Is it worth going to university?
This post was written on my personal blog a few years ago, inspired by the fact that I had just paid off my student loans. ($463/month for 10 years — you can do the math.) For a degree in English Language and Literature? Even I’ll admit that’s pretty steep. Fortunately, I’m one of the rare few who actually used the knowledge obtained from my degree every single day, mostly because tutors work 7 days/week and never get holidays.
Although I had good reason to, I never cursed my expensive arts degree as a waste. Everything I learned, both in and out of class, helped to make me an educated, informed tutor. My university education also provided me with the academic credibility so that parents would entrust their child’s educational needs to me.
But, it wasn’t my degree that made me the kind of tutor that I was. And, it certainly wasn’t my degree that gave me the skills, experience or confidence to open and run my own tutoring business for five years. The lack of a degree in math didn’t prevent me from being one of Toronto’s top math tutors. The lack of a teaching certificate didn’t prevent me from creating, running and teaching at a private high school.
So did I really need that degree? Do you?
Articles with headlines such as “The University Degrees that may add nothing to lifetime’s salary” are easy to find. Personally, I made the choice (more than once, actually) to refuse an offer of admission to a graduate program because I realized that it would get in the way of my career, not advance it. And especially once you make the jump to being an entrepreneur, you realize you’ll likely never have to write a resume again. So, to whom would I show off that lovely M.A., anyway?
Even the notion of “needing credentials” isn’t as firm as we might think it is. I made a very good name and life for myself in the field of education despite not being a certified teacher. No, I didn’t teach in a public school. But, I was in my field, using my talents. And, I never spent a single day as a substitute taking any work I could get, nor stressing out over whether or not I made the TDSB “eligible to hire” list.
Oh, but to be a doctor, you say? Granted; but to work in health care? A multitude of options exist, many of which may get you into the profession immediately working and give you a better work-life balance in the long run. To be a lawyer? Yes; but to be an “advocate” in the English sense of the word: sticking up for the underrepresented? Opportunities abound!
No one taught me how to be a tutor, although I did learn from a lot of people. It was very much a self-directed education that involved reading, reflection, collaborating, teaching, counseling and writing. My own experience supports the notion that if we have a goal, we instinctively know what we need to learn to achieve it. Even if we find ourselves at the very beginning, and the only thing we know is, “I need someone to tell me how to get started!” — the point is, we know that much and that’s something.
That’s why I like the idea of the Personal MBA. (Tagline: Mastering Business Through Self-Education)
“You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck fifty in late charges at the public library.” – Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon), Good Will Hunting
Don’t get me wrong – there’s a time and a place for being explicitly taught. I just don’t buy the idea that, even when it comes to university or professional degrees, schools have a monopoly on knowledge and are the gate-keepers to professional success. I’m living proof that the “uncertified” do exist and do succeed, even in traditional and traditionally-certified fields.
For an interesting read, try The True Value of a College Degree where Shaun Boyd writes,
“Following graduation, I submitted my resume, application, and cover letter to over 100 employers over the course of two months. I interviewed for nearly a dozen positions — but wasn’t offered a single job. Where did I end up working? For the organization I interned at — doing a job I could’ve been doing without my coveted degree.
My friends were in the same boat. They earned their degrees but ended up working jobs they could’ve been working right out of high school. One works as a food runner at a restaurant. Another deals cards at a casino. Yet another works as a laborer for his father’s masonry business. In every case, it was a simple matter of dollars and cents: Starting salaries in their specialized fields offered less than what they made at their previous jobs.”
I’m not suggesting that you blindly reject the idea of university entirely, nor would I personally have followed that advice 15 years ago. And while I’m not professionally-credentialed, I do have an undergraduate degree which does open some doors for me. But, before you blindly accept the idea that you should go, read what others have had to say on the topic. I’m sure you’ll find it’s not necessarily as black-and-white an issue as many people believe.
