Is a college education needed to become successful? Pros and Cons of attending college
During the last five years i have attended a Northern Illinois University and have just graduated with my Bachelors of Arts this past spring. Many people have continued to ask me since i have been back whether or not i feel i have benefited from college. To answer this question i would have to say yes and no. Like any other situation in life, it comes with positives and negatives.
One thing college has allowed me to do is to figure out what type of person I was as an individual, rather than what I wanted to do for a living for the rest of my life. Being able to discover myself was a long, but beautiful process. You begin to focus on your positive qualities and ways to enhance them, but also you start to realize your negative qualities and begin to try to make them into strengths. College is a hard time for most people, from dealing with student loans, maintaining your grades, and keeping up with your responsibilities it can become very stressful and not everybody makes it through to say they actually finished. I would say it is something that most people should experience simply because you will have many new experiences that build character but it is not essential to become successful like what has been preached to us by most of our educators and public figures
Attending college is what has been preached to us since day 1. I'm sure most of you can remember at one point or another in your life someone saying "make sure you go to college so you can get a good paying job!". In reality there are numerous amounts of people whom did not attend college who are rolling in millions, simply because they perfected a craft and manipulated it to become successful. Although college sets up somewhat of a platform for you to decide what you are interested in many people can find this passion without taking college courses. Keep in mind that nothing in life is free, and every education you receive comes with a tuition. 
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So those who make the decision not to attend college may have been better off attending college but there is no way to guarantee this. I have friends to this day whom did not attend college whom are not very successful or content with their current position in life. But i also have friends who have attended college and realized it was not for them, Through this realization they found something else that suited their needs and were able to master these skills and become successful. There is no guaranteed formula to success and just because you went to college doesn't mean you will get a high paying job. The best course of action is to discover what you are interested in early and perfect that craft.
That is one way that our educational system has somewhat failed us, it prepares us to attend college rather than prepare us for life in general. How many classes in school have you ever taken on how to file your taxes, or basic survival skills? Not many right, this is because our educational system picks and chooses what it wants us to learn. Yes some of it is vital to perform essential duties but some of it is completely unnecessary. For instance this past semester i relearned the pythagorean theorem, and I learned it simply to get by my mathematics class and completely erased it from my memory banks when i graduated, because there is no need for it.
Courses that were involved with leadership and communications seemed to offer me the most assistance simply because it allowed me to interact within the immediate world.These are the types of courses in college that will help become more sociable and a more productive member in society. These are classes that should be willing to be paid for, but these classes alone will not result in graduation.
You may see specific courses designed to help you thrive in the real world, but in reality about 50% of the courses they require you to take are simply to build wealth and keep you in school (and in debt). This is why college is not needed but it is recommended. Because of the connections, and organizations you have the potential to join at a collegiate level this will allow you with a more reliable set of resources. Resources are ideal in a college setting and can be used to a great advantage. But attending college doesn't guarantee you anything, but a bill.
It is important to have education. There are formal and self education. Self education will make you rich.
I do think some of the liberal arts degrees are almost worthless when it comes to getting a job.
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Now the world is moving so fast, whatever you have learned in those 4 years wouldn't keep its value after a few years. That knowledge will be worthless even before you have paid your student debt. Personally, I think reading one book every two weeks is better value than a college education. #neverstoplearning
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One more thing you may add as a pro is actually the huge amount of people you meet who have similar goals as you. That comes pretty handy in life :D
I am the first in my family to graduate college and I agree that you can become very successful without a degree by the examples I have seen from my siblings and husband. They found themselves a niche in their skills and by income levels, are more successful than I am. However, since I wanted to become a teacher, I needed a degree. Also, I always wanted to achieve the goal I had set to earn a college degree. I managed to complete college without debt by receiving grants in return for teaching in area schools, and paying out of pocket. However, it took me nearly 10 years and I dropped out twice due to financial hardships and time conflicts with work. Either way, I let most of my students know that they may find their success by going to college, or they may not. As long as they follow their dreams, they are creating their own success.
I guess it depends on what you are studying to be.
Forgot to mention, the huge student loans on education these days is such a burden for young people. Does the job you're going for really require this expensive education.