From a young age, college is crammed down our throats like a baby being force fed spinach. We’re taught that it’s good for us and that we really ought to go, lest we end up being a McDonald’s worker the rest of our lives. But the truth is, there’s evidence to suggest that college isn’t absolutely necessary.
I mean sure, if you want to be an engineer, a doctor, a lawyer, or a teacher, then obtaining your degree through an accredited institution is a must. But if you find yourself more interested in careers such as film, business, music, or fashion, then college isn’t absolutely necessary. In some cases, it may even hamper your chances of success.
Take Quentin Tarantino, for example. Tarantino is one of Hollywood’s most famous movie directors, and it just so happens that he never went to film school.
“When people ask me if I went to film school, I tell them, ‘No, I went to films,’” Tarantino once said. Tarantino also once told a group of students at the Cannes Film Festival that, “Trying to make a feature film yourself with no money is the best film school you can do.”
Another good example is Steve Jobs. Jobs dropped out of Reed College in his younger years and later went on to co-found Apple Inc., which is currently estimated to be worth about $750 billion.
Other successful college dropouts include Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, Tom Hanks, Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey. There are countless other names to add to that list of course, but the point is, college is not a one-way ticket to success like it’s portrayed to be.
Too many people get this idea in their head that once they earn their degree, they’re guaranteed a high paying job with great benefits. Not so.
College merely provides you with an education; it doesn’t replace real work experience. And in many ways, it’s this real work experience that’s going to teach you the fastest. That’s why many have opted to get out there and do the work they want to be doing as opposed to learning how to do the work they want to be doing.
Now don’t get me wrong; if you have your heart set on college, then by all means, go to college. I hope you don’t misinterpret this piece as me saying that no one should go to college, ever. That’s not what I mean at all. All I’m saying is that there is more than one way to get to a destination, and perhaps you should explore those other options.
