Money Problems
- Thread starter KillerZebra
- Start date
how do u think i got the interview in the first place?
Unless you plan to work a job that absolutely requires a particular degree (like anything in the medical/legal fields), then there is absolutely no legitimate reason to go to college. Everything you can ever want to educate yourself on is available online, for free. Hell, even MIT has free online courses and study material for anybody to use. It's the exact same course as you would get if you were to actually enroll at MIT, but they won't give you a degree.
The degree is nothing more than a receipt showing that you know what you know. And like I said, unless you're going to become a doctor or a lawyer, you typically aren't going to need that piece of paper. Your knowledge and experience will show that you know what you know. Any employer worth working for knows this, which is why some of the best companies to work for in the US don't even bother asking to see your degree/diploma; if you know what you're doing and you're not an idiot, they'll throw money at you.
I'm a perfect example of this. I dropped out of high school and took my GED. I spent a few months in community college and dropped out. Didn't matter to Apple when I started working for them for just shy of two years and getting two promotions.
A good company doesn't care about paper. They care about people. Just keep that in mind when you're deciding what type of career you want to choose. There is absolutely no reason to pay back a student loan for twenty years because you want to build sheds.
The degree is nothing more than a receipt showing that you know what you know. And like I said, unless you're going to become a doctor or a lawyer, you typically aren't going to need that piece of paper. Your knowledge and experience will show that you know what you know. Any employer worth working for knows this, which is why some of the best companies to work for in the US don't even bother asking to see your degree/diploma; if you know what you're doing and you're not an idiot, they'll throw money at you.
I'm a perfect example of this. I dropped out of high school and took my GED. I spent a few months in community college and dropped out. Didn't matter to Apple when I started working for them for just shy of two years and getting two promotions.
A good company doesn't care about paper. They care about people. Just keep that in mind when you're deciding what type of career you want to choose. There is absolutely no reason to pay back a student loan for twenty years because you want to build sheds.
Lord Killington
Legendary Skial King
Hmm, interesting to see the different words used on the different sides of the pond. In Britain, College is where yuo go when you're 16 (years 12 & 13) and what you call college we call university.
I think in my profession (IT) it gets you in the door at the very least a bit easier with a higher starting salary. People who went to college make around $1 million more in their lifetimes than their high school counterparts:
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/moneymatters/a/edandearnings.htm
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/08/college-gradutates-pay.html
Although depending on WHERE in IT, all you need is a few pieces of paper (CISSP, CCNP, A+, MCSE, etc.) and you're set.
That's about half my job right now. Other half is writing specs, reports, and wrangling databases. I guess that's where everyone starts. One of my professors is a CIO and he started the same way.
True. I've interviewed for several companies where I was more than qualified for the position, but they wouldn't hire me because I lacked a degree.
Also, it's worth mentioning that while certifications are incredibly helpful when going for an IT position, they're nothing like a degree. A lot of people confuse the two. I had a buddy in high school who said "I don't need certs, I'm getting a relevant degree in this field". Several years later, he didn't get the IBM job he was wanting, but they hired another guy I knew who took no college courses at all, but had his certs. Friend A is paying off a massive student loan that will probably take him 20 years to pay off, while Friend B just pays a few hundred bucks every couple years to renew his certs, AND has the job.
I made the mistake of not doing enough research into what type of education I'd need, and stupidly went to college fora few years. Wasn't what I was needing in the least, didn't finish, and now I've got a massive loan to pay off because of it.
Long story short, once you're out of high school, find out what you want to do with your life. Talk to recruiters at those companies that interest you, and ask them exactly what they look for in candidates, and who they hire. Often times these recruiters will talk to you, even if you aren't qualified or even interested in the job, because they know you'll either refrain from wasting interview time if you already know you won't get hired, or you'll be able to refer somebody else to the job with your new knowledge. Talk to them, find out what they need. Do this for multiple companies. You won't regret it.
