I think you encouraged the correct decision. Education is of fundamental importance in expanding ones understanding of the world and ourselves. Unless one is particularly talented and focused in one area that they wish to pursue, and even then, one should consider the merits of starting in the working world too early. Modern society keeps urging us to start everything sooner, adulthood, work etc. It is my opinion that, yes we need to be competitive, and unless one is uniquely gifted in one area that one wants to focus upon, the future requires for a well rounded, balanced individual to be happy ... and happiness is not exclusive to money .. indeed, many would say doing something meaningful is the key to happiness, irrespective of money. Simon Cowell and the few people you quoted are a select few, not everyone is like them, nor did these very people have it easy .. they all struggled before fame .. education takes many forms, some of it vocational, life experience or academia ... either way its important and more time learning is never a bad thing ... look at all the folks rushing for MBA's now ... and its not just for money, many do it for betterment. J

Hello Tamara,

As with many things today, there's no consensus on what a college education should be, or should deliver. Most, I think, want professional or job training for their sons and daughters--and at today's costs, who can blame them? At the same time, there is an almost atavistic hope that young people will still become acquainted with "the best that has been said and thought in the world," as Matthew Arnold famously put it.

In my own utopia, I would have "college" consist of two years of liberal arts study--literature, history, languages, philosophy, art, history of science; no hard sciences or social sciences. During those two years, students would ponder life's great questions in between partying and waiting for their hormones to calm down.

At the end of this period, everyone would have a common vocabulary in Aristotle, Shakespeare, and so on; the investment of time and money would be half of what it is now; and the more introspective types wouldn't be so far down the academic path that the only appealing career would involve ringing up customers in an organic grocery cooperative. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Students would then be awarded a B.A. and have three options: 1) find a job; 2) move on to professional training in law, medicine, engineering, the social sciences, or business; and 3) continue in a three-year specialized M.A. program (for those who just couldn't resist).

This brilliant plan won't be put into practice, of course, but it might lay to rest questions of relevance. In the meantime, the prestige race will continue as parents and their children continue to fear that the "wrong" school will forever harm students' future prospects, while the "right" school--at whatever price is demanded--will provide a sort of Golden Ticket to prosperity at the level of today's global elites.

You are absolutely right, and I am sure your son one day will appreciate and thank you for your decision.

Education will for sure have the benefits. The population of uneducated people who have succeded and gone to great heights are very few in numbers and can be counted on fingers.

On contrast compare with the population of educated lot who have benefitted.

Acquiring knowledge has never been a wasted effort.

There are definitely cases in the recent past that we could apply to test your theory that the demand for warm bodies in the workforce will reduce the value of additional education. The technology boom of the 1990's created an environment where the demand for skilled workers outpaced the supply of educated professionals. Even engineering companies like Intel that traditionally required a Bachelor's degree for engineering titles were forced to create titles and positions that allowed the hiring of non-degreed individuals into engineering roles.

However, when the technology bubble burst there was a major backlash. Now empowered by the reversal, employers were raising the bar on candidates. There were so many candidates for open positions that setting minimum education requirements was the easiest and fastest method of reducing the number of resumes that a hiring manager would need to consider.

So the same workers who were riding high on the technology wave were now being locked out of interviews based on their lack of a degree. The tragedy in this scenario is that some of the under-educated candidates were probably the best candidates for some of those positions, but those employers never had the opportunity to consider them because of a somewhat arbitrary standard that says more about a candidate's environment and home life than it does about that candidate's talents and abilities.

All of this being said, if the original plan was to complete a degree, then that plan should be carried through--if for no other reason that to teach a developing professional to start what they finish.

Is the "right" school important? Maybe if you plan to be president. But for the other hundreds of millions of us a well-accredited school is the most important thing. The "right" school seems more important for graduate studies than under-graduate, anyway.

Let take a bigger picture:
In gone decades, a drop-out earning a lot more than a degree holder has been considered an exception. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs etc are a among them. Rest all other millionaires / billionaires have good degrees on their names. They say, you cannot blame whole community if a hand full of people belonging to that community are mischievous. Same applies here as well. Bill gates dropping out doesn't mean that it is possible for everyone of us to earn a billion.

A degree means higher education & more education, which I agree with Hari Priya, is not a wasted effort. To be capable of teaching, I think you should have grilled your self enough. Without investing appropriate time in studying, its very-very difficult to achieve the level of a teacher for an average person with average IQ. And majority of us are average.

The market is sine wave: Up n Down. If tomorrow market is down, industry will not be in a position to risk their investment in a drop-out.

The situation is somewhat different in the UK. Here government has set the target of 50% of teenagers gaining a degree and are close to achieving it. The result is that many university degrees are worthless because too many young people with meagre academic skills are encouraged to take an undemanding degree course. Often the courses are not relevant to either commercial or public sector needs and the graduates have over high expectations of their earning power. At the same time business is starved of those individuals who could have contributed and learnt basic skills.
I certainly encourage young people to complete a university education but only if they have the academic skills and enthusiasm, to do so. Those are the tests that should be applied.

