Do you need a degree to be sucessful?

Question

Whenever I tell people I dropped out of Uni to work, they always talk to me as if I'll regret it later in life.

I've got a great job in TV but it's put the fear of God into me that at some point in my life I'll be told I need a degree and all those people will be waiting there waving 'I told you so' banners.

Answer 1

Depends on your definition of success. You won't be bringing your CV with you or the lists of promotions you've received after your funeral. I'd rather be an emotional sucessful person who lives positively.

Answer 2

Honestly, NO you don't need a degree in order to be successful. I also quit college after about a year and a half for several reasons: I really didn't know what I wanted to do with myself and I was a nursing major and I found it to be very depressing (I DID NOT have a lot of guidance. No one in my family has ever graduated from college.). I bounced around the planet for a while and ended up in a trade school. Today I am a licensed cosmetologist and have been doing this for 16 years. I make MUCH more money that if I were in nursing! More money than I ever thought possible! Every week, I am still amazed and wait for the bottom to drop out but it never does! I love my job and have been in high demand for 16 years. I also do education and my day rate is amazing! But here's the problem......I am 41, I have been doing hair for 16 years and I am having back, neck and hand problems. While I have many options in my industry if I choose to get out from behind the chair, I would either have to travel more than I do already or take a HUGE pay cut. Do I wish I had my degree now? You bet! I tell my daughter all the time, "Make sure you get a job where you use your mind and not your body cuz once your body goes you're in trouble!" Is she planning on going to college? She sure is. Even though neither her father or I did we both went through extensive trade schools (Her dad is a union electrician and makes a great living with great benefits). I want her to go because I want her to have EVERY opportunity!!
So the moral to the story is: No, you do not need a degree to be successful. Does it help? Sure, because it increases your options. Bare minimum, advanced trade school if nothing else. The flip side is that all the training and degrees in the world can't make you successful if it's not in your mind set! If you study business in any way shape or form....learn about the 80/20 rule and be a 20 percenter! Then nothing can hold you back...degree or no degree!

Answer 3

i dropped out of college to be a stay at home mom. I am now back trying to make my way into the work field yet again. I can't get a job except at McDonalds or a warehouse. I have health problems and need to have a desk job. What used to be entry level at 8 years ago is now needing a piece of paper that states I can find the keys on the key board without looking at the keyboard ;) not literally but you get the jest of the situation. In order to push a button one needs a degree that says that person knows fully what will happen if that button is pushed. If that button is pushed wrong then they have the degree to deal with the button not engaging all the way... anyway the need for a college degree is now pushing my buttons. Not everyone can afford to go to college. Pell Grants and loans don't help everyone.

Answer 4

Neither my wife nor I have a degree but we both had very successful careers before we became disabled. My wife was a Regional Education Executive who trained hundreds of employees for a large corporation. I went into the military instead of going to college and I worked as a mechanical engineer for years and made more money than lots of my friends with degrees. Now, that having been said, I would still encourage you to go back and finish to get your degree at some point because it can make a big difference when it comes to starting salaries. We both wish we would have gone to college now. So, the bottom line is it's not necessary but it is a valuable thing to have.

Answer 5

Define sucess.

Many sucessful people do not finish their degrees. However, if you are hoping to work in certain fields, the lack of a degree could be an issue, but for most things, it should not be an issue.

Answer 6

A degree is no guarantee of success, but it doesn't hurt to have one either. I wouldn't give up the great job to go back to school. Just finish your degree one class at a time when you have time.

Answer 7

If you get the right breaks in life, you will be successful. There are people with Ph.D's in the humanities looking for work.

Answer 8

No not necessarily, but it can open doors for you...and looks good on a resume, but only if it is in the field that you wish to work in.

Experience and aptitude counts for a lot...

Answer 9

nope not necessarily as long as ur happy with what you do and its well enough for you it really shldnt matter what other people say bcos at the end of the day lifes about living not the materialism.

Answer 10

Nope - Richard Branson hasn't got a degree. And look at him.