Is a College Degree worth your time as a student in our fast paced tech-centric environment?
While sitting in my living room doing homework at Midnight after a long day of work, I keep asking myself if finishing my Bachelor’s Degree is really worth it…
I work in tech sales, so school is more of a choice than a necessity for my career. I have heard from those who love the school system that it is worth getting a quality education. I have also heard from self-made millionaires with 0 higher education that school is the biggest scam in America. I am torn over it, as a religious and educated man, I love learning and gaining experience for my family and life, I’m just not so sure the higher education system we have available is really worth the cost or time.
According to Internproof.com, “As of now, bachelor’s degrees are increasingly becoming worthless since there is an increasing number of people who are graduating from colleges. … most jobs that used to require a bachelor’s degree now need master’s degrees, which render most entry-level degrees less useful.”
Now for some of us in the tech industry, this isn’t entirely true, the experience you have and the skills you gain on the job are the most marketable attributes. As for those who are not in tech, the competition is getting harder and the piece of paper that our potential Master’s or Bachelor’s degree is printed on is getting more and more worthless.
All jobs nowadays look for work experience even if there is an entry-level position. Sitting in a classroom doesn’t mean much other than you’re persistent for sticking this stuff out for 12+ years. If you’re working in your potential career while you’re in school, that is the best way to roll but Not everyone is lucky enough to do that especially if they are on scholarship and have to keep those grades sky-high.
I’m one of the lucky ones, I took a 4-month door-to-door pest control “apprenticeship” that threw me into my dream entry-level sales role. If you would have told me that I would have been able to get into tech within less than a year because of that, I would have told you that you’re crazy… But it happened because I developed marketable job skills…
My formal education Never gave me that quick of an ROI, it’s just been a perpetual “yes man” game pandering to my liberal professors so I can get an A and move on. I ask you now, what skills that you need to develop in order to catch the eye of the recruiter at the firm you desire to work for? Will you find it in school? Probably not in the classroom but maybe around campus. Check out this article snippit.
Prospects.ac.uk states, “Apprenticeships appeal to those looking for alternatives to university as they take a more practical approach to learning. You’ll focus on training for a specific career and learn your trade by actually doing the job. You’ll gain hands-on experience and have the opportunity to apply your skills immediately.”
Again these are mostly opinion and thought-provoking ideas. They aren’t the only alternative to University education. There are a ton of ways to get ahead in life, school has a good track record of doing that, but now we have coding boot camps, online sales seminars, youtube tutorials, online degrees that are 1/5 the cost of regular school and GOOGLE. We live in the most technologically advanced society ever and have more access to information than ever before, and most of it is FREE. Let me spell that out again FREE.
Now I don’t know all the answers as I said before, but as I wrap this up, I like want to pose the question for you, Degree or No Degree?
I want to know what you think, hit me up and we can continue this dialogue. I know there are good things in store for everyone who works hard, I encourage you to do what’s best for you and make your own decisions. I’m still seeking my answer on this one.
Original Post via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/degree-brenden-blackham/