Having gone through all the above responses, I feel there is a clear consensus that college drop-outs rising to fame/success is more often than not an exception.
I think we need to look at the broader issue of putting forth a mechanism by which the college education "core curriculum" and pedagogy is brought up to speed with the changing pace of the industry demands, so as to make it more relevant.
At the same time I feel that the Industry at large is facing a challange of identifying and recruiting talented associates at an affordable price tag ( if i may so call it), which is also a driving factor to the above phenomenon. However, I feel it will not be long before recruitment before completion of College education will end up being more of a method of blocking talented associates with a view to recruiting them after completion of education.( may be with a joining bonus and at the same time enhancing academic interactions and ties)

You're kidding, right? Those people mentioned who have been successful without formal higher education are in the extreme minority, like winning the lottery probabilities. Education will never be a liability unless you want a lesser job. If a person lands a very good job without finishing college, it will take him only so far. Once he reaches a certain plateau and others are vying for the highest most positions, he will need the leverage at that point, and credentials, which include education, as a full package will be evaluated. I wouldn't play Russian Roulette just yet on your hypothesis!

Pat D'Urso

Tammy hit on some major issues that shouldn't be taken lightly. For example, in terms of my employees, what I really need are people with the following qualities:
integrity, initiative, innovation, and industriousness. While these are traits of collegiate graduates, in theory, I have repeatedly found the opposite to be true in practice and reality.

I, too, grew up in an era that placed heavy emphasis on Bachelor's and Masters degrees, and I dutifully complied. However, as I progressed through the ranks, I increasingly placed more emphasis on the four "I's" mentioned above (and experience) than a degree. I've had great success in training people who possess these qualities and traits to do the job in support of our strategic goals and objectives; and unfortunately, my record for leading, coaching, or mentoring degreed people to live the four "I's" is not nearly as successful - and there is still training required here as well.

To make a quick point on another of Tammy's insights, while the "electives" in college may help a person become more well-rounded (in theory), is that more important to me than the four "I's" and experience when deciding which candidate should be hired? Quite honestly, the answer is No.

Now, I am not advocating degrees are unimportant; quite the contrary, I believe they are extremely important. If I'm able to recruit a talented individual with a degree and the four"I's" - I will do my best to hire them. However, given the choice of a degreed person and a "4 I's" person, I'll go with the later every time.

PS: Actually there are seven I's: integrity, intelligence, initiative, innovation, industrious, influence, impact.

"Education is any day better than job" is the common expression we hear when the young one in well to do educated family seeks opinion on whether to opt out of education and jump into job or vice versa. If we dig into merits of education over job, we may find the devil in the employer offering employment to juniors in college. Organizations have to fill in and may do so with total disregard to career plan for the new recruit. The motive in employing thus becomes lop sided. If business conflicts with societal progress, it signals caution. Poor parents and their siblings may fall in to the lure for financial reasons, and that is understandable. There may also be few who would opt for early experience in their entrepreneurial journey. But the majority may do so to make quick buck. With the scarcity of talent and decrease in compulsary entry level education into the corporate world, organizations should abort ceilings wrt postions that undergraduates can rise up to. Ultimately the balance between employment opportunities, job opportunities and relevance of education would decide the future scenario.

While there are undoubtedly many examples of people who did quite well without a college degree, I would assert that there is an even longer list of those who are doing quite poorly. While Simon Cowell hit it big in the entertainment industry, Hollywood is full of people who will never make it big. Since they do not have a college education, they have nothing to fall back on. The exemptions do not make the rule. While education does not guarantee intelligence, much less success. Those with it have a security that others do not...

While I am completely on the side of more education, I believe that education will change to meet the needs of society. Education is by necessity becoming a continuous and life long process. Many employers in the past hired folks out of high school, put them to work and then put them in secondary educational programs including universities after 3-5 years of employment. As education becomes more and more a process vs. the 3-4 year undergraduate event that it often is today, I see a significant change coming. But for my kids I am still telling them college or bust.

I believe that this is a much more complex question than simply yes or no. There are many "it depends" aspects to the question. As an employer, I certainly put some value on a college degree; however, I also consider the source of the degree. I don't mean to be an academic snob, but "it depends" on whether the degree comes from a school in the mainstream or a mail order school, or a small unknown institution. In another dimension, "it depends" on the nature of the degree. A basic bachelor in psychology has a lot less value than some other degrees. We should also remember that those couple miscellaneous courses could have been finished through evening classes to get the framed certificate while also moving forward in a career.

Of particular importance is to remember that there is a difference between simply getting a degree and having something of value to offer a prospective employer. As with another writer, I value initiative, innovation, integrity and other traits that just don't come from a typical college degree.

I think it is very important that colleges and universities recognize that education for purely academic motives is not what makes the non-academic world go around. These institutions need to open their eyes to the marketplace they are serving and try to better prepare their product (their students) for the world they will enter either with a degree or with some number of years of academic pursuit.

Simon has recieved vast training but low state education? Many seem to invalidate experience as an educational tool that works for most who are commited to it. Teaching your son to simply act while those about them simply ponder, results in learning and if the proper values are there like "Commitment" - it will all work out in the end.

Parents hearts are in the right place in wanting the best for their kids, but many will not encourage kids go for the best when the young feel that they are ready to control their own lives. Education is often used as a command and control tool, to direct large segments of the population toward mass production activities. The result: A productive, non-unique person, that definitely fits a mould within society. Success... according to societal needs but not the individual.

Regards,

Barry

If money and jobs are the only reasons to get a college degree then Simon Cowell has a point. However, a college degree adds to the richness and satisfaction of life, long after money and career goals are met and become trite.

I'm 66 years old. I have a college degree. I struggled and sacrificed to get it; my parents had no resources. The degree served me well. I am now retired from a great job; have financial security, do consulting and live a fulfilled life.

