The battle of dropouts vs. degree holders
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2 May 2018
Growing up, we’ve been fed with a set route that guarantees success at the end. But that could only happen if you study (very) hard, earn a degree and it’ll land you the job that you crave in a reputable, well-established company.
But the road to success has never been that simple. In order to get yourself into a university, it takes 11 years of hard work, homework and written exams. And when you get yourself into university it's another 3 - 4 years of extensive hard work, more homework, assignments, quizzes, tests and exams. No matter the struggle, at the end of the day, the reward is most definitely worth burning the midnight oil. That piece of degree hanging on your bedroom wall makes all the struggle all the more worth it. Go ahead, ask any degree holder.
“You don't need a college/university degree to be professionally successful”
We hear this a lot. We read/watch a lot of inspiring stories of successful men and women who made it in life despite receiving little to no formal education. With the bloom of inspiring stories on being successful without an education, many are inspired but take it the wrong way. As if it’s fine to neglect formal education because ‘many’ have done it.
Nothing in life comes easy. If it’s hard to succeed with a degree in hand, it would be even harder without one. Skipping high school or university does not mean that it’s a shortcut to success. Sure, you can possibly be successful. However, you must be ready to invest your entire life into your passion or something that you are good at, focus on that one thing, persevere, stay determined, work 2-3 different jobs in order to fund your passion. At one point maybe you’ll be your own boss.
So, what’s the point of having a degree? Many struggle to land a job even after graduating.
Having practical hands-on knowledge, is without doubt a great advantage to have in the professional world. Heck, most jobs would prefer for you to have a little, if not some experience in the workforce. While that’s also true, most jobs still require a degree for you to be qualified. It’s the golden ticket to access what they never had before. To some, a degree means they are now a qualified medical practitioner. To some, a degree means they can finally apply for a job with equal pay to the given task. Knowledge is never wasted. Even if it’s not the most practical of methods, textbook theories are still precious useful knowledge. Sooner or later, what you learn will come in handy. Trust me on this.
The best of both worlds
Despite it all, it is not a secret that formal education is not easily accessible to all. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that it has become a privilege in this day and age. For some, it was never even an option to begin with.
There are plenty of programmes out there that can help you achieve success in life provided you are willing to put in the effort to succeed. SOLS Scholars for example, provides scholarships aimed to nurture and develop underprivileged high school leavers to obtain tertiary education. Not only does it help students financially, it also comes with a framework that strives to create a wholesome individual, ready to be a kick-ass employee upon graduation.
If tertiary education is not you - SOLS Academy of Innovation (SOLS.ai) is something that you might want to look into. It’s a highly structured, free programme for school dropouts and indigenous youths in which they’ll be equipped with practical knowledge and useful skills for them to secure a job in education, IT or renewable energy sectors. We even have few individuals who graduated from this programme and currently working with us to create great things for other communities out there. When there’s a will, there’s always a way.
Whichever situation you are in, never give up on education. At SOLS 24/7, we support education regardless in what form; because knowledge can do wonders for those who love it, as well as for those who are constantly hungry for it.
Find out more about SOLS Scholars and SOLS.ai!
We hear this a lot. We read/watch a lot of inspiring stories of successful men and women who made it in life despite receiving little to no formal education. With the bloom of inspiring stories on being successful without an education, many are inspired but take it the wrong way. As if it’s fine to neglect formal education because ‘many’ have done it.
Nothing in life comes easy. If it’s hard to succeed with a degree in hand, it would be even harder without one. Skipping high school or university does not mean that it’s a shortcut to success. Sure, you can possibly be successful. However, you must be ready to invest your entire life into your passion or something that you are good at, focus on that one thing, persevere, stay determined, work 2-3 different jobs in order to fund your passion. At one point maybe you’ll be your own boss.
So, what’s the point of having a degree? Many struggle to land a job even after graduating.
Having practical hands-on knowledge, is without doubt a great advantage to have in the professional world. Heck, most jobs would prefer for you to have a little, if not some experience in the workforce. While that’s also true, most jobs still require a degree for you to be qualified. It’s the golden ticket to access what they never had before. To some, a degree means they are now a qualified medical practitioner. To some, a degree means they can finally apply for a job with equal pay to the given task. Knowledge is never wasted. Even if it’s not the most practical of methods, textbook theories are still precious useful knowledge. Sooner or later, what you learn will come in handy. Trust me on this.
The best of both worlds
Despite it all, it is not a secret that formal education is not easily accessible to all. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that it has become a privilege in this day and age. For some, it was never even an option to begin with.
There are plenty of programmes out there that can help you achieve success in life provided you are willing to put in the effort to succeed. SOLS Scholars for example, provides scholarships aimed to nurture and develop underprivileged high school leavers to obtain tertiary education. Not only does it help students financially, it also comes with a framework that strives to create a wholesome individual, ready to be a kick-ass employee upon graduation.
If tertiary education is not you - SOLS Academy of Innovation (SOLS.ai) is something that you might want to look into. It’s a highly structured, free programme for school dropouts and indigenous youths in which they’ll be equipped with practical knowledge and useful skills for them to secure a job in education, IT or renewable energy sectors. We even have few individuals who graduated from this programme and currently working with us to create great things for other communities out there. When there’s a will, there’s always a way.
Whichever situation you are in, never give up on education. At SOLS 24/7, we support education regardless in what form; because knowledge can do wonders for those who love it, as well as for those who are constantly hungry for it.
Find out more about SOLS Scholars and SOLS.ai!
