I love lifestyle design and I normally love the people who write about lifestyle design. However, there is something many lifestyle designers often say which is starting to get on my wick. It’s the cliche “You don’t need to go to college.” Brothers and sisters, by giving people this advice, you’re doing impressionable new lifestyle designers a huge disservice.
We’ve all heard the story of Bill Gates quitting after a year or so at Harvard University and going onto become the world’s richest man. The fact is Bill Gates is a freakin’ genius and would have succeeded whether he completed college or not. These days, Bill Gates recommends that people don’t do what he did, but rather stay in college to get their degrees. In fact, in the short time Bill Gates spent at Harvard, “he met his future business partner Steve Ballmer, whom he later appointed as CEO of Microsoft.” -Wikipedia.
The cool benefits that lifestyle designers can get from going to college.
1. You get a chance to start building your network.
At college, after freshman year, plenty of students are already thinking seriously what careers and fields they’re wanting to get into. You’ll be able to make contact and build valuable relationships with these fellow students and even find people to go into business with or at least cooperate with later after college.
2. You get to learn time management and how to meet deadlines.
At college, you’ll have more time to do assignments, which means you’ll have to be more self-disciplined to get things done on time. With more time and flexibility, procrastination must be overcome at college. Your teachers and professors won’t be sending notes home to your parents asking them to come into school to see why you aren’t completing homework and assignments on time.
3. You get to learn how to research and study independently.
At college, you’ll have to learn how to research and study independently. At university, the library and computer lab became my second homes. On weekday evenings when my flat mates would just stay at home and watch TV, I’d find myself wanting to go to the library to study or to the computer lab to work on an essay. I had to, if I were to do a decent job.
4. You get a good broad base of knowledge.
Most majors in humanities, commerce and even sciences allow flexibility where you can choose courses on top of your compulsory courses which aren’t necessarily related to your major. I majored in linguistics but also chose to study courses related to education, Chinese, computing, management, and English writing. I believe that all those extra papers were actually more useful to my current situation than most of my linguistics courses were. That’s cool. However, without going to university, I probably wouldn’t have gained such a varied, solid base of knowledge so quickly.
5. You get to meet lots of cool friends.
After, graduating from high school, I chose to work. I soon came to envy my friends who were at university making lots of new friends and enjoying their long vacations, while I was having to get up at 5:30am just to catch two buses across the city to start working at 7:00am. I think when you’re that young, it’s cool to enjoy the good times that a unique college experience offers.
Besides meeting some cool male friends when I was at university, I also met some really cool female friends. Two of them became girlfriends for more than a year each, but due to them having to move away overseas, we eventually broke up on friendly terms. I’m so grateful to have had those experiences. Great memories! It’s much harder to meet girlfriends and boyfriends when you’re working. You can learn a lot about a potential boy/girlfriend by seeing how s/he uses his or her spare time when not in class. You can see if they’re motivated or not to study and research on their own accord.
6. You get to have a lot of fun.
Dinners, parties, traveling, while not a major priority of mine at university, still provided a nice break in the weekends and vacations. My social network was biggest when I was at university. When you’re a college student, it seems to be easier to have fun and go a little crazy now and then. I laughed most in my life, when I was at university.
7. You get a degree which is a ticket to many more employment opportunities, especially overseas.
I believe this is the biggest benefit to going to college. That degree, while literally being a piece of paper, carries with it some huge advantages. The biggest one for lifestyle designers being that it enables you to work legally in many countries.
I can only speak from my experience in East Asia. I know that in Korea, Japan and China, if you want to work here legally, you should have a degree. I’ve spent the past 7 years in East Asia teaching English legally the whole time. I’ve had no problem finding work because I have a degree.
I’ve met many expats here who are working illegally and are shifting from job to job, because their school gets busted for employing them without a degree. These teachers get fined and even deported. The best schools and businesses will refuse to even consider you for a job because they can’t legally get you a work visa.
No degree here means you’ll either be jobless or an illegal worker. Personally, I hate the idea of people illegally working in my country and I wouldn’t disrespect another country by working there illegally.
I realize that traveling and working abroad doesn’t appeal to everyone. You may be happy to stay in your own country and building your career there. I used to be like that, so I worked for several years before going to university. However, once I figured out that I wanted to teach English legally in Asia, I knew I must get that degree.