Much of that fulfillment comes from talents developed and learned in college that contributed little to my career or financial success. Now I realize how much personal satisfaction my degree gives completely unrelated to money and career. I would truly miss at this stage of my life, the richness my college degee now adds. Regardless of ones native talent for making money etc., a college degree enhances life, pure and simple.
ssjackson. Reno, NV

Tamara,

In general I agree with your approach, though two or three interesting things may factor into the mix. First, in some cases (and you have named several), college just may not be right for any given young person. Second, college may be the right destiny for a person, but not at the socially-prescribed time. I did not want to go to college, was pressed to do, dropped out and ultimately earned 3 degrees (and a career in higher education). Finally, there is the whole complicated debate about whether or not colleges and universities are in fact preparing young people suitably for the world they are likely to face after college. Said another way, I wonder if college will continue to occupy its preeminent place in 'finishing' our upwardly mobile young people.

Counseling one's kids to go to college or to stay in college is, I suspect, the safe thing to do. Some kids have success and greatness written on them and will succeed with or without college. My guess is that those really unusual ones like those on your list knew that they had bigger fish to fry and 'had' to eschew college. That's not likely the case with the rest of us - too risk averse perhaps.

Thanks for sparking an interesting discussion.

I think your hypothesis can be right or wrong depending on the field of study your son was pursuing. I have a daughter who is a high school teacher (and a very good one) who early on recognized that she needed an advanced degree to effectively advance in her chosen field which would support your position. On the other hand, I also have a son who is a computer systems professional in applications integration who has not pursued an advanced degree because, as he put it, "we are creating the new systems and processes in the client environment while they (the universities) are teaching the previous generation (at best) systems and software which would refute your direction.

I also recently heard that with the comming generation college enrollment is expected to increase at a double digit rate for the next ten to twenty years.

I also think that there has been some dumbing down of our education system that makes a college degree the basic entry level for any significant position. Look at how the high schools no longer are allowed to "fail" anyone and make them retake the grade -- now pass them on to the next grade regardless of performance. Also, what were once "community colleges" that awarded associate degrees and now simply "colleges" that award certifications. What in the past was a "college" is now a "university" and it seems that the college degree now is approaching the level of a high school diploma of the past when a college or university has to require freshmen students to take reading and writing courses at a remidial level before they can start to take "real" college courses.

I believe the next few years will be extremely interesting as the next generation -- the too praised generation -- enters the workplace.

Although college is not for everyone, some do well without it, a degree demonstrates qualities that employers will always be looking for, such as the ability to think and learn, get along with others, and accomplish goals set by others in authority. As John Kennedy once said, " nothing beats brains ", when you need to rely on people to get things done. College degrees do not ensure that the degree holder is smart, but it is a good indication that they have the ability to think and learn. That will never change, thus degrees will be of value in the future.

It is true that there are those individuals that can bypass the more "traditional" education path to achieve their career goals. However, my own experiences and observations over the past twenty years in corporate America is that those individuals are the exception rather than the rule.

Too many individuals working in all segments of business today don't have the capacity to succeed in business without some form of formal education and/or training. A formal education provides the framework and discipline that many do not inherently possess. Some individuals need to see a model of what can be and how to get there and if not in college where do people go to find that model and learn critical thinking skills?

It's true that college needs to constantly ensure that what they are teaching is relevant to what is needed in business while also being stimulating to the students who are their customers.

At Whole Health, we look for bright, motivated, high energy individuals to fuel our company's rapid growth. We need individuals who can think, speak and write well in order to effectively communicate ideas and put them into action. We rarely find such indivdiuals without college or graduate school educations from the better schools. The smarter people we attract, the smarter the new people must be...and so we find oursleves raising the bar for admission to our company and moving up the education chain rather than settling for lesser educated individuals.

For those who take their education seriously, they will be way ahead of others...and for those who do not take their education seriously, they will be left behind to perform mundane tasks.

A college education cannot be seen only as a passport to a good job but should be viewed as a constant and sustained effort to help improve the general quality of life and in efficient management of our depleting resources. The are various benefits that accrue from a college degree. First of all it gives the student an opportunity to engage in a concerted learning process spread over few years. This acts as a foundation for the future and prepares the student for a life long career as against a full time job. While in college the student gets the opportunity to form a strong base to build the future by learning in a group environment. During this phase they are exposed to the varying thoughts, ideas, and alternatives which help them to pursue those that best suit their aptitude and inclination. It challenges them to see and explore beyond the obvious and come up with new ideas and inventions be it relating to science, engineering or humanities. One cannot and should not see the value of a degree in isolation as a job getter but should view it as a pillar that supports their future.

If we look back in history and see most of the major advancements that we tend to take for granted like electricity, automobiles, air-travel as well as breakthrough in medicine present and past were all due to sustained education coupled with determination and discipline.

The examples of very successful people like Bill Gates, Michael Dell and others (cited in the article) should be seen as a living proof for the need to have self belief and determination to succeed instead of an argument for not getting a college degree. It is worthwhile to note that most of them were initially enrolled in college but left to pursue their passion. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that for many of them the spark for their big ideas was found in college dormitories. Also the above examples should be considered more of an exception than the norm.

Few years ago I read a book called the “Wealthy Barber” wherein most of the millionaires in USA were contractors, plumbers and electricians who were also first generation immigrants. Being new to an unknown land their personal situations required them to engage in their trade to make a living but their determination and hard work coupled with frugality turned them into millionaires. However when asked, these craftsmen at a minimum wanted their children to get a college degree before embarking into anything else.

In the current fast and ever changing world a good college education would be a great help to shift gears to learn new skills and change careers mid way through life. With the hire and fire mentality increasingly becoming a reality of corporate life the need for a good education cannot be emphasised any further.

