College degree no guarantee of success

Each year thousands of students earn a diploma from a college or university and then do not have any success in finding employment after graduation.

Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, and Larry Ellison… None of them hold a college degree. Many of the CEOs who run the companies they created do have college degrees, but the founders do not. What they do have are things colleges can’t teach you, such as curiosity, ambition, and a willingness to fail. Those qualities almost guarantee success.

A college diploma doesn’t. In basic terms, a degree is simply an expensive piece of paper certifying you met a certain level of scholastic achievement, but what happens in the classroom doesn’t always translate into the real world. College degrees don’t always guarantee a good salary or guarantee a job.

Everyone should ask themselves this question, “What is success to me?”

What is success to you? Before anyone starts a career path, they should definitely think about what their personal definition of success is. For some people success may be obtaining an abundant amount of money, belonging to a certain social status or being a powerful trailblazer. For others it may mean saving lives, being a caregiver, or just living a low-key life. Without an understanding of success, you might struggle with knowing which direction to take to get that lifestyle you desire. Many people start college and then never graduate.

However, the key words are “many people,” and the reasons are numerous and different. Some reasons may be inadequate preparation to do college-level work, poor self-management of time, unable to afford to attend, choosing the wrong school or major, the individual may not feel smart enough to belong in a classroom setting, or

Continued on Page 5

‘A Political View’

By Sherry Holliman SHERRY HOLLIMAN(cont.)

just have a bad attitude about higher education.

But what about the students that are proud graduates of an educational institution, and cannot find their expected dream job? Or any job in that field? Again, the answer is “many people” and again there are many possible reasons. Some likely reasons that new graduates fail to quickly find the expected dream job includes: low GPA, job market may have a limited need for a particular diploma in that city or state, employers do not have any work history to compare, and if there are several applicants with fresh degrees how can the best applicant get the offer?

In addition to the many graduates that chose the same major with few related job openings the graduate will face tough competition for the offers that will be made. Whether college is necessary depends on what you want to do with regard to your career, passions, or interests.

Although many people expect a college education to guarantee success, it isn’t really hard to see that it does not and has been proven. It is just one step down the path toward having a successful career.

Success can be achieved with or without a college degree. College degree can help you achieve your goals. It is mandatory for some employers if you want a professional career.

However, you do not need a college degree to become wealthy. A college degree does not guarantee anything, other than showing others that you can follow through with something.

Success is a relative term, meaning it only applies to you and only to what you intended to do. Simply having a college degree doesn’t guarantee one will get the job, nor should it.

People don’t need a college degree to be successful, but having an education is important, along with a desire to continue to learn, work hard, and adapt.

Sherry Holliman is a concerned citizen of Crittenden County and has some views on a variety of topics that she wants to share with her neighbors. She serves on the Marion City Council.