Wanting us to be the best version of ourselves, our parents constantly instil wisdom upon us as we grow older. One notable example is them telling us repeatedly how important education is for us to achieve success.
This age-old belief is one of the main reasons most parental figures show their willingness to put pressure on their children to perform better, academic or co-curricular wise. This is is especially prominent in Asian countries like Singapore or the Philippines, but other Western cultures put a lot of emphasis on achievements, as well. After all, every accomplishment achieved today is an investment placed to one’s tomorrow.
Unfortunately, not everyone gets the same opportunities in life. There are also individuals who are just not interested in tertiary education. It should be noted here, too, that the stigma against those who drop out is no longer as bad as it used to be. On top of all these, the belief that formal education is necessary to be successful has been subverted.
Making It Big
Many people are now of the opinion that even those who are not able to pursue college degrees can attain success. The stories of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are two great examples.
Going by their backstories, it appears that a business degree or a computer science degree is not at all a prerequisite for one to learn the necessary skills, such as business analytics and digital marketing, to make it big in the modern world. But is that really so?
More Than Self-Teaching
While the way of thinking is much more pleasant now, and there are plenty of opportunities to grab as dropouts, it is still not encouraged to drop out of college. It is important to remember that while success stories we come across are inspiring, they do not always work out for everyone.
Moreover, while the internet has made an abundance of knowledge more accessible to the general public, and consequently those who have dropped out, there are still some things that you just cannot learn from YouTube how-to videos — for example, how to manage authority figures or ‘boss management’.
Self-teaching gives students the flexibility to the capacity of their learning. However, it does not give them the opportunity to work with people who are essentially of higher standing. Thus, those who get to do so have more experience listening to the demands of practice bosses or clients, all the while managing their expectations.
Getting Job Security
Additionally, as we all know, a degree can help guarantee job security. It is still common for most career paths to view higher education as a vital characteristic for a number of reasons, mainly because the time that students spend in university allows them to expand their knowledge base while also building up their skill threshold.
With all of these in mind, it is important to reiterate that those of us who are privileged enough to get the chance to complete our schooling should do so, given the fact that it provides numerous advantages and gives us something to fall back on in the long run.