The bottom line is college degree should be seen as a pre-requisite in the journey of life and should not be considered as a framed piece of decoration adoring the wall. As far your son he will soon realise the importance of your counsel and thank you as well as himself. (for his good judgement and decision to complete college).

All the commentors--and indeed the original article--seem to be searching for a "one size fits all" answer to the question of the value of a college education. In my opinion, this is missing the point. The famous examples quoted all shared the following characteristics at the time they made their decision to drop out of college (or to never go):
1. They thought they knew what they wanted to do in life. They were not planning to go into a job defined by somebody else.
2. They turned out to be right! Unusual, since most people change their minds numerous times along the way. It's tricky because you don't really know for years after you make the decision to drop out.
3. They correctly (apparently) determined that their remaining time in college would not add anything meaningful to their toolkit for achieving those goals.

If a current college student fits that description (#2 is a something they won't really know for years--we never read about the people who got #1 but then changed their minds) then he/she should probably move on like Bill Gates, et al. If, however, like most college kids, he/she will be entering a job market to get a job defined by somebody else, it's going to be a big advantage to have credentials, and that means a college degree.
Bob

This is sad that we have to debate the value of education. It is not only the curriculum/book knowledge one gains through college attendance, but a maturity/confidence in oneself. Both become very apparent during a job interview, work performance, and lifetime achievements. Give me an applicant with a BA Humanities any day...please don't tell me that excelling in mediocrity is good enough!

College and University is a business that has diluted their product. Education is for the individual that can retain and recall. Either way, if you work smart, you will succeed.

I agree with a lot of the points that have been mentioned but I think there is a “HUGE” thing we are over looking. I have not seen anything on the social aspect of a college education. I am one year removed from a “well respected” Boston area college and I credit a lot of my early professional success to the learning experiences that took place outside the classroom. You have to remember on a regular week of class there is only about 16 hours of actual classroom time. So, the “real” college experience is what happens outside the classroom from who you hang out with to what you do.

I credit most of my growth as a person and as a professional through the people I called my friends and the endless amounts of others I met throughout my 4 years at school. A college campus especially the one I went to was filled with students from all walks of life from the billionaire’s heir to the regular blue collared worker’s kid and if you want to look at it from where the students were hailing from my school boasted 11% foreign students. The combined life experience from the whole mix is a valuable resource.

In this college environment there is a real opportunity to go outside your network and interact with people you would not normally have the chance to interact with. It is a chance to live/learn vicariously through others by understanding their life experiences and how those experience could eventually be apart of your life. I have found these interactions different than the ones I have had since graduating. Most of these “classmate-style” interactions are on a more personal/candid level something that is “now” very hard to find outside my immediate group of friends. College creates a comfort for others to share their beliefs and lifestyles to classmates that are willing to listen.

It is very easy to go outside your network on a regular basis. All you had to do was ask your classmate outside your network what he/she was doing that night. Most often or not you would go somewhere you didn’t know exist or even meet people you didn’t even know went to your school. Depending on how you approached these random nights out, it could eventually lead you to integrating that experience into your own network.

My personal belief is the college experience is the one thing that is irreplaceable. The education portion part is equally as valuable but there are also alternatives to learning by going to the library or even going to a local college bookstore and buying the same text books. The opportunity to expand your network at such a young age and be able to look over so many difference fences to see if your classmates grass is any greener is something that is hard to replicate. I was able to take both the great and bad things I learned through my classmate’s experience and use them in my own life to make myself a more conscious and educated person. Sorry, to take you for a ride but in closing the success of a college degree is not solely limited to what happens in the classroom but is up to the individual on how he/she takes advantage of the opportunities a college experience can provide.

The value of an education is determined by the degree to which it is applied. This was a fascinating article and as the father of five college aged students, very timely. Completion of college or higher education and earning a degree is admirable. Unfortunately many people believe they are done learning when they graduate. In reality, the real learning doesn't begin until the "real world" greets the graduate.

Tammy's decision is the one that definitely will help her son build a better future. No college degrees needed in the coming decades? A friend of mine called a similar forecast "reverse" thought. With technological advances and globalization, more specialized skills are needed from the onset, especially at supervisory and managerial levels, and that cannot be coming with a high school graduate getting on board. Otherwise, the Peter Principle would not have existed when workers climb the ladder and get stuck at some point; they need that know-how that college would have provided.

As many said in their responses, for one Bill Gates or Dell succeeding, how many thousands end up sighing after their unrealized dreams of achieving the type of life they wanted? Dropping from Harvard is also different from dropping from the local community college as disposable income to realize personal projects is quite limited. Thus, too may fail even when success does not mean wealth and top leadership.

Furthermore, competition in the workplace from the medium to high levels is becoming so fierce that only those with the right combination of education, experience, competencies (personal traits including the seven "I's") will get there. The rest will be left to "feed the profits machine", think about which professional school to enroll into, or lament on their job loss during job market downturns.

Ultimately, college is a way of broadening one's horizon in terms of personal betterment and understanding of the world around us. It is a way of getting the tools needed to evolve in an increasingly complex globalized environment. It is a way to use other people's knowledge to build one's personal skill set during a specified time frame and in an organized way, as well as eventually make a difference for society's good.

Degree does not equal education. Don't get the two confused.

Education should be a life long journey.

Colleges/universities are businesses which promote their product. There product is a degree, not an education.

Most degrees have a lot of "fill in" subjects which are in the degree due to university politics to ensure that certain professors have sufficient enrolments. (I have been on faculty in three countries - US, Canada and Australia).

