The Case for a College Degree

Look, I love Mike Rowe. And while he has never actually argued against the importance of a college education, he is very vocal in his scolding of a society that promotes college ahead of all other forms of education.

And I agree; college is not for everyone. Some of my closest friends are electricians, plumbers, and mechanics. And you know what? They are debt-free.

Having said that, online and off there continues the same set of tired arguments against attaining a college degree. In our society, if an argument is repeated often enough and loud enough, then there is a real danger of it becoming the truth.

So, what are these arguments and is there any truth to their volume?

1. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs did not need a college degree to be successful.

There are a great number of high-performing entrepreneurs and inventors that either didn’t attend college or dropped out early and still went on to become amazingly wealthy. But using superluminal individuals as the argument against going to school is like spending your rent money on lottery tickets. My own uncle dropped out of high school in 11th grade and is now the CEO of a global furniture business. Despite this, he is a huge college education advocate. He recognizes that his success was a mix of the right idea, at the right time, and at the right place.

The secret to his success, as I suspect it was for Gates and Jobs as well, was a combination of an inspired idea, the drive to work…