Do You Need a College Degree to Be Successful?

We get asked this question quite a bit and our initial answer is always the same.

It depends.

The more important question is what will having a college degree do for you?  

If you're planning on being a doctor, lawyer, accountant, etc., you need a college degree.  For some professions, it is an absolute necessity.  For other professions, it may or may not provide you with the tools you need to succeed.

A college education does not assure one's success or even wealth.  It doesn't even guarantee you a job.  These days a college education can set you back quite a bit in your finances so it's important to evaluate if a degree is right for what you want in a career.

This is not to say that education isn't important.  Education is important to success.  A college degree is really just a piece of paper saying you met the requirements of a specific college.  It doesn't mean that you're guaranteed to be a millionaire by the time you're 40.

Education can come in many formats.  Your education can come from experience on the job, correspondence courses, professional certifications, or from studying, reading, and learning on your own.  

Take a look at some successful people who either didn't attend college or dropped out:

Woody Allen

Ray Bradbury

Richard Branson

Winston Churchill

Walt Disney

Bill Gates

Mark Zuckerberg

While they may not have a college degree, they do have one other thing in common.  They worked hard and learned from their experiences to succeed.

Many of today's successful entrepreneurs didn't go to college or dropped out.  Some feel that going to college kept them from thinking outside the box.  

The point is that you have to do what's best for you and your career goals.  Instead of saying - I need to go back to school to learn more skills and/or advance in my career.  Ask yourself exactly what that will do for you in the long run.  Think about the cost, the time involved, and the outcome.  

You may find that you're better off saving your money and taking a different path.

Do you feel a college degree is necessary?  How has having one or not having one made a difference in your career?  Please share your comments with us in the section below.