by Quinn Peterson

Created on: December 03, 2008

Success can be seen as the finish line to life's obstacle course. The question of whether a college degree is necessary to get to your life's proverbial finish line can be answered like all good questions. It depends.

First, how you measure your success is key in determining if a college degree is necessary. If success is measured by attaining employment as a brain surgeon or a psychiatrist, then yes, a college degree is mandatory. However, if happiness through passion is the gauge by which you measure success, then a college degree may not be necessary. Many people pursue employment in occupations that spark their passion such as cake decorating or designing. For these occupations, a college degree is not necessary. People's gauges of success differ and therefore the necessity of a college degree also varies.

If after identifying your measure success and realizing college is a milestone on your life's obstacle course, it is important to recognize that college does not teach key qualities that are often correlated with what society perceives as a successful person. A college degree is not a gateway to success, but rather a milestone for those that need college to reach their own measure of success (i.e. brain surgeon, etc.).

Key qualities that are often associated with success include leadership, initiative, and persistance. Usually these qualities are acquired at different points in one's life race, whether at births as innate qualities or as a result of obstacles and experiences. Some may argue that the college culture or post-secondary environment will teach these qualiity through pressure and high levels of stress. On the other hand, there are always those students that are good at route memorization and test-taking, thus these "extra-curricular" qualities are bypassed. Overall, a college degree will look good on a resume or in a frame hanging on your wall, but it does not guarantee qualities often associated with successful people.

After spending the last eight years in college working towards a bachelor's degree and then a master's degree, I have come to value all of the experiences that attending college has bequeathed upon me. I now have a decent job in the public sector and consider myself successful. The most difficult part of my job is realizing that a college degree is not necessary. There are co-workers that have climbed their way up the organizational ladder and only have a high school diplomas. These co-workers are just as successful as me. It may have taken them a little more time to reach where I started out in the organization but they also don't have any student loans to pay off.

Success might be realized sooner with a degree depending on how you measure success, but by all means it is not necessary for you to cross you life's finish line.

Learn more about this author, Quinn Peterson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.