Most degree material is at least a decade out of date, taught by people who have little or no 'real world' experience.

Today's college age kids know this, and have little respect for the out of touch faculty.

Due to the explosion in college enrolments not only has student quality fallen, so has faculty quality. To staff the classes recruitment standards had to fall.

I now do adult education, usually in course of between one and three days. I focus on principles of the topic, encouraging participants to enjoy the topic, enjoy the learning experience, and encouraging them to learn more, and how to learn more. I have many come back for more.

Their expectations are so high that I have to be on my game every day, and have to be up to date with examples and references. Those who also study at university comment on the difference, and that the university experience is very second rate.

Institutionalised education is as effective as most institutionalised activities - lowest common denominator, non-responsive to the stakeholders, and controlled by the institutional insiders (faculty in this case). Students and employers are sick of it. Parents are out of touch or reminising their college days.

In the 21st Century degrees are so many centuries out of date, based on Oxford/Cambridge model. A new non-degree educational model is needed.

Makes perfect sense to me. Only people I have known who got really useful stuff out of college were quite a bit older and already had experience out in the workforce.

God knows I have seen too many of the college folks who ended up making a lot more work for everyone as they had the attitude that "I got my degree, pay me well and leave me alone, I've done what I need to do to deserve this money".

There are those that do indeed get something out of college but I think they are much more mature than what I see in general.

I tell my students that there is a difference between a degree and an education. You get a degree by attending and passing classes, you get an education by becoming part of the college experience, which includes meeting a more diverse population and enjoying the advantages you have available at institutions of higher education. A college degree is more than a series of classes, and it is the responsiblity of both the student and caring professors to see that an education is more than vocational classes. A degree is important - it opens doors. An education is imperative - it will keep our society strong. However, that said, the degree does matter. It shows perseverence, and assumptions are made that graduates learned things like time management and self-decipline rather than vocational tasks. In a business environment that is evolving as quickly as ours, the responsibility to "learn how to learn" from instructors that care that students do "learn how to learn" may well be the difference in most of our students lives.

Like you Tammy, I am a huge fan of education and a parent. I currently live in the English speaking Caribbean and the idea of receiving job offers without completing the degree has not yet reached here. Unfortunately there are many graduates who are unable to find employment after one year of graduating.

As a matter of fact I believe there is far too much emphasis placed on the degree than on ability to deliver, integrity and analytical skills. I have encouraged my children to study, get the degree and to make sure that whatever they do they must be able to do it in at least four languages.

Having the opportunity to travel and obtain a college education and experience is an invaluable asset to any young adult. This can also open their eyes to new worlds. With this experience, learning new languages and being able to communicate with others in their language at their level can only be an incredible advantage for this generation.

In my view your decision was right in insisting for completion of college education.

In my experience majority of the drop outs are in situations where they could not afford formal education for economic reasons.

In this age of specialiasation it is very important to have completed a course on a special trade/subject in addition to basic qualification.

Very few persons have the perseverence to complete specialist courses while they are working as it is quite taxing to balance job and studies.

For me personally, education has been very fulfilling but very costly. I've loved learning so much that I've attended over 7 colleges, have 2 degrees including a hard fought MBA, have been published, and completed over 300 units along the way.

I have never landed a job that could pay for my education because of my education. Even publishing 3 years of hard work under a master's education only paid 6 free copies of the magazine...

In fact, I just started another certificate program yesterday at a community college and was shocked by what the teacher said in the first day of class, "if you take this syllabus to local employers and show these 6 of the 8 areas we're going to cover before this class is done, you can get a good job with a future!" He went on to say that he loses most of his students before graduation to high paying jobs.

This was shocking after spending $150,000 in student loans to attend some of the highest education avail in the world, I was dumbfounded, angry, hopeful, shocked...

What mattered, why could one get a solid career going with half a college course? Well a bit of education helped in that the teacher pointed one in the right direction, but more than anything it was GEOGRAPHY and TIMING. Some might call this luck.

If you are willing to move anywhere and enter an industry that's short on people, you'll get a job no matter how much schooling you've had.

The other side of the coin is the studies that are run on average lifetime earnings by degree.

If I remember correctly, the highest paid were the professional degrees at around $2 million total.

I estimate the rest as follows:
- $300,000 for high school grads
- half a million for bachelors
- a million or more for master's
- a million and a half for PhD types

so according to this study education earns more in the end
BUT it left out the costs...

The key to education is getting it for free,
that was the lesson I learned as I face a 2nd
mortgage that might get paid in 30 years for
the education that pays 5 or 10 thousand more per year...

If you get that higher education for free,
such as a free ride PhD or scholarship,
education is a no brainer...

If you have to pay for education,
look carefully at the companies and jobs
that are coming on campus to the program
that you'll invest $50 to $200,000 into...

It's just like a house, location location location!

You and your son's decision appears to be a good one. There is no one size fits all in making life choices and unfortunately no way of knowing the possible outcome(s).

Most decisions are based on experience, and in your son's case you were able to relate the opportunities open to you in receiving a good well rounded education. No matter what the decision, success is driven by the enthusiasm of the individual and whether the knowledge is gained formally or through experience it will be retained in the individual who has a keen interest in the subject matter.

Remember man doesn't live on bread alone

In case of drop-outs like Bill Gates or steve Jobs they enjoyed what they did & were very confident where there future lie.
But in case of college degree it is deep learining curve where we go through to understand where our potential lies & work towards being better equipped.
Take for eg Donald Trump who is a graduate from a reputed Business School(wharton).He learened the skills there & is very successful what he has done.

