Is a degree necessary? Debate on that here.

[TheBlizzard]

This day and age school is not a for sure thing anymore. I remember back when I moved down the the cities like six years ago, if you have and IS degree for example you could get a job for 50k right out of college very easily. But times have changed, now when you get out of college with an IS degree you will most likely end up doing data entry in a company and just waiting for your spot to jump in. The reason being is that there are people with five to ten years of experience going for the entry level jobs. Its a lot tougher on the college graduates than it has been in the past.

However I also believe it goes both ways. I would never knock anyone for going to school. But I think picking what you go to school for has a lot to do with how quickly you can begin using your education when you graduate.

Going to college is never going to hurt you in the long run, but I wouldn't go to college betting that you are going to get a super job right when you graduate. The economy is not gettting any better as we speak so jobs are going to be harder and harder to come by.

In my case I was lucky enough to get a job while I was going to college up in Duluth that I liked and that payed me good. School wasn't leading me in the right direction I thought at the time so I quit after a year. Was it a good decision I don't know? Was it a bad one? I don't know that either. But I can say that I am doing better than all of my friends that have four year degrees and have graduated college. So I think I made the right choice in my case. But who knows. Maybe if I would have stayed in college I would be making twice what I make now. I guess I will never know.

CRAIG

[MustGoFaster]

A degree is a good way to get in the door. But you need to be able to back it up. IF you can get in the door with a company that you can move up in biased on work performance and you can perform accordingly, then you don't need one. The company I am at now, you can get in the door without a degree, but more experience than what you gain working there is required to move up. That's just one example though.

[john]

Some jobs require a degree at a better college. I know for a fact that the Best Buy Management/Corperate center will only hire people out of good business colleges such as Carlon. She told me a couple of other "big" name companies but best buy was the only one that stuck. The information was given to me by a counselor at school.

[john]

I do believe that going to college can be a costly/poor decisoin for some people. If they go to college and pass by a good business venture, it can cost them a career. Everyone knows someone who goes to college for no reason. Their parents wanted them to, they did not know what they were going for, etc. Their time and money could have gone towards making money. So I beieve a college education can hurt some people in the long run.

[dylan]

It all depends on who you are. Personally I would rather not get way in debt by going to college 4 or 5 years to get a 4 year degree. Get out of college, can't find a decent job and you are still deeply in debt. There are many ways of making money that most people do not think about.

[JET]

Suceeding in life is hugely dependant on motivation. Basically anyone who is strongly motivated will do well. They may fail a few times, but it will eventually pay off though. Most people don't want to put forth the effort, myself included. I put forth more effort than average, but still try to maintain a good life. Hell, if you are really motivated you can make 6 figures selling Amway!

[A//// Guy]

Yea motivation to always acheive a greater height is going to help out alot. I would say experience/knowledge is more important than a college degree. Having both is just that much better.

If you graduate with a degree, know the basics about the field you majored in, but have no experience doing anything then how are you going to make it in a high end job? Having a good resume and knowledge to convince your employer that you can exceed the job classifications is what gets you up the ladder.

My older brother has a 2 year drafting degree from a tech college. He worked for a couple smaller companies for a while, slowly moved up in computer work in the 90s. He taught himself all aspects of computer networking and administration and with a little time and alot of experience he is working for a investment banking company as head of Network Administration overseeing 4 locations (LA, NY, MN, UK). Makes a good living

I plan on going the same route, but only with an additional BS in MIS. Although he is much more motivated so I dont think I would like the job he has right now. To me having less money and a greater non-work life is more pleasurable to me. Working around the clock everyday and weekends doesn't sound like my kinda job.

[IndiEP]

I completely agree that personal goals, and motivation to achieve them plays a big part. Someone like that will go further than the "business major" that gets drunk every night, chases tail and some how manages to coast through.

I've bounced around bewtween schools and majors and have graduated w/a diploma and two certifications but I also have a lot more experience than other people. For my field its not how much schooling you have, schools not even neccesary, its your skills, who you know, dedication and motivation.

