I should know. I don't have a degree, and I have had an easy time of getting leadership positions in fortune 100 companies. If you have a degree--ANY degree--that's a plus. Even a crappy English or Psych degree is a nice resume padder. But that's all college is worth outside of the rigorous sciences. It's just 4 years of BS (har har) and a sheepskin at the end of it.
A college degree helps you get past the bubble headed HR generalist who is the first screener of job applicants. Once you get in the door, the degree is pretty useless. An uneducated wise guy like me can come in and steal the job from you, because guy's like me know how to huck and chuck to survive, while fools who spend their lives in school do not.
whoops. i dont know why i always do that.
Well put.
He was talking to art majors, all of whom believed they’re the next Picasso, waiting to be discovered. I thought it was a good dose of reality.
You are so right. A bright person can talk their way into a job and go right up the ladder of success, even without the sheepskin. My husband became a teacher with a high school education. He turned his heavy equipment school in the Marine Corp. into a position at a diesel college, and went on to become manager of Cummins Ga. He has had other successful careers (he gets bored). He was successful in the music business. He was a successful Marketing Rep. Believe it or not, he was at one time a bird trainer for Parrot Jungle in Miami. He is retired now and pastoring 4 churches. Yes four of them.
Jobs are not hard to find if you want one. You take what presents itself and use it as a springboard to better things. I learned more from my job as a waitress than any job I have had. Serving people teaches you patience, tact, anger management, and organization. All of those things come in handy in life.
This young moocher needs a dose of reality.
True, I’m in a similar situation as you at an earlier stage in the career. I’m currently getting ready to go back and finish though and then get my MBA so I can make VP+ by 30-32 instead of 36-38 without a degree. I’ll be taking night and online classes part time to finish.