Making good without a university degree
moneyrelations :: Sep.04.2007
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I had lunch with an old colleague of mine last week. This colleague and I worked at my first “real” job at a software company a few years ago. He was the lead programmer and I was the junior turned intermediate. Then the tech bubble and 9/11 happened and the R&D money dried up - yadda yadda yadda. I bailed to find work elsewhere; he left shortly after to become a network administrator at another company. At this lunch meeting, he proceeded to tell me that he’s moving on again, to take a position out of town as a programmer / project manager, something he has always wanted to do. He will be taking a 16k paycut in doing so but he’d be moving closer to family and the experience would be invaluable for the future. He had told me previously he is pulling six figures at his present job so let’s suppose at minimum, he will “only” be making 84k at the new place. Not bad for someone who only has an architecture diploma and a programming certificate in Visual Basic.
Sometimes I wonder if the importance stressed on higher education is worth it. Here’s a guy who made it on his own from a very poor background on pure chutzpah. I doubt if he fully understands software engineering principles or can even name the processes of a development cycle but isn’t this all just BS? You make all these plans and milestones which no one ever follows anyway. At the end of the day, I believe it just boils down to common sense. Take this from the bias of someone who only has a diploma (albeit in computer engineering) but I turned out all right too.
I can go on about education and money as it would be dangerous to say you don’t need a higher education but I think I’ll leave that post for another time. Today, I’d just like to reflect on his success and how he got there: hard work, motivation, confidence, leadership. These are skills you can’t learn from a text book but I’m glad he was there to teach me.
Career ::
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Education - yeah, I’m a history major. You can just imagine where that’s gotten me! Seriously though… I don’t regret a day or a dollar, and as I age (whimper) that becomes more and more clear. Has it contributed in a direct relationship to my economic success? Hard to measure. But it sure gave me a breadth and depth of perception that I think gets developed and honed by exposure to Big Ideas, debates with people who have a totally different point of view, and having to read stuff that felt really hard to understand … but doing it and learning from it. Can that happen without an education? Of course, but, how many of us deliberately place ourselves in that kind of situation?
Hi Nancy,
For sure, nowadays, you need a post secondary education just to compete in the market place. As you say, it gave you “breadth and depth of perception” to new ideas. However, how many stop right there and settle for a 9 to 5 desk job and just stagnate…? That’s the topic of tomorrow’s post!
My brother in law has 16 months of school and makes more in a year than I do with my newly minted PhD, and will do so for perhaps a long time into the future. In fact at the moment I barely make more than I did with a MSc.
What did I get out of the extra education though? Freedom, which is what I wanted. Freedom to work for myself, and I hope freedom to have a family on my own terms. Also freedom to choose projects, although that is something that will still take a few more years and effort. I kick started some of my credibility in the consulting world by proving I could actually attain such a high academic degree. And I proved it to myself, otherwise I may always have wondered.
Anyway, it was brutal and I wouldn’t do it again, but I am glad I did, and don’t begrudge others the money (with or without the education) because I can see a career path in front of me that I am happy with.
Long way of saying I agree, I think that getting the education may not always be the path for everyone, and there are many like you friend who prove it. I just think it is about finding the right way to get to your goals, and having more letters after your name isn’t always the way.
Education isn’t a guarantee. But it certainly improves the odds. At my workplace, there is a guy with no high school diploma who has nonetheless risen to a salary in the high five-figures, with several weeks vacation a year. Because he’s good at what he does.
It’s certainly possible to ‘make it’ without much formal education. But I wouldnt’ bet on it, especially nowadays. Education just improves your odds.
And that’s just the financial side. The peripheral benefits of expanding your mind are boundless.
Don’t get me wrong guys, it’s always good to hedge your bets and having an education is the ultimate back up plan. I would break the knee caps of my imaginary kids if they didn’t go onto post secondary education.
Expanding your knowledge is a life long process and not limited to your school years. It just gives you the skill set to keep on learning. Coming from a position of privilege, some people forget this while others like my friend progress with their unique skill set. The bottom line is constant self improvement which is not tied to the titles on your business card.
More and more that is that is the theme of this blog, just to learn
There was an Apprentice season when they pitted non-degree holders against degree holders. You’re right, it’s the know-how and the will to hustle.
However… nah, definitely no “however” here.
It’s all about hardwork, knowing when to fight or flee, bite or bite harder.
Nice post.
Hi EW,
I did see the Apprentice season! Unfortunately, the bedazzle lady was a poor representation of the “street smart” gang so she lost.
In the perfect world, you’d combine a degree with hustle but I really wonder how much people apply themselves.
After all, you are the sum of your experiences and you compensate for what you don’t have.
Thanks for dropping by
I think it is very possible to be highly successful without a degree, especially these days with the internet… if someone takes the time to learn and persevere (that’s probably the hardest part), I believe someone can become very wealthy online without having a degree. There are plenty of online entrepreneurs out there making more money than they could possibly making out in the non-online world–and many have nothing more than a high school diploma.
I think a select few may even still BE in high school.. heheh.
Hi Xicom,
Good point… In fact, I have a blog draft on young entrepreneurs. I don’t dismiss “kids” as they might have ideas that just needs polishing.
But I think it is misleading about “making money online”. It seems so “easy” but a lot of hard work is involved. Not too many bloggers can make enough income to quit their jobs but a few buck is nice.