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By Jedda Cain
If education was the only key to success, then the scholars and academics would run the world, but we all know that is not the case. Hundreds of college dropouts are coming up every year with billion dollar ideas and making us wonder whether formal education is really essential for a successful career.
So the obvious answer would be “no.” The likes of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and Elon Musk have made it quite clear that one does not require formal education to be successful in life. These aforementioned names, role-models to millions, never finished college. However, it would be a mistake to consider them uneducated.
The lesser known truth about successful people
Most people are aware of the fact that Bill Gates built his empire from scratch without having a college degree, and how Michael Dell created one of the world’s largest technology infrastructure companies from his dorm room without relying on his academic qualifications.
What many of us don’t realize is that even though these people did not complete their formal education, they never stopped learning. They improved their skills and knowledge through unconventional ways of learning. Technically, they are college dropouts, but they are some of the brightest minds in the business. These people are masters in their respective fields even without degrees.
However, you will never hear any of these successful people saying “education is useless.” If they never believed in the significance of education for success, they would not have sent their kids to the finest institutes in the world. It is easy to assume that one does not require formal education to achieve success, but those who have taken the path know how crucial education is. Even homeschoolers take some classes.
What would happen if there is no formal education?
For once, just imagine the formal education system is abolished. Nobody needs to attend school, college or university to gain textbook knowledge. What would happen?
- We would not learn how to read or write (or type). Computers will go obsolete if no one knows how to read or type.
- If there was no one to teach the kids, the next generation might have to rely heavily on their practical experiences. No math homework and no essay writing for them at all.
- Education helps students to find their potential. Without any educational establishments, kids would find it hard to recognize their true potential.
- Even if a youngster could start an apprenticeship, the first few months of the program would be very difficult for them, due to the lack of basic knowledge.
- Also, if a person is not given proper education, he/she might not learn to manage his/her finances. This will create another obstacle.
All these are based on assumptions, of course. But if you are thinking of quitting school or college to become a successful entrepreneur, you had better give it a second thought. The college dropouts who have achieved great feats in their career are truly exceptional.
There are only a few of them out of millions – and of those, all of them have gone through numerous challenges in order to build their businesses. Not everyone has the ability, resources, or dedication to do that.
So, if you are wondering whether education is required for a successful career, for most people the answer is still “yes.”