Is A College Education Overrated?

There's a thought that's been rolling around in my head for quite some time now. It's time I shared it with you all.

When we are little (and when I say we, I mean as an American society), most of us are raised with a certain idea of how life is to go. When you are about 5 or 6, you begin your education (although that seems to be beginning earlier and earlier as the go-getters in the world try to get their kids into the most exclusive preschools available). You complete elementary school, move on to Junior High or Middle School (depending on what it's called where you live), then complete High School. During these 12 years, the idea is to always be working on one simple goal...to get good enough grades to get into college. Then you're supposed to go to college, graduate, get a job, get married, have babies. Voila. The American Dream is yours.

I don't know about you all, but I don't know many people for whom it happened in that exact order. For most, the paths get criss crossy and the lines get blurry, and....well, life happens.

I did the all American thing. I was a good kid in school, I participated in music and drama, did a little writing. I got to proudly wear the yellow tassels with my graduation gown showing I was an Honor Student. I even got a small music scholarship to my local community college. I always just assumed I would go to college, but I always knew it would be community college. When I was about 12, my dream was to go to Yale. I now realize I have no idea why I wanted to go to Yale. I didn't even know what state Yale was in. I just thought it would be awesome. Anyhoo, to make a long story short, I did go to college. My first year was surprisingly easy and I felt like I was on the right path. I had decided I wanted to be a nurse. And then, something happens that happens to young people everyday. Something that is not necessarily a bad thing, but that can often derail even the best laid plans.

I met a boy. This particular boy was moving to a bigger town a couple hours away to go to a State University. I had always thought this was something that was out of my reach. But I didn't want the boy to leave without me, so I applied for financial aid. I was accepted into that University, and by golly, the Federal Government was only more than willing to throw money at me to go. Money that I wouldn't have to pay back until I had earned my degree and was making a living at a real job.

I would like to tell you that it all went according to plan. But like the image above illustrates, plans are often nothing more than best intentions. There are many obstacles that stood in the way of my college degree. Most of them were my doing. But the number one obstacle that made it really flippin hard if not dang near impossible to finish college was money. Although I had gotten student loans that paid for tuition and books, I still had to pay rent, utilities, car payment, gas, insurance...you know, all of that stuff that is required to live. I worked 45 hours a week at a Video Store and went to school full time. I was quickly promoted to management and suddenly started to realize that what gets you ahead in the business world isn't always a piece of paper that states you're educated.

Eventually, the financial crush of trying to work full time and be a full time student ended up being too much. Throw in a couple of other personal issues like a wedding, a divorce and a baby, and well......you can see where this is going, right?

Bottom line is, I never did get that college degree. I went back to school a couple of times, but the same obstacle has always hit me in the face. Unless you had a college fund sitting in the bank upon your graduation from High School, it is very difficult to make it through, work a full time job, raise a family and take care of a home. Is it impossible? No, people do it every day. But my guess is they don't do it without racking up an enormous amount of debt, and my husband and I have chosen to live debt free if at all possible.

I have had gainful employment my entire life. And for the most part, my lack of a college degree never stood in my way of advancing in my jobs. I was always quickly promoted and the more experience I gained, the better I became. I realized that the most valuable skills I possessed had come not from that $13,000 education I'm still paying for, but from being there, in the trenches, on the job, learning from people who had been doing it longer than me and were willing to teach. In every job I've had, that learning took place from an entepreneur, and in many cases, from an entepreneur with no college degree.

One thing I noticed a lot of when I was in school was that there were many students in my classes who already had degrees, but had come back to school because they couldn't find jobs. (I'm not really sure what they thought more college and more debt was going to do to remedy that situation but it was interesting to note.)

A couple of days ago, I got an email alert telling me that my local newspaper is looking for a politics/government reporter. Although I'm not even looking for a new job, I felt a slight thrill rush through me. How frickin awesome would it be for me to realize a dream I've had since I was 8? To be a professional writer has always been something I figured was an unattainable goal. You know, since I don't have a college degree and all. So I read further down the page and saw the words that dashed my hopes in an instant.

"Bachelor's Degree Required"

Crap. Oh well. Coulda woulda shoulda. Move on.

So I posted a status on facebook about the missed opportunity and really thought no more of it. I was amazed at how many people responded to that status. People started telling me I would be great at that, and that I should apply for it anyway, send them samples of my writing, and just go for it. I have to say, it never ceases to amaze me how amazingly supportive and encouraging my readers are about my writing. I may only have a readership of a few hundred, but the ones I have are loyal and, well, for lack of a better word, just amazing.

This all got me thinking, is it right for companies to require a college degree if there is an applicant available without one who could do the job well? I'm not saying every Joe Schmoe on the street should write for the local paper. Obviously I would prefer that my brain surgeon have a degree. But are we starting to enter a time in our society when the socially accepted norm of a college degree being your ticket to success is no longer applicable to all situations? Some of the most wealthy and successful Americans of our time were college dropouts. Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and the late great Steve Jobs all decided that college was simply not for them and embraced their enteprenurial spirit instead. Because of that decision, they became wealthy and successful beyond their wildest dreams and changed the landscape of technology and even American society. Am I saying no one should go to college? Absolutely not! I still believe it's your best chance at landing a lucrative and successful career. But I think some things are going to have to change. I don't think college is for everyone. And I think that as our economy dips lower and lower, and college tuitions and book prices go higher and higher, less people are going to have access to that education without racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. With the way things are going in this nation, the American people cannot sustain that kind of debt in the long term. And I have yet to see any bright ideas to change the course of our economic demise any time soon.

Is entepreneurism the new black? Is college so yesterday? As our economic landscape changes, what will we embrace as the traits we look for in our future work force? Do we want a work force filled with educated idiots who have little knowledge of the inner workings of a company but who can regurgitate useless facts at an alarming rate, or will we embrace creative minds, motivated, insightful thinkers who use life and work experience to propel them forward? There's no doubt that a lot of things need to change. If we are going to insist as a society that our children seek further education to compete, then I believe we are going to have to change the way we educate those children. We are going to have to think outside the box and teach them more than just useless facts. We need to focus more on real life applications and experiences.

As for me, part of me will always regret not getting my degree, but part of me is thankful for all of the derailments that landed me where I am today. I would not be who I am without them, and I am proud of the accomplishments I've made, even without a piece of paper proving I did anything. And who knows, maybe I'll send them a sample or two and just see.

(If you feel so inclined, check out the video below which exposes the federal government's role in destroying affordable access to a college education.)