution) before I went to college (electrical engineering). In Germany, trade school gives you a much better theoretical base than what you get in many other countries, in addition to the hands-on skills. So, college was a bit of a logical progression, although it was hard to give up a well paid job and go back to school.
College taught me how to develop problem solving strategies and to think big. The paycheck after graduation was even better and allowed me to save up and spend time abroad.
Until my English improved through practice the manual skills came in handy! America then taught me how to be self-employed (ever since), think outside the box (not taught in Germany, a BIG shortcoming), and think REALLY BIG.
If I had to do it all over again, I'd skip college. The extra knowledge and experience helped, but I could have picked up much of it along the way. The financial safety blanky I never needed after all.
Trade school - job - America - job - ... - business would have been a more streamlined approach with an equal outcome. In my next life. (Pushing 60 now and semi-retired.)
This was the response I was looking for! (And I hope there are equally more that think the opposite of me and are willing to post up as well.
One of the things that I always question is, if you didnt have the electrical engineering degree, would you have been given the opportunities along your journey? There was a point where people simply stop looking at resumes if your education doesn't even show a 4 year degree.
How do you think times have changed from then to now? GIven your life experience, do you think those old hard working trade concepts have disappeared? I have buddy of mine who is a union carpenter, as a structural engineer, we have a lot of overlap in the construction industry. He makes $30,000USD more than I do. I am super proud of him to have gotten out of the poor slumps we grew up in, but the reality is that I always felt like a college degree, in engineering none the less should pay more.
"opportunities" - In Germany, absolutely not. No certificate, wrong cert, NO job. Even flipping burgers requires a 2-year cert from catering or food service school (or youngsters are expected to attend one when on the job already).
In America, most likely yes. With a caveat: I have always been a go-getter with a persistence bordering stalking. If I want the job, you either give it to me or get a restraining order. :-) I can sell this charmingly so it impresses people rather than annoy them.
This may not work for everyone and it is not suitable when dealing with large corporations; one needs access to the decision maker. Back then it was still possible to ambush corporate people, in the elevator if necessary. Today? I doubt it. Todays bean counters would probably feel more threatened than anything else.
Anyway, such a personality is more suited to self employment. Why hunt for jobs if you can hunt for customers instead, right?
I think the old work ethics and the pride in mastering one's trade have largely disappeared. Which is a HUGE opportunity for the few master tradesmen remaining! Think about your own life: If you have "a good guy" for car repair, carpet installation, plumbing, painting, even a plain handyman, you STICK with them come hell or high water, and recommend them to all your friends. Right?
Which probably explains your friend's excellent pay check. Stateside you say "Good help is hard to find." Exactly! In Germany, we say "Tradecraft is built on a golden foundation." Exactly!
If you NEVER want to be unemployed in your life, don't go to college. Learn how to COOK, cook well. :-)
Well said! I'm working on a blog for tomorrow right now. I would love if you could comment on my blog tomorrow since it is much more personal and related to my job. I like the idea of hunting for customers rather than a job, but that in itself is a risky proposition since my field of work often goes to large companies rather than smaller ones.
"...comment..." - No prob. I'm following you, so it will pop up in my feed.
"...rather than a job..." - Self employment / freelancing is not for everyone. It came up because it illustrates my vita and you definitely don't need a college degree to get there (but it helps). For employment, one hunts occasionally. For customers or freelance jobs, ALL THE TIME. Very stressful for people who don't enjoy that kind of thing, or deal well with rejection.
Not to forget: How does your significant other feel about it, especially in financial slumps? On 9/11 I was in real estate, no listings, only relocation buyers acquired on-line. With people scared to fly (remember?) and an entire country insecure about the future, I sold JACK to nobody for months. Serious belt tightening ensued, and the wife hated it more than she "loved" me. Divorce, significant portions of the nest egg to her and the lawyers...
