The higher education system is broken. The U.S. has over 1 trillion dollars (with a T) in outstanding student debt but that’s not the fundamental problem. Universities across the United States are failing their students by not giving them enough real-world working experience.

I graduated from a top 50 university with a Bachelors in Communications and two minors: one in business management and the other in non-profit business management. In addition to graduating with two minors and bachelor degree, I also graduated with $30,000 in student debt.

After graduation I took a job with a small boutique marketing agency handling search engine optimization. My boss, two-years older than me, attended two weeks of college and decided to jump into the workforce without finishing a degree. Quitting college enabled him to acquire over 8-years of recognized (I’ll talk about this in a minute) work experience.

To be completely candid, I thought a college degree would get me a certain level of respect within the workplace and that respect would turn into a solid salary. That wasn’t the case.

You see, most professional workplaces don’t recognize college attendance as legitimate “work experience”. Even though I busted my ass for 4-years in the university environment, it isn’t considered relevant experience.

That’s where the higher education system has failed me and so many others. Who cares about a fancy diploma hanging on a wall when a guy who never went to college can work hard, become your boss, and ultimately the vice president of a company.

I don’t look down on my old boss for his path in life. He has worked hard and deserves to be where he is now. That said, I believe my college degree should have given me more competitive advantages.

University-level students should graduate with 4-years of college educations as well as 4-years of recognized work experience to help make them competitive in the work force.

Frankly it’s astounding that college graduates aren’t considered competitive out of the gate. Most companies place their graduates at entry-level positions with entry-level salaries and require them to work years to reach anything substantial.

Solution to the broken system

Here are some things to consider:

Get rid of hobby degrees. There are too many “hobbies” that have become degrees at universities. I understand people want to do things they love, but damn’t don’t waste $30k to get a paper on a wall that shows how much you love your hobby.

Provide relevant courses. I took over 60 hours of general education credits during my college career. Honestly, they were a complete waste of time. I’m sorry but how hard is it to integrate the ideas of those general education course into courses that actually matter? Rather than requiring people to take an english class, require them to take a business writing class that folds in core principles. Is it really that hard to be more efficient with course teachings?

Give students recognized work experience. You know what would have been more effective than 20-hours of unnecessary classes each week? 20-hours of relevant work experience that I could put on my resume upon graduation. Some may ask, “You’re lazy, why not work in addition to school?” First, I worked my entire college career. Second, universities should be held to a higher standard to prepare students for the real world. Part of preparing for the real world is becoming competitive for jobs that ARE NOT entry level.

If someone would have approached me 10-years ago asking me if I recommend college I would have answered with a resounding, “Yes”. Today I’m not so sure. I just don’t see the necessary ROI for it to be the smartest solution.

How to succeed in a broken environment

Good news, you don’t have pay me $30k in tuition to learn the not-so-secret to success. I believe success comes to those who are willing to harder, smarter, and better than those around them.

For some reason, most of us grow up thinking we’ve got to follow some timeline for success and that we should expect comfort in our 40's. That thought process is counter-productive to society. Sucess comes to those who are ready to snatch it.

There are those who would have you believe you “deserve” comfort. And that comfort should come from those who have made it (the 1%). It’s garbage. We deserve what we’re willing to give. You think the farmer who spends all spring fooling around deserves the same crop as the farmer who spent their spring sowing? No.

Success is a decision we’ve all got to make every. single. day.