[Acadian9]

The most frequent question I have been asked recently from friends (I am in my last year of high school) is what universities I am applying too, where I want to go and such. Everytime I am asked that, I say "I am not going to college/university" and it becomes a huge shock to them. One person even said "you won't succeed in life if you don't though!" Let's see, my dad didn't go, nor did 2 (mabey 3) of my uncles, and they are all well off. Families, nice houses, nice cars, investments, etc. Obviously I know first hand that you can succeed without going to college by choosing a trade (plumbing, electrician, construction, etc.) There is high demand, thus higher wages in the future ( ). I think it is possible to succeed in life without getting higher education. Society has done a GREAT job telling otherwise...

[Grashnak]

Of course you can. Higher education is more likely to grant you a better job - but by no means guarentee it, conversly missing higher eduction does not preclude the possiabilty of getting a good job.

[Celtic22]

I myself am more or less facing the same decison but i have a different example to compare to...

My dad left school at 16 (legally in ireland you can) and decided to take up a trade. Didnt work out so he went to america to join the army. The he met my mom who was in high school herself (i think not sure)

Anyways mom eventually had to drop out of college to work full time to pay for her new baby (ME )

Dad worked in a steel mill before moving to ireland for 6 months. Came back to the states and started doing tree surgery and did that all the way up till we left 7 years ago (so you figure by now hes got 10 years expierence on the job)

So dad is a tree surgeon and mom had to work in a bar. We werent poor but werent well off.

Im now 18. Mom works full time in a factory and after 17 years on the same job my dad has given up and started a new career. (Hes getting older and hes accumalated a lot of injuries over the years. While he could still do tree surgery it takes a LOT out of him)

Again we arent poor but we arent that well off. To be honest i dont think my parents will be well off until me and my sisters are out of the house.

Point of the Story: My parents didnt get a higher education and so limited their career oppurtunites. I do plan on getting higher education and getting a qualification so i dont end up in the same boat as my parents...

[Skrix]

Quote:

Anyways mom eventually had to drop out of college to work full time to pay for her new baby (ME )

You little nuisance!!

How celtic described it though isn't the only path that can be taken. Without an education you shouldn't be hoping for a business life in ways related to a manager for example. I think here in holland that without an education you either have to do physical labour or do an easy job, like calling ppl to see if they are interest in a subscription to this or that etc. In the last case you can climb ur way up but it will still be limited. Another option is starting your own business. The options for a business to start are endless and a lot don't require diploma's.

You're bound to do some educating in your life though, 99.99% garantue. In ways of specializing in your field or catching the basics you'll have to study some time in life.


But anyway, you can succeed in life without going to college or uni ofc It's generally not hard to succeed in life i think, if ur only looking at the most important things in life.

[Mandraque]

ill put it this way, you can succeed without going to college but i would never want to be a hand laborer for the rest of my life. I use my head to succeed. I already have some joint problems. And being smarter only helps yourself primarily, even if you end up in a bad job, you will still have your education.

[Acadian9]

The way I see it is that I get a trade, and IF I decide to go back to school and it doesn't work out, I always have a great paying job I can do. At this point in time I don't see anythings I'd want to go to college for.

[Drizzt]

Sure, nothing's guaranteed in life, but you're much better off going to college.

What trade are you going into?

[SwordsWorth]

i don't know about you there but most people coming to university to study are for getting into medical school or law school. I am sure that a doctor will get way more money than whatever trade job you can find. other than that, university is for people to actually have a look into subject areas that are not well "publicized", as in careers that you cannot get into unless you have some long term training first. it is of course a place for people to see subject areas that will only require mainly brain work rather than body work. so it mianly serves as a school to open up your mind and see the full potential of what this world has in store for you.

there are of course many people who has well succeeded in life even without much university education, but generally they are people who are just naturally smart themselves, and well modivated to persue whatever they want and nothing can change them. There are many good examples, one of the classics is the fact that Einstein wasn't really well educated in university, and was rather self taught, Dalton never went to university but is famous of his contributions to chemistry and even teaching in a university, and many more.

But just a reminder, those two people are very obsessed about what they do at a very young age and are geniouses, to ask whether or not going to a university and still have a great success is like asking whether or not you're strong willed enough or smart enough or modivated enough to do it all on your own. and if not, university/colleges will do it for you.

[Acadian9]

Originally Posted by Drizzt:

Sure, nothing's guaranteed in life, but you're much better off going to college.

What trade are you going into?

I was thinking about plumbing or electrical work. I would really like to try some trades out to see which I like best.

[Stygma]

Of course you can get by without going to college. However, a college degree makes life much easier, many jobs/positions cannot be obtained without one, etc.

[EvilDH]

As Drizzt said, nothing is certain, but you have a much better chance of being financially successful if you go to school.

That said, there is more to life than finances. Being a millionaire may not make you happy, but living a low-income life with a good family might. Or not...frankly if I am going to be unhappy anyway I would much rather be rich than poor.

Good luck with whatever you decide, Canada desperately needs tradesmen, so you'll have that going for you.

[HarleyQuinnROX]

No

And a good eggxample has always been D'Arcy Doyle never went uni and is one of the best landscape painters ever in Aus.

