What do I do after high school? This can be an overwhelming question to ask oneself, especially if you haven’t thought about what you want to do with the next chapter of your life, and you’re just about to graduate high school.
College isn’t for everyone, it certainly wasn’t for me. In my case I had no idea what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to keep my mind open to other opportunities that maybe I wasn’t aware of.
Even though it may be overwhelming, this next chapter of your life should be looked at with excitement. Your possibilities are endless, and there is no better time to reflect upon what direction you want to go, and who you want to become.
Choosing whether to go to college or not is a big decision, not to take lightly. For one thing you would have to invest a lot of your time to studying, so it’s good to make sure that you’re passionate about what you want a degree in.
Secondly college can also be very expensive. Unless your parents have saved that money for you over time, you would probably have to take out a student loan. Student loans may take many years to pay off when you eventually become employed.
The short answer your question: Can you be successful without college?
Yes, you can be successful without having to go to college. There are many ways that you’re able to acquire the skills necessary to have a great career in many things.
Keep reading for important points to help you make a decision.
Is It Possible To Get Rich Without A College Education?
If we look back through history, there are many examples of people that broke the mold of going to college after high school. They instead rather put their energy into pursuing a dream that they envisioned.
Despite having college degrees, these people have managed to create a great amount of success for themselves.
Here are some examples of very successful people who didn’t finish or go to college
- Walt Disney – He dropped out of school at 16 to join the Army, even so he was a pioneer of the American animation industry, as he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. He also envisioned and created what we know as Disneyland.
- Michael Dell – The founder of Dell Computers. He started his business from his dorm room at the university of Texas. He decided to drop out of University at the age of 19 to work full time on the company after making almost $200 000 in his first year.
- Rachael Ray – She dropped out of New York’s Pace University after two years because her tuition was pricey. Fast forward, she worked her way up to TV talk show host and Food Network Star.
- Steve Jobs – He is another of my inspirational role models. He was known for his tenacity. After going to collage for a few months he didn’t see the point in spending his parents money on an education that seemed meaningless to him, and decided to drop out. Soon after he started his company Apple, one of the biggest technology companies’ in the world.
- Oprah Winfrey – She left Tennessee State University for a TV job, one credit shy of completing her 4 year degree. She launched her talk show earning her an Oscar Nomination.
- Richard Branson – He dropped out of school at the age of 15. He wanted to create things that would make a difference in the world. His business success came from selling records by mail, and after that he never looked back.
- Bill Gates – one of the founders of Microsoft. He dropped out of Harvard to concentrate on his company. He was the richest man in the world from 1995 to 2017.
- Even Williams – After a year and a half, he left the University of Nebraska to pursue a career in information technology. He co founded twitter in 2006, and later founded the publishing sites Blogger and Medium, making him into a billionaire.
- Daniel Ek – Dropped out of the Royal institute of Technology in Sweden after just eight weeks. He was 21 years of age when he co-founded Spotify. This make him one of the most influential people in the music industry, and a multi billionaire.
- Mark Zuckerberg – Dropped out of Harvard in 2004, so that he could work on Facebook full time. His results for the most popular social media site speak for them self.
- Matt Mullenweg – You may have heard of WordPress. Well he was one of the main players in the makings of the worlds most used Content Management System(CMS). WordPress powers over 30% of the website that are on the internet, very impressive. Studying political science at the University of Houston, he cut his studies short to work at CNET Networks. After founding his company Automattic, he was set.
Hopefully this inspires you, that you too have options. If these people can do it, then so can you. Be open to all possibilities and opportunities available to you, and you’ll be surprised at what you can achieve.
To Go To College Or Not, That Is The Question?
There are important factors that you must consider when thinking about applying to a college.
1. Do you want to work for someone else or do you want to be self-employed?
This is an important question because around 75% of new jobs will require a degree. If you are not keen to work for someone else, and rather create your own business, much like the above entrepreneurs that I spoke about earlier, then you won’t need a college degree.
You will however need to learn the skills in your field of interest some other way, and then apply those skills by taking action on them.
2. What would the job pay versus return on investment?
Most people don’t have the luxury to go to college because it’s a fun thing to do. College can be very expensive, and most people will have to take out a college loan to pay for their tuition.
Do some research and find out what kind of jobs you can apply for, and what those jobs pay once you graduate. Compare that with the cost of getting that Degree, and how long it will take you to pay back the student loan.
You better yourself and study to make a difference in the world, but don’t forget that you also have to make money to survive in it.
3. What are you passionate about?
Whatever you decide to study and pursue, you will have a much better chance of being successful in it, doing something that you’re passionate about.
