Debate Education Vs. Experience

Newbie? New ideas do make us richer, but they don't always come from those from college who have been taught to think in a particular manner about a subject. I have seen it time and time again where teachers try to mold there students into there ways of thinking and beliefs. The person who taught himself html, law, history, etc. gets to entirely create his own ideas and opinions. Do you realize how many people begin to get a college degree and flunk out. I've seen just as many people without college degrees become as succesful if not more than many of those with college degrees. They aren't all news worthy you only here of the ones that strike it rich, but what college does have going for them is the fact that "college graduates as an average earn more than those who don't have a degree, but you need to realize that there are 1000's of people without degrees making no money" Statistics are often based more on publicity than science. A good education only makes a person well rounded if he has had other experiences often work experiences to make him that way. Merely having college is just another thing under your belt, but so of course college with experience makes it better, but i am talking about either or not both. College alone wouldn't make you anymore well-rounded than that same individual with experience instead. As for socialization if you haven't learned most of that by highschool, goodluck changing your ways in college, not that it can't be done, but how often do you think that happens now?

Having taught 12th grade English for more than four decades, I've seen literally thousands of young people go off to college, and thousands go off into the world without any further formal education. Either way, each is likely to be successful, given both interest and drive. Many have done well,many have done poorly, and some have done nothing. College isn't intended to change a person, just to add to that person's arsenal of life skills and avenues of enjoyment. Throughout the years, several people have told me I'm a failure because teachers aren't well paid. If money were all that important to me, I'd have chosen a different field. Financial considerations aside, I'm one of the most successful people I know, because I love my work! I hold eight Master's degrees, and they haven't gotten me any more money, but I've loved the learning and the avenues of exploration they opened up for me. I never use the "Doctor" designation, because I reserve that for those in the medical field, and it was earned entirely for my personal pleasure. Part of the course for seniors in high school includes employability skills. We do all we can to help kids make the decisions for their futures that are right for them. Many of those decisions do not include college! I certainly don't insist college education is a must for everyone, but I can't see it as a hindrance, either.

I couldn't agree more with you, than what you have recently said. That is exactly how i feel, and thats the reasoning behind me wanting to get an mba and bachelors in criminal justice. I love to learn and believe it can never hurt, except for your pocket. No matter what we can always learn something new, but like you said it doesn't necessarily make you more succesful, and maybe at time happier.

Perhaps my typing didn't convey what I meant. If you want to have a career in the "corporate" world you have to have a degree. I agree that trade workers don't need a degree to have a career, I agree with you there. I write freelance for Associated Content and another site. I never thought about doing it until I was in college and one of my classmates asked me why I was going into law when I wrote so well. A few people hinted at my writing and then I decided to see what other people thought, well, it paid off and now I write for the love of it. I do get paid but I'm building a library of articles and gaining information on subjects that I would never have thought about. Thanks for asking.

Let me first say thanks for wishing me luck, now on to the discussion at hand. I would have to say i disagree with you saying that you need an education to have a career. Do you mean to say that carpenters, roofers, and self taught web designers have no career. As often there education is very limited. What is a career i guess that is up to everyone to determine on there own. I just think of it as your way of life, how you support yourself and or family. Professional is always degree driven, yet many people work online, even as lets say a freelance writer. As long as you act and work in a professional manner, you are a professional. Freelance is an incredible career and i'd love to hear more on your experience with freelance writing.

See I agreed with you all the way until you said a person doing something such as webdesign where someone without a degree might have a harder time keeping up, in my opinion if someone was capable of learning this without being taught, then odds are they are going to have an easier time keeping up than someone out of college that has had everything explained to them and less to figure out on there own. I do agree however that it shows more passion, and of course your not going to get experience in being a field such as surgery without school atleast i hope anyways. The degree once again is a piece of paper though, which shows your passionate because you went the extra mile. It really doesn't show any more real work ability than the guy who has stayed at home read books and learned web design himself, he just gets no credit for not needing to be taught something, and being able to learn stuff on his own.

What country is that? Education is a pretty standard now in the U.S., but of course there are still about half of the people not going to college and just working hard to be equally as succesful. Maybe someone could argue the fact that it is easier to become succesful with college than without, however i know myself paying for college isn't easy, so i can't say that. Unfortunatly the requirement for higher education is what i don't always understand. For example in my case Law Enforcement requires an associates, yet i will learn everything all over again in the Acadamy, so why waste my time. I could be doing something more useful, such as an entry level job at a police department gaining valuable experience, on top of the training i'll recieve and be better off than sitting in a class, learning about something that is really a hands on job. Much of which can't be taught in a classroom. Fortunate as i am i love my classes, and love college, so i'm not complaining. I would just really love to start working rather than getting jobs that don't challange me.