[DHoffryn]

I guess there is a possibility that you will succed in life without going to the university but higher education just makes things a whole lot easier.Not mention that you will also have a great time in the Uni and make friends and valuable connections

Quote:

And a good eggxample has always been D'Arcy Doyle never went uni and is one of the best landscape painters ever in Aus.

A better example would be Larry Flynt who managed quite a significant fortune and as far i am aware he enver went to the uni.

[Antikristuseke]

Id go for a profession rather than a diploma since arround here loads of people go to uni and the field is overcrowded, but workers and specialists are in short supply.

[TheIronMaiden]

Well, if theres any career or major or whatever its called you would like to study, then go for it, I think itll certainly help you have more money. But theres some people who just go to university thinking that will get them more money, and choose the career they think is more profitable, even if they dont like it, and then end up dropping halfway through, or even worse, stuck in a job they hate for the rest of their lives. If thats the case, then dont go to university, and do what you would prefer to do. If you like plumbing and stuff, fine, do that!

[Stewie]

It really depends on your concept of success. I believe success is related to knowledge, not money. Therefore, no, I do not believe you can truly be successful without some sort of secondary education. There are probably some exceptions, but generally you need school to learn.

[Azure Dragon]

If you plan on working for someone else for the rest of your life, Higher/Further education will gain you the necessary qualifications to put on your CV for you to get your CV through the HR departments and onto the desks of the people who will actually decide if your worth hiring and worth paying lots of money.

If you plan on working for yourself, well then all you need is the skills necessary to succeed in your chosen enterprise.

[Bierkrug]

Getting a higher education is the way to go if you can. There are other examples. I am one but it was hard work mixed with some luck. I don't even have a High School Certificate. I make a lot of money and have a job as a senior manager in a large corporation. But I took the hard long road, 21 years of work it took.

[Zequovixway]

Originally Posted by Acadian9:

The most frequent question I have been asked recently from friends (I am in my last year of high school) is what universities I am applying too, where I want to go and such. Everytime I am asked that, I say "I am not going to college/university" and it becomes a huge shock to them. One person even said "you won't succeed in life if you don't though!" Let's see, my dad didn't go, nor did 2 (mabey 3) of my uncles, and they are all well off. Families, nice houses, nice cars, investments, etc. Obviously I know first hand that you can succeed without going to college by choosing a trade (plumbing, electrician, construction, etc.) There is high demand, thus higher wages in the future ( ). I think it is possible to succeed in life without getting higher education. Society has done a GREAT job telling otherwise...

Ok, to answer your question. Yes you can succeed in life without college. College is basically for 3 types of people 1. The type that know what the want and what they have to study to get their 2. The type that do not know what they want to do with their life so they take generals and switch types alot and end up in an average job getting average pay. 3. The ones that go just to party because they are not ready to grow up.

So if you do not know what you want to go to college for I recamend getting into a trade field. Even if you do not plan to do this your whole life it will give you some time to think about things and decided where you want to go and have the opertunity to get their. In which you couldn't have that chance if you worked in fast food or sales. Also the money is fairly good and if you do ever decide on what you want to be, dig deeper and figure out what you need to do to get their weather it be college or just getting a certain Certification by studying and taking tests in your spare time. I recammend Carpentry, sure it is alot of work, but it will give you a chance to observe the other trade fields and help you decide which one that you want to go into becides that most plumbers, electritians and so on are more willing to hire a carpenter than someone just off the steat or out of college. Why? it is because carpenters already know the basics of the job and have already proven themselves that they know to to work. I should know sence I have grown up around the trade industry with my dad being an electrician and his best friends are in other trade fields.

This being said, I myself had choosen to go to college, but only because I knew what I was going for. I went to college got my degrees and then I got a job in my field. I worked in that field for a few years before saying fuck it and going back to work in the trade field. And I was able to find a job at a local mill not because of my schooling, but because I had done carpentry work before. So as you see it is atleast nice to have something to fall back on because if you just go to college and drop out I can tell you it is alot harder to get into the trade field than if you worked their before you went to school main reason is not because you dropped out of schooling, but you may be to old for them to want to give you a chance. Not don't get me wrong, just because I dropped out of my field doesn't mean I have given up on it. I am just taking a break and making more money so I can become debt free so that I can start my own business.

It all comes down to planning, but I say go to work for 1-2 years before going to college no matter what that way you go into school with a back up plan, you take out less loans and the biggest thing is you will work to do your best because school isn't a joke anymore because you want to be their and not feal that you have to be their because you ave gotten a taste of the real world. Also if I had a chance to do it all over again I would have worked in a trade field for 2-3 more years after high school instead going into college right after, but I was lucky enough to get my trade working as my summer jobs. Sence my family knows so many people in the fields.

[ujgearhead]

Going to college/trade school MAY have bonuses, but there are no guarantees. In fact, the vast majority of people I know aren't working in the same field as they went to school for.

However, I think it largely depends on the career you have in mind.

Personally, I graduated in 1993 with a degree in Automotive Technics and Business Management. Got my first car job a few weeks after graduation making..... well, not great money. Alot better than minimum wage, but, after spending 30k+ I expected more.

I've owned my own business for years and have been a boss in several other companies and honestly, expirience trumps paper everytime. 1/2 the time, jobs go to friends/family anyway. Depending what you want to do, save yourself or your parents money and see if you can find an internship. Free expirience. Maybe even get paid to learn!