Remember, a degree is a ticket to help you get work visa’s for many countries. I’ve seen many expats trying to live here long-term on tourist visas. They are constantly having to waste money and time to make visa runs to Korea or Hong Kong, struggling to pick up steady decent part-time work. To prevent a whole lot of problems, reduce stress tremendously and have a smoother life living here all you need is a degree.
Two reasonable objections people may have to going to college.
1. Expensive.
1. Expensive.
If you’re unable to afford to go to college, there are some practical solutions you can consider. You can work part-time to help cover your cost of living, take a loan, or start a small scale online business while still studying. Or you can do what I did, which was to work for several years first and save. That way I was able to come out with a degree and only a $5000 student loan, which I paid off in my first five months of working in Korea.
2. Don’t like full-time study.
If you think that you’ll find it too stressful and won’t be able to cope with studying and working at the same time, or you just hate full-time study with a passion, then I suggest you study part-time. This is a solution for those who just aren’t in the mood to sit through years of full-time study because you’d rather be pursuing your dream of having your own business.
When I move back to New Zealand next year, I’m seriously considering going back to university to study psychology and neuroscience part-time. If I come out with Bachelor of Science that’s cool, if not, that’s also cool. I just want to learn about the human brain and how it can be used to improve oneself and apply that to lifestyle design. Each semester, I’ll just do one course. The rest of the time I’ll devote to building my blog and trying to build scalable and passive forms of income.
Conclusion.
With all the benefits listed above and the ways to get around obstacles in the way of going to college, why would you want to discourage someone from going to college? Let me remind you again, that I wouldn’t have been able to have the great experience and adventure of living and working in Korea and China without first having first received my degree. It has my ticket to many great opportunities here in Asia.
Please think carefully before casually telling people that they don’t need to go to college.
Note to my readers.
Now, you should know that I’d never really spit on you. I was just using that expression figuratively to express how strongly I disagree with the idea of telling people that they don’t need to go to college to succeed. To show no hard feelings, I’m calling for a group hug. 
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G'day! I'm Gordie, founder and editor-in-chief of Lifestyle Design For You. I want to welcome you to the center of the universe when it comes to lifestyle design and personal development blogs. We're a team of ten writers providing you with articles to help nourish your mind and improve your life. Lifestyle design is about designing your life so you can do what you want when you want. 
{ 53 comments… read them below or add one }
Gordie,
You bring up some good points. A big part of the world is increasingly employing ‘knowledge workers’ who will require at least a base set of skills we learn in University. Even if one is an entrepreneur, he/she can’t deny the advantage of having a degree under their belt.
Ken
Hey Ken,
You’re right. For a while employers were looking for specialization in employees, but now they’re doing a U-turn and wanting a broader range of skills. As an entrepreneur, having a broad range of skills is also a great help.
Having a college degree is extremely important. Our work system requires it and you will a lot from it, just as you have stated above. I’m glad I had a formal college degree.
Yes, I didn’t really mention that, but even if you stay home and want to get full-time or part-time work, you’ll be at an advantage having a degree. Thanks, Walter.
Nowadays, most employers look for people who have college degrees. My future mother-in-law is paying the price now because she does not have a degree. She has thirty years of health care under her belt but can’t get hired anywhere because they want people with a bachelors degree.
Hi DJ.
That sucks where employers won’t take on someone with thirty years experience in her field. I think that’s nonsensical.
Thanks for stopping by.
When it comes to education on things related to internet they are often a few years behind but I agree that college is so much more. You will always have spare time so there are plenty of time to build on your freelancing career on the afternoons.
Yeah, college isn’t always the most up to date, but as you said it’s so much more than that. I’m looking forward to get back to university part-time after a decade away.
Hey Gordie, I couldn’t agree anymore. Just the “experience” of college is priceless; it’s something that you just have to experience to understand, and although one may do well after college financially, that’s taking a big gamble. You never know what you can have learn from other unique people when you go to college or lifetime opportunities you may encounter. That’s something I would not pass by.
One cool thing about college campuses is the huge range of thinking that’s there. So many students with so many philosophies. One thing I forgot to mention is that college is a cool place to improve ones debating skills.
Increasingly in our world, people are paid for how they can take knowledge and apply it to solving real-world problems for people. College is an opportunity to accumulate more knowledge. This puts more tools in your arsenal. Always a good thing.
Hi Greg,
Welcome! I think the great thing about college is that it causes you to accumulate a good base of knowledge in a reasonably quick period of time. It provides a good deal of structure but while also giving you enough freedom to force one to have more self-discipline and responsibility.
I love the photo you open with!
