Is an Academic Degree a Guarantee for Success in a Professional Life?

Does a College Degree Bring Success?

The definition of professional success can be different from person to person. One may think it means monetary wealth whereas another may think success can mean you've raised your children, they all have their own families, and never call to ask for help. The definition of success in a professional life could mean a promotion or getting invited to co-worker's parties, even success in this area can be defined differently. However, a degree may get you the desired job you've always dreamed of or it may not. A person may end up with a completely different job than what he studied in college, this happens quite frequently. An academic degree does not guarantee success in a professional life.

An academic degree requires much work to obtain and sometimes this work does not pay off when it comes to success in a professional life. The type of degree chosen may give the graduate a job after completing schooling but usually one must start at the bottom no matter what kind of degree they have. A few examples of professional degrees would be teachers, doctors, and lawyers, even these have to start at the bottom. The teacher must acquire their credentials after they graduate. When they land a teaching job they are put under what is known as tenure in which they can be let go for the next school year if the school decides to let them go. This is not success in a professional life. Doctors must also start at the bottom when they get out of school and most have high levels of borrowing in student loan payoffs. Unless they already have a patient base they have to start from scratch. Lawyers must also obtain clients in order to be successful; their degree does not guarantee them success in a professional life either. Most jobs today require experience and a degree; with some a degree is not required as long as you have enough experience, especially in the technical world. That studying may not be worth it.

Many hours and much money are required in obtaining a degree. To top it off you are not guaranteed a job in your field when you finish. Studying for exams, writing long essays, and sitting in on lectures are all part of the degree seeker. Unless you get hands-on experience and maybe an internship while you are doing all of this work, what has it really gotten you? College is also quite expensive. A person can easily spend $30,000 a year in tuition. Multiply that by 4 or even 6 if you want to get your master's degree and you have just spent well over $120,000 dollars and 4 years of your life obtaining that degree. Staying at home with mom and dad may have saved you some money but the real college experience was not realized. How much more will the parties and friends cost? The hours and monetary requirements do not even guarantee you success in a professional life.

Obtaining a degree does not guarantee anything, especially when it comes to making it as a professional. A person may as well save their time and money, stay with mom and dad for a while and gain experience in a job they already enjoy. Unless you have the time, money, and knowledge in how to survive college life it just may not be worth the effort. Unless you want to become something that absolutely requires a degree, you do not need any experience, and you don't mind starting at the bottom of your chosen profession, then you may want to go for that degree.