This was a good read. I like the presentation of your arguments with support from the TimesOnline article and other sources, while still leaving it up to the reader to decide whether or not a college degree is the right choice for them. It was also really cool to see a quote from my blog alongside the Good Will Hunting quote — I love that scene! I’ve linked back to this post from my True Value of a College Degree article. Cheers!
Hi Shaun,
So sorry, I’ve waited far too long to respond to this, but I just wanted to thank you not only for your comment here, but for writing such a great article that prompted me to write, too! Your work (and message) obviously stands the test of time and it’s a discussion we will probably never settle. But I firmly believe we need to keep having it, even if we just go round and round in circles, because people need to realize that this is a choice they make. And like any choice, it generally works out best if you make it thoughtfully.
I hope to add more to this category of post, since obviously my references are dated and even just this past month more figures are being published that add to the discussion. (I have in my backlog of articles to mention one claiming that people are actually losing money by getting MBAs…) And of course, I’ll have to stop by your site again to see what’s new!
Very good read and very good points. I too am in a similar boat, although I still do not have a degree hidden in my file cabinet or otherwise.
For nearly twenty years I worked my way through the information technology industry gaining more and more responsibilities in a number of different organizations, which culminated in my being hired as senior vice president, marketing director of a nationally-known mortgage bank. Trading on my skills, expertise, and acumen, I found that employers wanted to know what I knew, not which university I had attended or degree I had earned. Over the years I was able to expressly detail my personal development and translate that to professional growth.
Six years ago, on the front end of the mortgage decline, I walked away from that and found a job doing what I had always dreamt of doing–I became a police officer in a major metropolitan city.
By comparison, the stress level of patrolling the streets was far less than that of patrolling boardrooms! However, as I began to acquaint myself with the operations and personnel on the department, my penchant for operational efficiencies revealed itself and I was soon being pursued by high-ranking commanders to assist them with strategic realignment of the department.
Fast forward six years, and I have received numerous accolades and commendations, I have been assigned to the information services division to assist the division commander (who has no IT experience) restructure the entire division and run strategically, efficiently and effectively. Why am I in this position? Because of my skills, experience and knowledge. Why am I not eligible to run the division, even though I am already by proxy? Because I do not have a college degree.
I have just recently begun the sergeant’s promotion process, but I have to take college courses to meet the 60-credit hour eligibility requirements. Thankfully, my time in the military and the police academy have translated into a handful of credit hours!
So here is the question of the day: I have already been the CIO of a corporation with 5,000+ employees. Why, in order to become the CIO of the police department–an organization which I absolutely love being a part of–must I attend college, take time away from my family for my studies, expend nearly $30,000 of my money, to obtain a piece of paper that “officially” says that I know what I already know?
I am not an opponent of formal education by any means. However, there must be some consensus and intelligent thought among human resource directors whereby they agree that an individual who has been in the workforce for more than 25 years, who has achieved great status and rank in their professional career, already possesses the basic skills and aptitude that would be provided by an undergraduate degree.
I can only estimate, but with the number of books that I have read since I graduated high school, the number of professional training courses and seminars that I have attended, the sheer number of man hours I have expended in real-world scenarios must surpass that of even the most studied PhD. Does this mean that I know everything and have no further need of learning? Absolutely not. If one thing can be said for my time and experience, it is that I have learned that learning never ceases.
I know that many universities have begun to tailor programs to cater to the working class. This is well and good, but there must be a better way for those who are already engaged in the workforce, and with familial financial obligations, to be rendered eligible to compete with their peers for any position.
I have observed in innumerable instances an otherwise qualified candidate be overlooked simply because a college degree was not possessed. Conversely, I have witnessed countless individuals who had no earthly business of receiving a promotion into leadership, do so entirely based on their having a college degree.
There is immutable proof that the earning of a college degree does not in itself qualify a candidate for one position or another. In fact, I submit that it is all of the other intangible factors–to include fortune–that render one eligible for a given position or role.
We have made great strides in this country to abolish segregation based on race, creed, sex or physical impairment–why then do we continue to blindly discriminate persons based solely on pedigree?