Although I agree that a university degree is not necessary, I wholeheartedly agree with every point you make. I would also add that the much maligned humanities develop skills in the analysis of language and presentation of arguments that are desperately wanted in this modern, short-term-thinking world.
Hey Chris,
I know that you also went to Otago University. Awesome times! True, that ones writing can improve substantially at university, especially in the humanities courses. I know mine did.
Hey Gordie,
I’m in complete agreement with you. If there’s any experience in life that makes you grow from a personal level, it’s college. Although I have to admit when I was in college I don’t know half of what I know now, and I sometimes think “If I’d known what I know now…”. Regardless college is an essential experience to teach you many intangible skills.
Hi Srinivas,
Yes, I’ll be the first one to admit that I’ve learned much more since I left university. That’s partially because my interests have changed a lot in the ten years since I left.
From one who didn’t go to college:
Do I wish I had? Then, no. At the time I had no real desire to study or a degree I wished to pursue. I would have been wasting time and money.
Now? I wish I had time to study a few things… Photography, Music, and Sign Language. These things probably wouldn’t make me a living, but there are days when I wish I could go back and convince my 17 yr old, just graduated self to buckle down and get a little more serious about the things I’ve always loved.
For some subjects like photography, music, shorter term courses at any sort of learning institution would do you fine. Those subjects are best improved with lots of practice in your own time.
You make a lot of good points here. The only thing that I can say is that you can get all those experiences without spending a lot of money on school.
It’s interesting about your experience with overseas teaching, I see in that situation that a degree is an absolute must.
I just have something about me where I need to question everything, and I’ve been questioning education for a long time. I’m 1 class away from an associates degree (not a bachelors but it’s something), and still I’m pretty sure I’m not going back to school. A big reason is money, I would rather spend it on other things. But…
I also feel like if I go back to school I’m copping out of my real dream, which is to make a living online and live the lifestyle I want. I don’t need a degree for that.
Anyway, great post buddy and I appreciate what you have to say. Cheers!
Great comment, Nate.
If you just studied part-time would that still be copping out of your dream or slightly delaying it?
That’s actually what I’m thinking of doing, just 2 classes at a time. It’s a definite option.
I think education is extremely important. But I don’t think that education necessarily needs to be the traditional college experience. The education you choose should be completely inline with and dependent on what your goals and dreams are. It’s more important to get an education that will serve you in the future (whether that’s Ivy League, community college, online schooling, certifications – it doesn’t really matter), than to just get the degree on the piece of paper and “the experience”.
I’ll always encourage someone to continue their education, in whatever form that ends up being.
Interesting post. It attracted my attention because I wrote a post awhile back entitled “How My College Education Failed Me”. It talks about how I, personally, could have skipped the college bill and continued on to do what I do now. But, I think if I had chosen a different major, I might feel different about it. I’ll never know.
Hi Lisa,
You’re right and we have more options than ever on how to continue with and shape our education. The Internet brings formal and informal learning. Just take a look at AcademicEarth.org.
Interesting. By and large I agree with you Gordie, but I would add one proviso: It depends on the individual. I left High School with plenty enough qualifications for college (We Brits call it university) but I really was not prepared to spend another few years learning in a uni environment. So I joined the forces instead. When it was time to leave the air force, I went into industry and then did my degrees as part of my job training as a mature student. It was the right way for me to do it, and I know I would make the same decision again if I had to.
I also know a guy who is now a main board director of a huge company in Europe. I’ve known him for years and remember when he applied to join the company as a middle manager back in the 90′s. The job spec required a degree, and he didn’t have one. So he lied! Nobody ever asked to see his degree, and he made it to the very top in no time at all! Maybe it’s time I blackmailed him!
The time for blackmailing has come!
At university, I noticed that the mature students were amazing. They had kids, spouses, etc and were still getting all A’s. I have great respect for mature students.
This topic has definitely started a debate. Like Erica, I did not attend college but for a semester and a quarter. Didn’t have the support of my parents so I didn’t stick with it. So wish I had.
I also have to agree with Lisa, that you should pursue knowledge anywhere you can. I am currently following this school of thought by taking courses wherever and however I can for photography.
Have a picture perfect day!
Patty
PS.I like the new picture Gordie
Hi Patty,
I call the picture, “Bulky Gordie”.
I think with photography there are so many great blogs online that you probably don’t need to take too many classes if any. Practice, practice, practice!