Once a great Sage said "Education is the Manifestation of the Perfection already in Man".

The debate over a a drop-out & degree holder can go for ever.But the important thing that i undesrtand is to be Successful it is very important that you enjoy what you do & Success will come your way.

A college education is one of the most lucrative investments a person can make. It is, literally, a winning lottery ticket. Over a person's working life, the difference in net income of a college educated person over someone without a degree is usually on the order of a million dollars or more. There are exceptions of course, and it is entirely possible to pursue a degree program that will guarantee you a sub-par outcome (art history anyone?) but on average having a degree is a better choice than not having one.

Take your average working slob. He isn't terribly bright, or imaginative, or creative. But with the appropriate college degree and decent person skills he'll get a job as a middle manager somewhere and make 60k a year. Without a degree he'll be lucky to be the manager of a McDonalds making 30k a year. Multiply that over a working life and you can see why people shell out money for the privilege jumping through academic hoops for 4 years.

Degrees are what people without innate gifts and talents use to hide their mediocrity. Whenever I run across someone who has a lot of certifications, my first impression is that they're marginally competent and that they're trying to hide behind their certs. By that I mean technical certs, not degrees, but the same thing applies in many cases. Someone who has a master's degree in CIS isn't any more capable than anyone else, but it helps them get a job. But does that mean that the certs are worthless? Nope, not at all. The certs are what get you in the door. Someone may hire you without one, maybe, if you're really lucky (like I have been), but you'll always be lagging behind others with degrees in terms of your competitiveness. You might land a good job, but then you'll be stuck there because that job cannot be replaced with another one of equal or better pay. This is the situation I am in right now. I like where I'm working, but if I didn't I'd be between a rock and a hard place. Stuck between staying with a job I didn't like because it paid well, or leaving and taking a pay cut to work somewhere else. If I had a degree such a situation would not be as likely.

The value of a college education to employers is not in what their potential employees have learned, but in the fact that they were willing to stick with it and see it through to the end. Smart doesn't get the job done, neither does enlightened. Diligence and the willingness to work hard are what get the job done, and this is what a college education demonstrates to employers.

Also companies are generally run by people with degrees, who do NOT want to see the value of their education watered down. They don't want to have to compete with people who don't have a degree. Those who make hiring decisions are not going to choose candidates who are going to undermine their own position.

For every Simon Cowell there are gazillions of capable but under-qualified people who can't make ends meet because they didn't stay in school.

School is an investment and an insurance policy. It doesn't guarantee the best outcomes in terms or one's working life, but it does a VERY good job of preventing the worst outcomes.

Traing may be formal or informal. Variopus mode of training are avilivle and that can be adopted according to one ease and convenient. may someone has not not join any schooling or college but role of institution can't be ignored. Institution may be parebts, peers or some organization. However formal eduaction in college sharpens one's mind in a systematic and organized way.

A degree won't bring you to worth $200 miilion, however you will be employable. you will work for someone and not make money. you will live from pay check to pay check and report your findings/expierences to the money makers.

Having made the point, whether you finished your degree in college fulltime or part time, the corporate world looks at your potential and effectiveness, your degree is a more of an addition(Icing on top of the cake.

you should have given your son a chance/opportunity cost to learn to fail or succeed without a degree.if he was left with that last english paper, he would have done it later, part-time.

There certainly is no substitution for good education. As we all have seen, the job market has its highs and lows. But a good education always stands out in a low job market. Period!

Imagine going to an Emergency Room as a trauma patient with a head injury. The only on-call doctor takes one look at you and states – oh my god! We need to page the Sr. Physician, head injuries were on my final year and I did not attend my final year – OR better yet – that was optional on my final test… go figure that one for size…

I am indeed concerned about what knowledge is being delivered at colleges. School is important for character development and gaining knowledge so that we can get to the essentials quickly.

We need to education to navigate in the real world, part of it is interpersonal as this world is full of people and part of it is science, systems and activities we need know how to use to run/operate in this world. The science, system or activities could well be accounting, engineering, architecture, marketing.

This is my concern. Much of the knowledge we are getting in college is general and often not specifically useful. There is certain type of maths I had to learn which I will never use in my life unless I design antennaes. What makes matter worst is that what we taught may even be old knowledge, while the real world have since moved on. Our knowledge is limited to the experience of the teacher and often it is not based on the real world needs - the teacher learned in a training institution and then started teaching.

As for specialised skill, eg. medical, law and engineering professions - there is a large corelation with the real world skills required.

My view is we should seek to identify the child's passion and capabilities early. The choice should be given for the child to progress in the specialised knowledge of that skill. Gone are the times where we simply need to earn a degree to qualify for jobs. we need hard skills that can make a difference and advance society

There is simply too much wastage in the education system by having a basic core subject requirement.

Rgds

Senior Lecturer Strategic Studies

I think trying to determine the correlation between education and & job prospects or successful careers is somewhat of a tricky excercise. I say that because it is a natural enough question to ask but may not be answered purely in terms of job/career prospects alone. If the only merit or aim of education is to get a better job then of course a formal degree may not necessarily be the only way forward. But if the aim also includes self development and exposure afforded by an academic environment, then a college education does appear to be very helpful. Again, this is despite the fact that not ALL degree holders may turn out to be as acomplished as others or display all of the commonly expected skills of college graduates. As with other things in life, no system or solution seems to be perfect.

Tammy:

"...is it possible that the growing shortage of college-educated employees will actually, in an ironic way, decrease the value of a college education over the next several decades?"