This is because you will more likely push through the difficult times. In the beginning when you’re busy acquiring those skills, and not making money, that’s when your passion and drive to succeed will pull you through.
Your WHY is very important in choosing your direction, after you have figured out the why, then you can work on the HOW.
These three questions will help give you an idea of how to move forward with a decision.
What Jobs Require A College Degree?
There are some Industries that do require a college degree, because of the strict guidelines around the job. There are jobs where peoples lives are on the line, like in health care for example.
If you are interested in applying for a job in any of these industries, then than having a college degree will most probably be a necessity.
Health Care Jobs That Require A Degree For Entry Into The Field
You do need a degree when it comes to health care jobs. These types of jobs carry a high responsibility as there is human life involved. Examples of health care jobs, and their qualification requirements are:
- Medical Services Manager – Bachelor’s degree in health administration or Bachelor’s degree in health management.
- Registered Nurse – Bachelor of science in nursing or master of science in nursing.
- Physical Therapist – Doctorate of physical therapy(D.P.T).
- Speech Pathologist – Bachelor’s degree in psychology, communication sciences, education, literature or speech pathology.
- Nuclear Engineer – Bachelor of Science in nuclear engineering.
Education Jobs That Require A Degree For Entry Into The Field
- School Counselor – Bachelor’s degree in education, psychology or liberal arts.
- Teacher – Bachelor’s degree related to the subject taught: history, science, etc.
- English As A Second Language Teacher – Bachelor’s degree in education, English, writing, or teaching English as a foreign language.
- Education Director – Bachelor’s degrees in education or business administration (some positions may require licensing)
- School Social Worker – Bachelor of Science in social work
Business Jobs That Require A Degree For Entry Into The Field
- Finance Manager – Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, economics or business administration
- Marketing Manager – Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts in marketing or related discipline
- Sales Manager – Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, statistics or marketing
- Economist – Bachelor’s degree in business management, public administration, marketing, real estate, finance or economic development.
- Chief Executive Officer(CEO) – Bachelor’s or master’s degree in business administration or related field.
Design(Architecture) And Building(Engineer) Jobs That Require A Degree For Entry Into The Field
This is another industry that has no room for error, as many peoples lives depend on a good job done by an Engineer or Architect.
Employers therefore have to make sure that you have the necessary qualifications by going through the traditional education system. This is to make sure that you do in fact have the skills to do the job.
- Industrial Engineer – Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, agricultural engineering, civil engineering, engineering management or information engineering.
- Architectural Engineer – Bachelor’s degree in architectural or civil engineering.
- Construction Manager – Bachelor’s degree in construction science, construction management, engineering or architecture.
- Electrical Engineer – Bachelor’s degree approved by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
- Mechanical Engineer – Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or mechanical engineering technology.
Technology Jobs That Require A Degree For Entry Into The Field
- Video Game Designer – Bachelor’s degree in game design, computer engineering, or computer science.
- Web Developer – Bachelor’s degree in web development and design or interactive media design.
- Information Technology Business Analyst – Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software development or information technology.
- Information Technology Manager – Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science or management information systems.
- Software Developer – Bachelor’s degree in software engineering or computer science.
The nice thing is that even if you decide to go to college and get a degree, it isn’t usually’t ever a waste of your time. You can always apply those skills to your own business someday if you decide that you want to work for yourself.
What If I Don’t Want To Go To College?
So maybe you have thought carefully about the direction you would like to take with your career, and maybe college is not for you. Maybe you don’t want to go to college, but you’re not sure what your other options are?
The average student debt in the United States adds up to more than $32,000, according to the federal reserve. On top of that, the rising costs of tuition, and total student debt is up around 302% since 2004.
Inflation also plays a big part in your salary as well. If you go and get a degree it should convert to a great income at a job that you’re passionate about.
If you just going to college to make your parents happy, and you know for a fact that you wouldn’t enjoy it, then going to college doesn’t make sense.
What Are My Alternatives If I Don’t Want To Go To College?
These days you have a lot of options with the invention of the internet in full swing.
There are many excellent online courses that are a fraction of the price that you would have to pay for a college tuition. The return of investment(ROI) on these courses can be huge!
I will give you a few ideas below, but in fact the opportunities that you have today are almost endless. The only thing standing in your way is yourself.
Be creative and start doing something amazing.
1. Start An Online Business Doing Affiliate Marketing
We are living in amazing times with the power of the internet, and it’s creating countless business opportunities for people that know how to use it.
I love the fact that because of the internet, I have the ability to work anywhere in the world.
So what is affiliate marketing? Give me an example.