Interesting. Can i sit on the fence? Spain has a huge University population who will all be leaving with no jobs to go to. The Uk will have the same for the next three years at least. When there is little demand for the type of course that Uni staudents are doing then why go. These days the traditional Uni model might not be apt. A year spent staring at a screen can find you everything you might want to know about Psychology and the human mind.
However, there is no substitute for the Uni exprience involving black russians, snakebite and other alcoholic concoctions as you bond for life with friends you would otherwise not meet in a solitary study programme.
Now I have a 17 year old who is going to Uni next year and currently she is looking at starting life after Uni with 40 grand of debt on finishing. Not a nice way to start life.
When she asks for advice currently I am telling her to learn how to make money online and then use it in Uni if she still wants to go.
Hi Graham,
Sorry for you getting caught in the spam filter again.
I agree with you. I don’t think people have to go to college. I was just arguing that I think it’s wrong for people to casually advise others not to go. I like your idea how you tell your daughter to learn as much as she can online about making money and then decide if she still wants to go to Uni or not. You’re letting her make the choice. I respect that.
I suppose two of my biggest hurdles or excuses is time and money. Not enough of both. But that does not stop me from studying. I educate my self in my field everyday. try to keep abreast of it all. Keep on learning and teaching myself new things. Admittedly I do not have a degree to show for it. But I find that most of the time, I know more, and have more experience than those who do.
But have to admit, wouldn’t mind that degree tho
I know some people buy fake degrees for only a couple of hundred dollars from legit universities. Lol!
True, you make some valid points. But please bear in mind that some college is not the be all and end all of life. I went to university, did my time and got a good degree. Yes it got me a good job but I subsequently ditched it 18 months later and don’t ever plan going back in employment. A college degree is great if it makes you happy but it is not necessary to be successful and happy in life.
I agree 100%. It just provides a lot more opportunities.
All your points are valid and really there isn’t a single valid argument for not finishing up your studies however I think the context of the advice is important. I wish I had finished up my studies but not finishing them opened up a lot of other opportunities whether or not they were better is highly debatable but since leaving my studies was partly forced I could easily have used it as an excuse not to push myself. I think the decision to study or not is a personal one and if you haven’t done so it’s never too late to start. The important things are the ones you’ve laid out above, college is not a badge or magic formula it’s a set of tools and knowledge that can only add to your quiver but could be learned the hard way if really necessary.
I agree Mike,
There’s often more than one route to get to the same destination.
Thanks for the comment.
Hey Gordie,
I left school when I was 18, because I really had no interest in it. I think going to college is not necessary to became successful, but it certainly wont hurt. That said, I found that in many schools they teach you how to be an employee and how to work for someone else rather than how to realize your dreams.
Hi Oscar.
That’s my biggest problem with education at all levels. They are still stuck in the industrial age of thinking even thought we’re now in the information age. Robert Kiyosaki’s latest book “Conspiracy of the Rich” talks about the crap education system and how it needs to be changed. Worthwhile read.
Hey Gordie!
How are you doing man!
This is the first time I’ve checked your website, sorry that it took me so long to do it! Really cool blog you have here! I like your writing style and post ideas
Hehe. I’m one of those people that you spit on then I guess. I don’t think that you need to go to college to be successful. It depends on your drive,passion and motivation. Like you say, Bill Gates would be successful with or without College. I agree that for the majority of people college is a good idea, but I dont think it is compulsory to success.
I never went to college, so I guess Ill make a case study for it and in 5 years or so write how it turned out and what I achieved
Subscribed to your blog man, looking forward to new posts!
Cheers
Diggy
Hey Diggy,
I’ve been enjoying your blog for a while now. Great to have you pop across here.
Actually, I don’t think it’s essential for success to go to college, I just think if one has the opportunity it can have real benefits.
Hey Gordie,
I definitely agree with you here. University was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I am seriously considering going back again.
Just the atmosphere on a good campus is buzzing!
Campus life was cool with such an eclectic bunch of people. I loved it.
The part of this equation that a lot of people never catch on to is that in most cases it doesn’t matter what the degree is in. The fact I have two degrees has made it much easier for me to find employment, despite the fact that neither degree particularly applies to my field. In some cases it might matter, but more often than not, your prospective employer just wants to know that you have the determination and ability to complete any field of study.
That’s a good point Tschet. It’s the same here in China. To teachEnglish here, any degree is enough. No degree means you can’t teach legally here.