As I watch the falling enrollment of men in American colleges and universities, and as I recognize that these men, who might otherwise seek a college degree, are being successful in life without one, then I have to conclude that the value of a college degree will continue to fall with men's enrollment. I know that sounds sexist (it's not meant to), but the truth of the matter is that men are traditionally the full-time workers in the family, normally the primary income-earners. Women in the workforce are still choosing family over career, and moreover, choosing 'soft' degrees: psychology, the arts, education.

The academics should beware: the college campus is a hostile environment for men with the ultra-PC crowd (just look at the Duke lacrosse team versus the "group of 88") constantly in attack mode. Further, many men see inter-collegiate athletics and competitive play at the next level (probably the highest they'll ever play) as a prime motivator to attend college. The way the colleges and universities are playing Title IX, this motivator is removed.

The real answer is going to be observed in the labor market. Employers are going to hire people who do the job. If the available labor force is able without a degree, then there will be hiring. As more non-degreed workers climb the corporate ladder, they'll seek folks who are like themselves: the degree will be optional.

After 27 years of industry experience I have learned a few things about my Bsc degrees in geology and geophysics--

First, the technical education was absolutely necessary for success. One cannot understand rock physics without the math background.

Second, the liberal arts education in my curriculum was invaluable for teaching me how to understand and analyze the views of people who had different cultural, social, economic and political backgrounds.

I watch young technicians who come into the work-force with 2-year associate certificates to perform support jobs. In most cases they are not as well rounded as school teachers who hire on for the same positions. I encourage all of my technicians to continue their educations if they have a dream or desire to advance themselves. In my company there are no senior executives or first-line managers who are high-school or college drop-outs. These leaders and managers are in the top 5% of wage earners. The Bill Gates stereotypes of the world are a fraction of a per cent of wage earners.

I encourage my children to push forward with their education and if possible not stop until they accomplish a Masters in any field of endeavor and enjoyment.

Mike

Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's restaurants finally earned his GED (yes, that GED) in his mid 60s. I recall the newspaper story which described him taking his wife to the senior prom at a high school in Plantation, FL.

The story went on to recount one of Dave's quips at some event: "Can you imagine how much money I would have made if I stayed in school?"

As a 50-year-old college dropout making a decent salary, I keep encouraging our kids to excel in math and sciences. At the same time, I look at college course catalogs and resent the expense in time and treasure we will incur sending our kids through irrelevant classes.

They will come to screen candidates in different ways, searching, perhaps, for the Simon Cowells among them: those who are bright, motivated, and will make them money.

They might, except that all of those screens will probably be illegal. Ever since Griggs v. Duke Power(1971), it has been settled law that any employment requirment that whites pass through at a higher rate than blacks is prima facie illegal discrimination. The presumption of illegality can be rebutted by proof that the screen is just about perfectly matched to the job, but such proof is pretty much impossible (especially before the screen has been used much).

There is, however, one exception: academic degrees. Which is a major reason they are used as a screen, even though we all know that much of what one does in college is irrelevant to job performance afterward.

I'm only half-kidding when I say this: There's too much conflating of the terms "education" and "college" in this thread. A college degree is a certification -- whether any actual skills or education was imparted is unknown to a potential employer.

This is a build vs buy decision. Pure economics. My son decided he did not want to go to college. He has absolutely no debt and has savings and a serious job with fine prospects. With a degree he would have started life with at least a $50,000 debt (and that's JUST tuition). He understands the value of staying out of personal debt.

If one has entrepreneurial drive and intellect, then not having a degree will force that person to surf at the outer edges of technology where the only thing that matters is "can you get it done". That is where stock options reside. The requirement for degrees often comes LATER...once the wildcatting is done and the founder's stock is allocated.

A real test would be to do a Google search on who has gotten honorary degrees. While it is nice to be recognized for lifetime achievement, I often think that Universities award such degrees out of self interest by latching on to the cachet of such non-degreed individuals and subtly implying that after all was said and done, they really still had to get a degree.

So, no, I don't have a degree, but I've had the privilege of starting several companies and have trained and hired countless degreed and autodidactic individuals - with one criterion - can you get it done. Makes for a tasty and profitable soup.

What shortage of college graduates? As a former professor, it seems to me we're producing a surplus of "college graduates," most of them without the skills you would expect to go with that title.

Although I believe in the value of a liberal arts education, what's being delivered at the sort of mid-tier school I taught at is so badly watered down that most of our graduates couldn't write or calculate.

Hi Tamara,

I believe that the single largest contribution of any education is enrichment of thoughts.What a school or rather campus does is far more fortifying than exposure of a full time job. Role of formal education is not limited to building of knowledge-base.It is equally about building of Emotional-base. It is this Emotional-base which kindles intent of learning. Where one eventually reaches is indeed a result of his and her love and respect for knowledge. Hence I feel that good graduate and/or professional education certainly makes any one more meaningful. Moreover who would like to miss the trill of being on a exuberating campus ride!

Anil

I believe that it's not getting the degree just for the sake of having the piece of paper that matters, but rather the type of degree and the curriculum that encompasses that degree. Degreed programs that offer internships, multidisciplinary classes, and real-world curriculums – negotiations, mentoring, design, creative thinking – are the new breed of education that career minded students should seek out.

The college degree of 20 years ago may be dying, but the new breed of education could well make all the difference in the world

And for every ultra-successful, superstar Simon, Bill, and Michael, there are hundreds of thousands who could better their standard of living and enrich this world with a college education.

