#Fact: You don't need a college degree to be successful
<editorsnote> Nerds, meet Jordan. He's been writing for us for a while now ... actually come to think of it, he was one of the first writers on this site - so he's been here a superly duperly long time. He's got a lot of thoughts inside that big head of his, here are some of them ... HIT IT JORDAN!!! </editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @saintpepsi
College, It's what you need to get a job. It's what you have to have to be considered an adult. It's what you HAVE to have to get anywhere in life. That is if you are looking to get a specific degree in a certain field that you can only learn in college. For the 90 percent of other people, college is 6 years of partying and slacking off. You cram before exams and you push yourself to manage this new found freedom with the still odd sense of responsibility you have with a looming GPA. You see we are told time and time again college is necessary for advancement into adulthood. The thing is though if you are just getting a degree to say you have a degree then all you really get is a check mark on a resume. You will pay some 20 grand to be able to check graduated college. That's an expensive check mark. So you get your check mark and you go into a job interview. What's the first thing you get asked? Do you have any experience in the work force? Well you had that job in high school and a part time job in college to pay for beer and gas. Still it was just a way to get by without having to ask your parents for money that facebook would tell them is going to the bars. Unless your parent's paid your whole way through college in which case you have no experience in the job market at all. So the answer ends up being NO. Well, really we need someone with workforce experience they say. You walk out thinking but I have a degree. Doesn't that mean anything? A master’s degree does. That's another 4 years in college and another 20 grand in debt. With only a hope of getting a job in whatever field you are looking into with all the other people in this job climate clamoring for the same position. Each having a similar degree. Creative writers turn to blogs, Anyone with degrees in history pray to the old literature god's that they can sub at a school just enough to be worth a real teaching gig, in a time when teachers are being cut left and right.
You see I have a degree; I went to school to become a minister. What did I get from that degree? I got a 20 grand check mark on a resume. Telling employers I can finish something I start. That's not worth 20 grand. I do now have 6 years training at a supervisor capacity and with that comes the ability to say, “Yes! I have had experience in leading people, working with others, and managing time.” So when I go to look for jobs having the ability to turn to my old employment for a reference, a place where I made money and didn't just funnel it into an education I'm not using, these new employers will be more likely to say great we need someone who knows how to lead and direct. The college degree will help but the experience will be what sells me as a worthwhile candidate. Did I need to go to college? Not really. It was a good rite of passage. It was fun meeting new people, but as far as people I went to school with I talk to maybe 3 of them still. The people I work with I am very close with. We formed a bond in servitude to the wage statement. I know I'll get parents and others who will tear me down for saying this, but sending yourself into crippling debt and coming away with a lack luster degree isn't a great way to start adulthood.
With the ability to learn just about anything you want from the internet for free teachers have become slightly unnecessary. In college teachers refer to pre-created power points, recorded lectures from TED talks and other things that you could be watching on your own time for free on the net. If you have a passion to learn something you will take the initiative to learn it whether you are in college or not. We have the tools in our hands and they are offered for free. Once you start following your passion nothing can stop you. If anything college shows you how to avoid your passion; as it heaps class after class of things you should have learned in high school if you were paying attention. That's just a fact. Gen Ed courses are high school all over again. Except this time you are paying a grand a class. I write for this blog. I didn't go to Jen Friel and say I have a college degree. I simply started writing for it. A position some creative writing grads would probably kill to have. Why? Because it's a noteworthy place. People actually read what I write. I write for a local paper called the Hype. A position I got because I write for this blog. I do commission art work for people all over the world. Currently, working with Misti Dawn on her new site. A job I got because of my own skills unlearned in college and because of this blog. Truth be told this blog has afforded me more opportunities than any college degree I could have ever gotten.
How much did it cost me to get into this blog? Nothing and while I may not be paid to write for talknerdytomelover I do it because it's a passion I have. Passion is what fuels us and without it we spiral into oblivion and repetition. So I say if you know what you want to do in life after you get out of high school do it. Forgo College and run right into the career you want. Do the research you need to in order to know the field and surprise them with that knowledge. Right now my college degree has earned me nothing but debt. My passion has acquired me the most amazing and inspiring friends I have ever had, adventures I can recount to anyone who will listen, and contacts in the fields I love. Truly getting ahead in life is based on your passion and your contacts. Who you know will ultimately secure your place in this world.
Stop being stepped on and taking yourself for granted. Stop wondering how people keep getting hired without the degree you have. Start doing. Start working towards just what it is you want to be. Start living.