College is great for providing reliable employees – people who have showed they are wiling to show up every day, do what they’re told, and work hard to meet someone else’s requirements. We need colleges to provide employees for businesses. But if you’re an entrepreneur at heart, I say, skip it.
To me, college was just a bunch of hoops I thought I had to jump through so I could get some letters after my name. I love to learn, but I want to learn what I want to learn about, not what some school board says I need to know. My major was computer science, and only about two of my classes were actually relevant to what I wanted to learn. So I felt like college was a waste of time and money academically, for me. I would have been much better off just studying on my own.
I got my first job before I graduated, because I spent my spare time learning how to program on my own and had some work to show for it – not because I had a degree. Since then, my on-line businesses have taken off, I’m working less than 10 hours a week and living how and where I want. We’re also homeschooling our kids and teaching them how to learn on their own and follow their passions.
Check out Maya Frost’s “The New Global Student” for another interesting take on how to get a “real” education in our modern age.
Hey Brandon,
Welcome. I think that if governments are serious about education for the 21st century, they’re going to have do do an overhaul of the education system. However, I doubt that will happen soon, because as you said they want good employees. I also thin homeschooling on the road is fine for kids as long as they mix with other kids too. I’ve met some home schooled kids who were socially inept.
Thanks for you comments Brandon. Hope to see you again.
Gordie,
Gratitude for posting this. I, too, have started to detect an attitude of “who needs university?” among some LOI devotees. And many of the comments here completely miss your first point which is networking. True, true, true: “It’s not what you know it’s who you know.” Meeting like-minded people who are willing to put themselves through the rigors of a university system definitely gives one an advantage. It’s not to say that one can’t be successful without a university degree but the options are so much more infinite with one. LOI and designing lifestyle is all about options. That’s exactly what a university degree is about. Options for lifestyle through careers, jobs, entrepreneurship, networking, meeting the best on their level.
Bill Gates has come up a few times here. While he dropped out of Harvard, what’s missed is that he was admitted to Harvard in the first place – and why. First of all, by that time he had already put in his 10,000 hours. Second, he came from a highly educated and prominent family who opened many doors for him unavailable to those not in that network (based in large part on education). These doors also facilitated Gates procurring many of his first and most valuable contracts.
For the other side of the coin one only has to remember the man with the highest IQ in the US but no connections. What a difference in his life a university degree would have made! Read The Outliers again if a reminder is needed.
Thanks again for the post!
Hi Kristina,
I read somewhere that Bill Gates reportedly had an I.Q. of 170. If that’s so, that helps explain a lot. Also, with his family and connections he took these advantages and used them well. Got to give the man credit.
Thanks for stopping by, Karen.
Gordie,
I give Bill Gates total credit for what he’s done. I just approach it as a whole which is why I appreciate Malcolm Gladwell so much. And for most successful people, you point well taken, a university education is a big part of the whole story!
Thanks Kristina.
I never really thought of those point before besides increasing your knowledge and getting a degree.
I do believe if college was viewed differently and other benefits were expressed besides just the degree, it would change peoples perception about not going. In my view college is not important because of what you get at the end but what you become when you’re finished. That’s what makes the difference and the knowledge you get will help YOU, the person you’ve become.
Blaine Bullman’s last blog ..The First Blog Contest On Blaineblogger Coming Soon鈥?
I agree with you 100% Blaine.
I dropped out from college and was in and out of jobs probably more than a rabbit is out of its hole, not very good but recently graduated as a mature student with a BA(Hons) in digital design and feel good about it. I agree with you that it provides a deeper understanding of your chosen subject.
But at the same time college and uni dropouts or even secondary school dropouts have become entrepeneurs and gone on to provide jobs and economic growth to big industries so I think may be the planned education sytem is not for everyone as I know people who feel trapped in a class atmosphere but when they’re out there talking to people they are absolutely amazing but most of all they are people who get things done rather than talk around too much in theoretical terms.
Personally I wouldn’t be able to make a massive distinction between which of the routes is the better as our lives sometimes take unexpected turns.
Nevertheless I enjoyed University.
Wasim’s last blog ..By: Wasim
Hi Wasim,
Sorry, for the late reply. I just noticed the comment now.
I agree that it’s not fair to judge someone who decides not to go to college. However, I’m still think college has a lot to offer and a compromise would be to go part-time. As you said, the academic environment is suitable for everyone, but I think it’s a good test of your character to be able to meet academic requirements. Use the time to learn something you feel will help your business or life.
Thanks for stopping by, Wasim.