Do we need higher education today? Is it so important for our generation, as it was important for our parents? Nowadays more and more specialists in different fields, entrepreneurs and businessmen achieve success without it.
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We have adopted the "truth" that the end of the prestigious College is a secured future. But today a student gets graduate with debt from $20.000 to $60.000 of loan for education and the high expectations of his future career. Former students shackled by credit, they don't risk and don't invest effort in an adventurous startups or private activities, prefer to work in management of companies on initial positions, to pay off debts gradually. Or they even remain without work in the oversaturated labour market and do not know what to do with their science degree.
For the 2012-2013 academic year, about 60% of graduates of government universities have an average debt for its education loan on average of $ 27,300 each.
Only 30% of people with higher education find jobs in their own or related fields.
In 2014, 50% of recent College graduates employed in jobs not requiring higher education. For example: 100.000 of cleaners and 317.000 waiters have College diplomas.
In fact, a diploma of College is just an additional plus in your favor at the interview, but it is not a guarantee of employment on good terms. It only opens up more choice of places to work, but approximately with the same conditions.
Is it worth spending 4-6 years in training and incur debts, if consider how quickly technologies are changing our world? By the time of graduation, in the field you have chosen, can occur automation of many processes and greatly reduce the demand for specialists of your profile. Today, the academic knowledge that you get in College are lagging behind the required practical knowledge that need in reality.
If you already know your goal in life, then don't waste time on education, because the ability to translate ideas into practice is valued far more than any diploma.
read about successful entrepreneurs who dropped out College
But if you didn't find yourself, the first 2-3 years in College will not be superfluous. Age from 20-30 years old is the most active stage in formation of personality. Boyish goes, it's the final stage of the formation of character and principles, it's time of full social adaptation. The type of mind originated in the school (humanitarian or technical) is developing. So, it's not superfluous to spend the first few years of this period, among your peers, in the same time having a decent and hard goal (getting a diploma).
College will definitely teach you the basic rules and laws of society and adult life, but so to speak in the demo version. If we reject academic knowledge, in fact you learn to interact, cooperate, negotiate with as equals (other students) and higher (teachers). You learn self-discipline. Also get a small, but basic skills that are needed in any field – public speaking, presentation of your work, promoting yourself. Working to deadline, compromise and quick fix of your mistakes. Also in College’s years formed one of the strong ties for life.
During my studies, I changed many jobs, I can't remember almost anyone with whom i worked, but with my classmates we have been friends for 10 years. The trials, difficulties and victories unite people.
The more trials will fall to your lot while studying, the better for you. Honors in studies rarely demonstrate the ingenuity and skill needed to solve problems in a short time and under great pressure. They work great for plans and templates, but can't to improvise in difficult situations, and the honors go to boring office work in the end more often, than people with an average score of grades.
Only In the process of obtaining higher education perhaps to get a fundamental mastery of the basic Sciences, the formation methods of scientific thinking and research of the surrounding reality. You will be able to systematize the knowledge. Unlike school, you can choose what skills are useful and which are not. There is no need as in the middle and senior school cram all that system offers to you, you make the choice.
The most important thing that gives College in the first 2-3 years, you will learn to learn properly!
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At the end of the first two years you are already more mature person, who will be able to determine his future career more rationally. You're ready to learn independently and effectively, the Internet today provides access to volumes of knowledge, which does not have any College. You will be able to assess the labor market and prospects in different directions. If after the first years you know that you want to continue studying according to the initially chosen profession, well, you are very lucky, keep on do it.
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A personal experience (i described it in my intro earlier):
I have the diploma of Aeronautical Engineering, I spent 6 years to get it. I was on a budget learning, but provided housing and food by myself (was working the entire period of study in free time). In the end the diploma cost me about 60.000$. After College I went to work in the specialty in state research and production space center Khrunichev, I was adopted to the Department for development of new booster rockets. In practice, I used about 10% of the specialized knowledge that I gained in College. I can honestly say that for one year of work at the space center I learned more than for 6 years before.
Due to poor conditions I had to change the field of activity, I chose digital technologies, and had learned everything from the beginning independently. It took me approximately 2.5 years to become IT engineer in the one of the biggest internet-provider company in a country. I am self taught, but I could not to reach this result, without passing through the higher education.