Yes but not really, sort of but let me explain. I have never looked for a job since i graduated. I have been working on my projects that were not taught in class. Though college was a stepping stone for me, it somehow taught me how to persue and finish up tasks and to interact with others. So to me college contributed though i wish i never went through it.
what did you go to school for? and how do you make money now?
I went to school to get a job, but things changed along the way. I have been designing websites for people and i self taught myself from internet. As much as i did a course in computer science i had to teach myself most things i know. And my friend who dropped out told me about steemit. Here in Africa people with a degree are highly respected which makes most people to finish with bachelors to give their parents that respect they deserve in the society. So here it's a like a culture school is connected with knowledge and intelligence and it will take some time for it to change.
It sounds like you guys are where the US was not too long ago. The degree brings a bit of respect. Nowadays, the respect only comes if you graduated in something technical or professional. Did you ever finish?
Yeah i did, think i got some respect .lol
Higher education certainly has it's place. For example, in the military, if you have a bachelor's, you become eligible to Commission as an Officer and make A LOT more money.
Often I don't believe young people go to school with a purpose in mind.
They go simply because it is the "common" thing to do.
The biggest hurdle in this day and age is getting the message out that college isn't for everyone. Parents have often abandoned their role in explaining the "why or why nots" to their children, but the Internet has "filled" the void. It is the great equalizer.
Thats part of the issue, its a "common" thing to do, so why not? Except that most parents pay for their kids $20,000 a year college education which sums up to a Political Science Major where they end up with no real world skill or plan.
School has become a business more than a place to learn because of that.
I'm old, compared to most of you. I think people should go to college if that's what they want to do. College isn't a place to learn a trade (for most people) but a place to develop critical thinking skills, grow up a little, and experience the wider world before totally being out on your own. There are other ways to gain those benefits. The rising cost of college is insane these days, so it's hard to say what the right choice is. If somebody asked, I'd still lean towards getting a degree in an affordable way (i.e. state schools, community colleges, work and go to school, etc.) Still, plenty of people have led happy and productive lives without a degree, so it's not something anybody has to do.
I agree with you in terms of college being a place to develop critical thinking skills, growing up and experiencing the nastiness of the real world. With that said, I think that's only possible if you major in a field where critical thinking is in fact critical. The overwhelming majority of majors out there require little critical thinking, and most people pay for their grades of an A. Doing your work to get an A is one thing. Busting your ass off to get a B+ is a whole other story.
I ended up at state school, and paid $10,000 a year, something that is pretty affordable on any job if you lived at home and I ended up as a structural engineer. Now I can 100% attribute my success to college, but at the same time, how much of my critical thinking skills would have developed if I didnt choose to major in Engineering???
Thats a tough question to answer, because I don't know how many factors would have pushed me to be a bum at home.
Well, I majored in computer science, so I know we were sort of snobby about some degrees. However, English, history, etc. are also tough disciplines at the higher levels. I've talked to plenty of English majors, and they are smart people. Try reading Hamlet and remembering who said what. It's not easy either. Of course, some companies recognize that and hire liberal arts major with good grades for jobs, but it's not like the people exactly get trained for the job in college. They learn to think and jump through some hoops, which is part of life too.
this is true. But it's a small pool of people who are such scholars that their critical thinking skills alone employ them. Most of us have to have a combination of technical aptitude and soft skills to remain employable. Most of us who are at that point in life realize that and might inadvertently look down on other majors. But I think the majority of people don't fall into that category, which becomes its own problem because plenty of people breeze through these production line majors and end up at the same place when they started.
I'd say college definitely didn't helped me much in terms of real world knowledge. I had to learn a lot of things for workplace outside college. So it was not much help to be honest. College helps to very limited extent. Nothing about electronics engineering was useful outside college. Things were different outside. That's my experience :)
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not that's just the reason to have class divisions, but it's usually having a great mind , that is the different from other minds that it makes successful.
thanks for share your vlog with us and nice photograph