Apologies for my rants. I am just looking for others who feel the same. What is the governing body that needs to hear these arguments? I know that college is big business and won’t go down without a fight. However, I’m not trying to kill college–what would March be without its NCAA basketball madness? What we do on January first each year if not watching bowl games? Seriously though, college offers very real preparation experiences for those coming right out of high school–as does the military. But if one is able to navigate the workforce both successfully and progressively over the course of 25 years, it is an educated assumption that they also possess the basic education one would have after going through four years of university.
I cannot leave this discussion without providing two examples:
1) A friend of mine who is a year older than I, attended college right out of high school for a year before dropping out because he had difficulty with the learning environment of college. He went to work for UPS as a delivery driver. His wife, a career professional, upon getting pregnant with their only child, left the work force and started a business from her home, a toner replacement service. My friend became interested in it after he saw the initial success. He eventually left his senior position at UPS to help run the company. Joining the company full-time, he changed the name and direction of the company and now provides technology services to businesses. In just over 10 years he has taken the company from a start-up home business to over $1 million in profitability annually, in a market of only 100,000 population. He did that without a college degree.
2) Another friend of mine has been on the police department for nearly 25 years. His military and police academy time were converted to college credits and he was promoted to sergeant. He has stagnated there and cannot be promoted any higher for lack of a college degree. Another individual, was promoted to sergeant after 4 years on the department (earliest eligibility for promotion), and was then promoted to captain after an additional 3 years (earliest eligibility for promotion). Not to take anything away from the latter individual, but what otherwise disqualified my friend from promotion other than his lack of a college degree. And why does the department consider someone with 7 years experience more capable than an individual with nearly 25 years of experience?
This lunacy has to stop. Who knows where our country could be if individuals who possess the skill, aptitude and knowledge–but no college degree–were given the same opportunities as those with college degrees (who may or may not possess the skills, aptitude and knowledge)?
Thanks for sharing, Cy.
Although this site really *is* about getting into university, especially for those who don’t follow a traditional path or who might be missing the proper pieces of paper, I feel it’s important that we have this discussion here, too.
I’ve spent the last decade helping non-traditional applicants like homeschoolers overcome their lack of credentials in order to enter a formal education system. But, I always like to point out that they “bucked the system” for grades K – 12, so perhaps they want to consider why they think they need university/college. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with going to formal post-secondary institutions, or aspiring to go. But I do think there’s something wrong with *blindly* going/aspiring. I simply want to make sure people are aware that just as they can define their own learning/education by homeschooling in the school-aged years, they really can, if they want to, consider the same issues for their higher learning, too.
The craziest example from my own personal history occurred when our provincial Ministry of Education came up with a plan of required continuing education courses for teachers. (Previously, all C.E. had been optional once certified.) According to this new initiative and the regulations concerning what counted as accepted C.E. credits, I would have been allowed to personally offer and teach C.E. courses for credit, even though I never obtained the initial teaching certificate myself! So, I’m good enough to train the teachers, but heaven forbid I be allowed in a classroom myself, eh?
That’s also why I think entrepreneurship is inseparable from education today: the only person who’s never going to fire you is you! I believe that if we help our students see what value they have to contribute to an organization or to society, and give them the support they need to be valuable contributors, then entrepreneurship can help remove some of the barriers erected by traditional certification. Knowing that at a moment’s notice I can hang out a shingle and start tutoring again means never feeling trapped in a job, or forced to take one just to get by. It also means that I can afford to take career risks, to try out ideas and see whether they work, not just remain some one who plays it safe and works within the status quo. I’d love for everyone to experience that kind of freedom, too.
In a situation like yours, where traditional advancement is stymied by lack of credentials but where you clearly have so much value to contribute, I often suggest trying to figure out whether an entirely new position can be created. A new position may not come with the antiquated baggage of a job description/qualifications written 30 years ago, and may let you carve out a special niche doing exactly what you want to do within your organization.
Of course, a little college never killed anyone.
But you’re absolutely right that we have for too long relied on criteria that make it easy for HR to sort resumes, not employ the best people.