Affiliate Marketing is the process where someone creates a website, and then creates content for that website. They write reviews about products or service that they love. Through promoting products and services they can make great commissions on sales, when they make a sale.
The way this works is by utilizing a unique affiliate link made by a retailer or advertiser. When someone comes to your website, and reads an article about a product that you have written about, they can choose to buy that product by clicking on the affiliate link.
When the person who clicks on your affiliate link goes to the companies’ website, and buy something, you as the affiliate marketer will be rewarded with a commission.
The commission may range from 1% all the way to 75% depending on what you’re promoting, so there’s amazing potential to build a great career with this, in any niche that you like.
There are many other ways of applying effective affiliate marketing. Other example are the use of social media platforms. Using platforms like, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, in addition to having a website. This will help boost your traffic that you’re already getting from your website.
Affiliate marketing is a win for everyone involved.
- The retailer gets more business.
- You give your readers great value by offering solutions to a problem that they may have.
- By offering them a great product or service that assists them with this, they may purchase your recommended service or product, and you’ll be rewarded for your efforts with a nice commission.
If you’re interested in learning more about affiliate marketing, you can check out my review of Wealthy Affiliate. In my opinion they are the best in the business when it comes to learning how to make a career from affiliate marketing.
2. Running A Local Marketing Business
This one ties in with online marketing as well. If you understand how to drive traffic to a website, then you can apply the same knowledge to help local businesses(brick-and-mortar stores) by helping them be found on the internet and social media platforms.
Millions of customers are looking for local businesses every day, and it’s a very competitive market. Running A Successful Local Marketing Business can be a great opportunity to work close to where you live, while working for yourself.
Approximately 93% of consumers in the United States search for local businesses online, and about 88% of SEO local mobile searches result in a store visit or phone call within 24 hours.
You will be in a unique position to bring local businesses, traffic and sales opportunities.
3. Creating A Blog
When you take a look from a startup cost, then blogging is very cost effective compared to a physical( brick-and-motar) store. It also has the potential to make thousands of dollars per month if you’re prepared to put the work into it.
The way that bloggers make money is through selling adverting space on their blogs, or promoting their products or services on their site. This is similar to what we spoke about earlier when we’re discussing affiliate marketing.
Blogging is a great way to create a full time income, doing what you passionate about, while helping people at the same time. There are thousands of categories that you can blog about. Health, Technology, Baby Products, Food, Pets, cars, travel and anything you can think of.
How can I make money blogging?
- Ads
- Affiliate Marketing
- Sponsored Posts
- Creating and selling your own digital products such as e-books, e-courses, organizers, printable s, etc.
- Writing Reviews that promote products and services.
More people than ever are online, and there is no better time than now to start blogging.
4. Earning As A Photographer
If you love taking pictures then why not make a career out of it.
You could start a photography blog or YouTube channel, sell your prints online, do freelance photography for clients, do photo shoots, the list goes on.
If you have a big collection of high quality photos, you can submit them to stock photography sites. It can be a good way to earn a passive income off it.
You can also enter photography contests, where you have a chance to showcase your skills. Even if you don’t win a cash prize, photos contests can help boost your confidence and gain you some exposure. There are many photos contests out there, and the grand prize can amount to a few thousand dollars.
Learning how to use a photo editing program like photoshop will enable you to do editing work for clients as well.
5. Social Media Manager
Social media managers are in charge building a companies brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic.
They engage with customers through social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. They must be able to also track their success, and make sure that they can reach the most people possible.
People only like to buy products and services from businesses that they trust, and a social media manager help build this trust.
Main Takeaways’
- Social Media Marketing(SMM) uses social Media and social networks(Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest) They use this to market services and products, engage with existing and look for new customers.
- Social media helps with targeted interaction with people looking for a particular product or service.
- Social media tracks what individuals are interested in, and keeps them posted with the latest trends. This makes it an effective tool for business to showcase their products and services tailored to each customer.
Conclusion
Whether you decide to go to college or not, you have plenty of options.
Go to college if you want to apply for a job, as anyone hiring likes to see that you have a degree. This is to verify that you have the qualifications to do the job.
You can always get a degree, and instead of working for someone, rather create a business working for yourself.
The main takeaway is that you don’t need a college degree to be successful. There are so many ways that you can learn new skills from online courses or mentors. There are many examples of entrepreneurs that have made it to the top without a college degree.
If you interested in learning about the platform that I owe my success as a blogger and affiliate marker to, you can check out my Wealth Affiliate Review.
I hope that this article inspires you to reflect on what you want out of your dream work life, and to take action on it.
Stay Adventurous
Luciano, AdventurousWealth.com
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Do you have to go to college to be successful?