Should You Earn A College Degree?

There are lots of stories these days about how unwise it is to waste your time and money earning a college degree.  Stories of taxi cable drivers with college degrees are plentiful.  Buzz TodaySource:  In a book called “BLEEDING TALENT” by Tim Kane, he writes that “The modern military requires that all officers have at least a bachelor’s degree to receive their initial commission.” 95% of Chief Executives (in America) hold bachelor or higher degree.

An equally popular theme is how successful some have been without a college education.  Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs are often put forward as examples of successful people who did not complete a college education.

This is all well and good. The stories make for fun reading.  But the question for you is whether this type of information helps you make a personal decision about whether to invest your time, money and energy into a college education.  When it comes to your very personal GO – NO GO, decision you need better information than these headline stories tell.

Let’s take a look at the data in the BUZZ Today insert.  What the facts tell us, is that it is possible to become a CEO of an American corporation.  The evidence tells us that 5% of those CEOs have made it to the top without a degree.  What this tells us is that it is possible to get to the top in civilian life.  What the data also tells us is that it is not very likely.  If fact, what the data tells us is that you are nineteen times more likely with a degree than without a degree.

When it comes to the US military, the data tells us that you are not going to become an officer in the US military without a degree.  Here the odds are 100% to 0.

The point of this conversation is to help you avoid being seduced by the negative stories about colleges and degrees.   It may be fashionable for bloggers and journalists to rag on colleges, particularly because of their high cost of tuition.  Colleges need to be held accountable for rising tuition costs.

But for you, it may not be a good decision to let these stories distort decisions about your future. Not having a degree puts you at severe disadvantage today.  Any way you cut it having a college degree today vastly increases your odds of having a career with advancement potential.

See Your Future is Calling for more valuable information about careers and your future.