If You’re Not a Dentist, College is Worthless. Build Your Career Instead
Written by a millennial who dropped out.
Throughout high school I anxiously applied to university after university, hoping I’d magically discover my career calling throughout the application process. Fueling this anxiety was the peer pressure of teachers and family members, who saw my life choices as either college or Wendy’s.
Public education does a great job of looking at life as either black and white. Pass or fail. Success or bum.
No matter how much you try to wrap your head around it, career growth is simply not this way. It is a process, not a result.
And the shocking reality? You don’t need to put yourself in massive student loan debt, sacrifice four to six years of your time, and choose your major to experience career growth and success.
Crazy I know.
Here’s how you can create your own career success, regardless of whether you have a degree in Art History or you’ve been homeschooled.
The College Bubble Debunked
University has been around since America has been colonized and it's probably not going away anytime soon.
The reality is college or university is necessary to some degree. I sure as hell would not want my dentist to have learned his practice through sheer will or hard work. We would have a national dental hygiene crisis if that was the case.
The problem with the college bubble is taking this approach to formal education and systemizing it throughout the workforce.
Education comes in many forms. You don’t have to take 15 credits a semester, party on the weekends, and cram for finals for four years to learn how to make friends, build social capital, or become a millionaire.
Here are some shocking realities highlighted by Travis Hornsby’s article, “Student Loan Debt Statistics in 2020: A Look at The Numbers” & Abigail Hess’ article on CNBC, “College grads expect to earn $60,000 in their first job- here’s how much they actually earn”:
- The average student loan debt in America is $35,397.
- Student loan debt surpasses all forms of debt in the United States aside from the housing debt.
- Payscale estimates the average college graduate with 0–5 years of experience will earn $48,400.
In short, the opportunity cost for spending four years obtaining a degree combined with the debt you will incur and the average salary you will expect to make for the first five years of your career is just not worth it.
Here’s what you should do instead.
Learn A High-Income Skill
“People are chasing cash, not happiness. When you chase money, you’re going to lose. You’re just going to. Even if you get the money, you’re not going to be happy.” — Gary Vaynerchuk. Entrepreneur. Inspirational Badass.
High-income skills are hard skills that are in demand in the market place.
Here are some high-income skills you can start developing & your typical returns (btw, you don’t need a degree):
Coding Bootcamps
- Cost: $12,000 — $15,000 (varies- some have ISA)
- Length: 3–6 months
- Average Starting Salary: $67,000
Data Science Bootcamps
- Cost: $12,000 — $15,000 (varies- some have ISA)
- Length: 3–6 months
- Average Starting Salary: $80,000
Digital Marketing/ Social Media Marketing
- Cost: $3,000 — $6,000
- Length: 12 weeks
- Average Starting Salary: $48,000
Sales
- Cost: Sweat equity
- Length: Lifelong student
- Income Potential: Unlimited
All of these options not only offer either the same return income-wise as a college diploma but can be achieved in a fraction of the time.
These are just some examples, but the key here is to find something you love and see how you can monetize it. You can make money in anything. If you like writing, start blogging. If you would like to start a business one day, learn sales and negotiation. Just make sure you’re happy, the money will follow.
Work at a Startup
Working at a startup is an experience everyone should do if you want to skyrocket your career. Because the company is in an early stage growth, not only do you get to see how a company grows, but innovation is encouraged.
Working for a big corporate giant offers little to no benefit in terms of actual career growth. You typically do the same thing every single day and promotion is your only hope of “growth”.
At a startup, you have the opportunity to get your hands dirty in everything. Sales. Marketing. Operations. Customer Success. These are skills & roles that can’t be taught in a textbook.
Along the way, you get to learn skills that will translate into your professional development. Plus, your options for growth are amazing:
- Grow with the company.
- Take the wisdom you learned and grow your own company you’re passionate about.
- Create a better opportunity for yourself in the workforce.
Praxis is a great program that offers the opportunity for entrepreneurs and innovators to work at a startup. They make it accessible for anyone to have access to these high growth startups. Some key takeaways with Praxis:
- Learn how to build your brand
- Learn how to master the job hunt
- Grow your career at a high growth startup
Build Your Brand
Building your brand (career-wise) comes when you understand what type of impact you want to have and how you want to be known.
You want to position yourself as the expert in the market, whether that is as a personal development guru, real estate agent, or professional table tennis player.
You should become synonymous with the industry and role you’re in to maximize your brand.
When you think of Warren Buffet, you think of investing. With Kobe Bryant, its basketball. What do you want to become synonymous with?
Once you figure out your brand, start building it:
- Write blog posts
- Make videos
- Create a website
- Create a Linkedin or Facebook group
- Sell a product or service
You don’t have to go to college to achieve career success. These are all things you can do to increase your demand in the market place and achieve the career growth you’ve been dreaming about.
If you’re studying to become a dentist though, please finish college and pass the damn NBDE.
