I have three kids. One's getting a Masters of Science in Teaching, one just started medical school, and the third dropped out of college in his sophmore year...and is opening his own cafe and bar in Brooklyn next week.
Which is my way of saying: a college degree doesn't guarantee success, and not getting a college degree doesn't guarantee failure.
I just read a really nice article here on Forbes, Ten Smart Things I Learned From People Who Never Went to College. David DiSalvo talks about the wisdom of people he's known, including many in his own extended family, who didn't attend college. I noticed that many of his 'ten smart things' could just as well have been taught to him by people who did go to college. In other words, wisdom, insight and intelligence aren't a function of how many years you spent in school.
I've often thought that, especially in the US, we over-rely on time spent in school as a measure of intelligence...and of fitness for a job. Now, don't get me wrong: some careers certainly require a rigorous course of study, generally best done in a collegiate and/or post-collegiate environment. I'm glad my step-daughter is going to a high-quality medical school, and that she took tons of science in her undergraduate years; it's hard to imagine how she could be a skilled physician without that grounding.
But for other jobs, I think we often assume that a college degree is necessary when it's not actually even helpful. For example, many years ago I was working with the HR group at Taco Bell, creating a core management curriculum for store managers. The Taco Bell HR Director with whom I was working on the project was also in charge of recommending hiring requirements for the position. He was absolutely committed to the idea that a four-year college degree should be a minimum requirement. When I asked him why, his rationale was that a having a college degree implied a commitment to learning and a level of intelligence that they needed in the job.
I disagreed. I pulled out two applications and laid them side-by-side. One was a 23-year-old white male college graduate who had spent a year working as a retail sales clerk, with unenthusiastic references. The other was a 31-year-old black female high school graduate who had spent 8 years in food service, the past 2 as a manager. She had excellent references. "If you take away your college degree requirement," I asked, "which is the better candidate?" He grudgingly agreed that the woman was a better bet on every other measure.
I’ve also noticed that because we place so much emphasis on degrees, people who haven’t attended college think of themselves badly – and this lack of self-confidence can really impede their success. I’ve had job candidates apologize to me for not having a degree, when what they should be doing is focusing on their experience and the skills and knowledge they’ve developed on the job.
Finally, I’m convinced there are some people for whom college is simply not the best way to learn. I was one of them; I left college in my senior year, and have built a wonderful and successful life for myself. My son is clearly one, as well. He came to me half-way through his second year in college and said, “Mom, this is a waste of my time and your money. This is not how I’m going to learn to be a grown-up.” He left school, kept working in the restaurant business, and now he’s about to open his own place with two partners. He learned on the job; by creating relationships with a wide variety of people with the experience and skills he wanted; by reading; through conversation and observation.
So. Go to college if you can and if you want to do something that requires the kind of learning to be acquired in school. But if you can’t afford college, or need to work to support your family – don’t beat yourself up and don’t let it get in your way; you can still learn, grow and create a great life for yourself – and be an inspiration to those around you.
Look for Leading So People Will Follow, coming in October from Jossey-Bass.
Follow Erika on twitter @erikaandersen.
What's leader readiness? Find out here.
