Is college worth it? The answer is “maybe not.” But it really depends on what you want to do with your career.
To make the answer to that question truly a “no,” I’m going to explain the methods and techniques you need to justify dropping out of college in the first place. I’ll also show you the companies that hire people without degrees and the jobs that have the most non-degree holders.
The best part? I will give you 0% self-help advice (which I’m sure you’re already sick of) and focus only on how-to strategies.
Let’s dive in.
How successful college dropouts think (Instead of worrying about their degree)
There’s a great interview with Elon Musk where he talks about the school he created for his children, Ad Astra. Here’s the deal: imagine you had a car engine. Your job? Take it apart.
If you attend Ad Astra, your teacher will give you a wrench and a screwdriver. Of course, they might take off the battery first so you don’t shock yourself. But after that, you’re on your own.
It’s up to you to identify the different parts of the car and figure out how to use the tools to extract them. One thing is for sure…there will be no manual explaining what a screwdriver is!
OK great… but I don’t want to take apart a car
This is the truth about college programs:
They teach you what the screwdriver is before they teach you how to use it. But in real life, you identify a problem and start finding the tools you need to solve that problem immediately.
No wasted time. If it works, great. If not, find a better tool.
Take coding for example. I am not a coder. In fact, I can barely read HTML! But if I wanted to learn how to code and start building amazing websites, I would take matters into my own hands.
Techniques that make college dropouts rock stars
Here’s the deal:
Successful college dropouts identify a problem and then get to work figuring out ways to solve it.
So if they need to program a website using PHP MySQL, they open their laptop computer and begin working on it. They watch YouTube. They participate in the GitHub community. If they get stuck while coding, they find an expert programmer on StudyGate to help with solving their problem.
What’s the bottom line?
Students that ditch college are people that naturally get stuff done. They don’t wait for the job to come to them because they are too busy learning, building, and solving problems.
Sure whatever. How do I make this real?
I’m not going to lie to you…
Dropping out alone isn’t good enough. You need something bigger to say yes to.
Here are the questions to ask yourself:
- Where do I spend the most of my time?
- What are the problems that constantly annoy me when I am doing that? Or, what problems do my friends have that I am good at fixing?
- How are others trying to solve these problems (and failing atm)?
If you see a problem to solve that others are willing to pay for, then you have a path to making life as a college dropout WAY better than anyone with a “safe” 4-year degree.
Places that actually hire you even if you don’t have a degree
Here are 9 companies that don’t require a college degree:
- Apple
- Airbnb
- Oracle
- EY
- Penguin Random House
- Costco Wholesale
- Netflix
Here are 7 positions that likely won’t need you to have a college degree:
- Commercial pilot
- Power-plant operator
- Transportation inspector
- Computer programmer
- Electronic technician
- Mechanical designer
- Marketing representative
Computer programming is big at Apple. Should I switch my focus to become a coder?
Those lists are there for context, not to provide you with an excuse for becoming a Java programmer. If you don’t love what you do, it will be hard to get good at it and no one will want to hire you.
Answers will come when you deeply consider those questions in the last section.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve covered the difference in thinking between a college degree holder and a successful college dropout. I’ve also given you a plan to find your dropout project and some companies that would hire you EVEN if you’re not the entrepreneur type.
This is a lot better than dropping out just because school sucks since your plan will carry you.
And that’s it for my article why degrees don’t matter any more.
So if you got some value from this post, send me a tweet about it right now (@jacobhallman). I want to hear what problems YOU like solving. Even if it’s teeny-tiny, nothing is too small!