[Jacek]

So far I have read of people above that have done well without a degree, that shows you have brains, period. I chose to go to school because of my career. I love it and always loved it, but I didn't know shit about it. Did I need to get a degree, of course because it is a requirement, Did I find it necessary, yes. I went to a technical school and applied myself. I was motivated to go to school and finished it. yay.. If you have the brains to make money without a degree, you are smart and don't even bother going to school unless you know you need it. Does todays society require a degree? I would have to say yes, but that society doesn't really know why it is needed.

[ABV]

I have a 2 year AS degree in drafting and design. After my 1st semester in school, I started working part time as a drafter. I believe that going to school, and working in the same field is the best way to go. They complement each other so well. You can apply the experience on the job to your school work, and vice versa. I also believe that motivation is a big part of it too.

I believe in going to school, and getting an education, because that's what I know, that's my experience. I wont say that you absolutely need to go to school to get a good job, but I truley believe that I would be flipping burgers had I not gone to school. I had trouble in High School, I had a low GPA, and over all was just kind of a bum. Just by chance I got a call from the tech school that I eventually went to, asking if I would like to take a tour. I decided what the hell, might as well check it out. Well long story short, I went there, and it somehow turned me around. I graduated with a 3.98 gpa, honors, and I had my foot in the door as an intern. The whole experience of going there, made me realize that I am worth something, and I can contribute to society. For me it was that turn around that gave me motivation. Without that I would probably still be living at home, flipping burgers.

[At-Least-It's-An-Evo]

Personally, I say a degree is necessary in some situations and not needed in others. It all comes down to the individual. Personally, I could've done very well in college and gotten my degree... in whatever that would've been, but I realized, it's not what I want. That peice of paper is not worth my going to a building to educate myself in things I am not interested in. I guess I'm the opposite of Rockford/Mark. In high school, I did very well. I graduated with a 4.33 GPA and was in the top 10 out of my class (for the first three years til I lost motivation and graduated #13- I went from #3 to #7, to #10, to #13). In college, I had a rough start as I went to UMD which wasn't really where I wanted to go. It was a last minute decision being I had some benefits of going up there. After changing majors 3 times, I realized, there's nothing that'd make me happy or make this whole "schooling" worth it. In my case, there's not really a degree that'd satisfy myself therefore, it's not necessary because the way I see it, why bother if you're not going to be happy with what you do? Do what you want while you can or you'll regret it later on in life. If there's a degree you want to persue, go for it, if not, go with what you know best and stick with it. Just my .02

[Goat Blower]

I've always debated this with my college-educated buddies. Most of them confuse intelligence with knowledge, but the two are not directly correlated. Yes, intelligence makes getting knowledge easier, but my experience has been that you don't have to be smart at all to finish college, just good at applying yourself over a 4-5 year period. What I've seen overall is a person who is driven will make WAY more money that someone that just gets a degree to get a good job. And hard work goes along way in the corporate world as well. This obviously applies to general application jobs, not specific training jobs like an attorney, doctor or upper level engineer.

Taking a cross-section of my friends who are all about 35 years old, I have three friends making over $250K/yr, all have four year degrees, and nothing more but incredible knowledge of investing and an entrepeneurial spirit. I have a few friends with four year degrees making less than $40K/yr. I also have 3-4 friends making very good incomes without a degree, but not as good as the top three. And my wife manages $12 million in annual business in her stores and manages 80+ people, no degree whatsoever.

I don't have a degree either, but I'm in the car biz, so I don't make shit. Although my business has doubled each year over the last two years and is already tracking to repeat that again this year. And then there's my other two businesses.

[2003eclipse]

Well if the feild requires a degree well you should have one.
All the teaching in the world wont do jack if you dont start with a natural talent.

Anyone ever seen Eric do wire? No high school degree and he has Mensa Capabilities.
Watching Mike in general doing the things he does that few could have taught him and he has picked up on his own trial and error. Like Mikes computer hacking skillz and his nunchuck skillz. But god knows the man cant play poker.

Finding a natural talent and running with it is key, if you need help on perfecting what you want to do go to school.