This situation is one that seems to be very popular to talk about in society. The assumption that educational achievement always seems to be an investment in which parents seek to have their children reap a proper return on in the future. After going through my undergraduate study at Dickinson College, I came to understand that College is much more than just a diploma and an eventual job offer (including a huge dollar side).
College is a place where many young minds are first able learn critical thinking skills, and be taught, not only to receive an eventual dollar value "Return on Equity," but to be citizens of the United States as well as the World. For that reason you should never regret telling your child to stay in school.

I do not believe that College should be relegated to a trade school. I value the education that helps me think, reason and evaluate.

To quote the great newspaper publisher, educator, and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, "The paramount obligation of a college is to develop in its students the ability to think clearly and independently, and the ability to live confidently, courageously, and hopefully."

There is the Future Value of a College Degree.

I agreed with Tammy. I am also pro education, I have been upgrading my staff (teller position) from hiring college students to have at least college graduates. I found that at least I have one less worry of them taking final and do not have enough sleep and get in trouble. We all have to understand that there are only a few Simon, David, Michael and Steve.

I favour author. As a student also i can understand value of study. In life if we want something then we have to sacrifice something, so in the similar way each one has to study hard to reap future benefits. It will surely pay in future in any of form i.e either it will help to earn money or help to think clearly. Study does not only involve mugging up things, it also makes student a human being.

This is one of the key questions to debate on as we are engulfed with dropouts making big.

Opting out of school or pursuing higher education still remains an individual's discretion. But the true question that still remains yet to be answered is the applicability of a higher degree to an individual and the society as a whole. To my opinion a degree which does not empowers its pupil to think out of the box, identify and exploit the resources to at most is of no use. It is only the quality of education that opens up a multitude of spectrum for a student to build upon his intellect and this is in true terms catalyzes his success.

On a practically relative term companies are hiring an increasing count of undergraduates than ever before this is not only subjugating the overall development of young intellect but in later stages would lead to crises in skilled manpower (which currently many developed nations are facing) it is then when the value of a higher academic degree would be realized.

When I was in my second year of college studying Industrial Engineering in Mexico, my brother and I had a business of constructing and distributing rubber products for the bumpers of the VW Beetle which was very popular in Mexico in those days, and it was the cheapest car available, not anymore these days.

The Puebla VW plant told us if we could manufacture 50,000 of the bumpers per year for them, at the US$50 dlls per bumper we were selling them at, it would have been annual sales of 2.5 MM dlls of 1975, if you bring them with inflation to today dlls the annual sales would be US$7.5 MM annual sales and we had a 15% net margin (in those days) but assumming a 10% net margin today, my brother and I would be making US$750,000 net, per year. I was 22 years old.

Today I make probably less than 50% of that money. I finished school, sold the small company to a guy who closed it, was not motivated and did not understand the business.

I worked for the telephone company as an analyst making little money with a scholarship from the Mexican government I studied an MBA at Kellogg and have been working 28 years after my MBA.(software, banks, investment banks, etc) I have been independend since 1990.

Today I am the president of a boutique investment bank, we are 13 people in total, I have job security, I work in a beautiful house with a garden in a nice area, we enjoy our work and when we close a relevant deal, we make good money and we share it with the partners and the employees (we have excellent formulas ot motivate all the participants in each project).

If I had invested in the little business, killed myself and built a very large company with rubber products and plants all over the world and I had been in the cover of major magazines, I would not be as happy as I am. I can eat 2 times a week at home, that is 12 minutes away form the office, I sometimes go riding my bike (not in the rainy season), yes all of this in Mexico city, where 20 million people live a hectic life, not us.

Read "Small is Beautiful" by Schumacher, it tells you that in smaller businesses you can be happier, because you have control of things and everybody knows what is going on, they all know when we are making or losing money, and everybody reacts and helps.

Have a good day!!

Pablo Rion
Mexico City

How many of your treasured relationships were developed from college?

According to happiness experts, the UK and United States have about the same levels of happiness as 50 years ago... Regardless of all the new toys, technology, wealth and of course higher education.

But, there was an ingredient for happiness identified that could be highly correlated to a college experience (not just graduating or dropping out).

Healthy honest and open relationships were key in happiness studies.

So if going to college is correlated to these types of relationships, it's safe to say going to college increases happiness. Unfortunately, this may not have as strong as correlation to graduating as parents might hope.

Regardless, it's always been said by my professors, "we're the same as that elite school over there, just as smart, just as good teachers, just as good facilities..." But, they have a better network.

So the answer depends on the network. Is graduating early putting that in jeopardy? Well sure! It's dropping out of the alumni network, and the honor societies or other groups and relationships that require a degree.

While the persons you quoted were well known successful persons, one thing stands out to me; all of those persons were white. If an African American were to start a Microsoft without a degree in today’s world, will he even be given a chance? While history has shown us many Blacks who have made it in the past without education, most of them never had the opportunity. In today’s world, with education so available, I would encourage all persons, especially persons of color, to get the most they can get. It appears to some of us that in order to have an equal opportunity, we must work harder, work for less and we must be more qualified than our white competitors, especially being a male.
So I think you were correct in your decision to encourage him to finish school first. Jobs will always be available.

If your son hasn't already, he will likely thank you later. One job is just a stepping stone in a career. An education and academic credential are more often the foundation of a career -- despite what a few success stories may suggest.

While this employer may not have been phased by your son's lack of a degree, who's to say every employer he wants to work for will feel the same. Completing a degree demonstrates to me commitment and follow-through that dropping out does not.

If an employer is eager to poach a talent from a campus without supporting that person in completing his education, then the employer isn't invested in that person's future. As a parent, you are and you made the right call.