From what I seen in life. It matters who you know or where your going with them. Things seem to be by word of mouth these days, and a lot of unhappy people that spent years for what? other then feeling they accomplish their task.

There are some certifications that do pay well. There are some degrees that are good to have, and yet, they do not pay well. If you look at the some degrees that pay well and are areas that have high employment needs, most of these degrees are two year types. Nursing, paralegal, physical therapist assistant, are among them. So, yeah, a degree will pay you more. But, it isn't always the case.

I do believe that people are being encouraged to pursue college education or degrees not because of some mass delusion, but because it has become a necessity in life.

The Penicillin is an infection-fighting agent of enormous potency and the most efficacious life-saving drug in the world. It forever altered the treatment of bacterial infections and made it a discovery that changed the course of history for mankind. This was discovered by a man named Sir Alexander Fleming, who was a Scottish biologist and pharmacologist. He wrote many articles on bacteriology, immunology, and chemotherapy. His best-known discoveries are the discovery of the enzyme lysozyme in 1923 and the antibiotic substance penicillin from the mold Penicillium notatum in 1928, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Howard Florey and Ernst Chain.

A computer is a complex piece of machinery made up of many parts, hence, there were many inventors who contributed to the history of computers and each of which can be considered a separate invention. But it all started with Charles Babbage, the computer pioneer. He was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor, and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer, in addition to many other contributions and achievements. He made designs of devices that was considered astonishingly complex for the 19th century, and was considered to be a "father of the computer".

Polio was once considered the most frightening public health problem of the postwar United States. Annual epidemics were increasingly devastating. The 1952 epidemic was the worst outbreak in the nation's history. Of nearly 58,000 cases reported that year, 3,145 people died and 21,269 were left with mild to disabling paralysis, with most of the victims children. It was even documented that it was more feared than that of an atomic bomb. An American medical researcher and virologist, Jonas Salk, discovered and developed the first safe and effective polio vaccine.

There are hundreds, if not more essential contributions like the aforementioned made by the same type of individuals. I don't know about you, but I would rather have the vaccines and antibiotics than a pair of earmuffs and the knowledge or skill of dribbling a rubber ball.

I have read the previous arguments and I do agree that in this world that we live in, it is inevitable that experience is important to survive in any industry. We can achieve this through minimal training or short courses, but there are numerous aspects of a large number of industries wherein lengthy and specialized learning are essential. For instance, if you have an illness, be it life-threatening or not, would you go to an uncertified doctor who may prescribe you the wrong medication or give a wrong diagnosis? If you are in trouble with the law, would you not want your life and future be defended by the best lawyer money can afford?

Also, I have noticed in many instances regarding this subject of debate that many of the negative respondents would parse their reply with various definitions of success, and many concluded that success is kind of like beauty, as in the eye of the beholder. Some took the ethereal route that only the individual can decide whether she is successful and so success has nothing to do with any external judgments. So, everyone is successful. Others referenced the famous and rich people who achieved one or another or both without benefit of a college degree. Bill Gates may be the poster child for degree-less success because he is the richest man in America. In my opinion, in the 21st century, success, by any reasonable civilized standards, requires a college education.

I think the resistance to this may well come from a strain of anti-intellectualism inherent in the human experience. Scholars such as Richard Hofstader in the 1960s and Susan Jacoby recently have traced this strain through history and identified it as owing both to religious fundamentalism and to pervasive technology, among other causes such as rural isolation, what Lincoln called "the mighty scourge of war", and political machinations (it is an interesting notion to contemplate, and very Orwellian, that politicians have a vested interest in keeping the populace stupid). At any rate, there it is, as is the sound bite and shallow context-free information such as that which comes from the television and the Internet search engine rule the day.

I confess a bias in my argument in that I am a degree holder and have made my living as a direct result of it. I have prospered in various ways and have benefited from that which most of our closest kin have not, for various reasons, been able to achieve. I have built my life on the college experience and consider it, as everyone should until the day she dies, a success in progress.

On a simple level, a college degree simply means that the student has been able to test ideas, philosophies, notions, quirks and peccadillo's within a community of the mind given to just that testing. In other words, the associations among college students generally become lifetime associations. This, in a world of associations now being made through such hideous meeting places such as "My Space.com" is no small thing. In the flux of human relations, it is a simple truism that people form most of their binding friendships in maturity. This common bond, though perhaps comforting, does not produce success, because success comes not from the power of shared emotion but rather the power of shared intellect.

On a more sophisticated level, what The Enlightenment meant, what the Founding Fathers established, and what Ralph Waldo Emerson and Abraham Lincoln so successfully professed and defended is the concept of the life of the mind. Without it, there is no success. This is not a snobbish thing, nor is it exclusive to only those who have gone to college. After all, one of the most towering intellect, Abraham Lincoln, was from the most humble circumstances and almost entirely self-educated. And the Horatio Alger story has a hallowed and somewhat verifiable place in American history. But college is the only option that is supposed to be devoted to the life of the mind which is the lifeblood of any civilization. It is the only place to go solely devoted to those who want to learn how to think. Parents want this for their children, and no matter how imperfect the college may perform its mission, it remains an indispensable tool for success, not only the success of the individual, but also the success of civilization.

My only degree is complete bullshmidt. Business computer science...My teacher found out about my art background and basically traded me a degree for paintings. I didnt even touch a pc till I was 38.

I make decent $ for the area I live in and am the highest paid production guy of all 7 branches of our company. I did study my bunz off for my Texas Bottled and Vending Water Liscence as well as my chemical plant operators liscence and my CDL.

I am not paid what I am paid for a piece of paper in a frame (though it got me a raise)

I have made employee of the year for the last three years and have been the only guy in the entire company to get a raise. No one else has had one for three years...I have had one each year.

The way I have made myself valuable is to do the crap no one else wants to do (which includes studying craploads of law and learning chemistry) But, if a floor needs swept or a toilet needs to be cleaned....I will do that too. The guys who act like they are too busy to apply themselves to the books or cleaning up after someone is beneath them Go NOWHERE in my plant. I dont give a damn what kind of degree you got...or what your job title is....if something needs to be done and you are the type who aint gonna lift a finger and just expect a freeride.......Homey dont play dat.

Our sales mgr learned that the hard way. Made the mistake of saying "That's not my Job"....he has a degree...I do not....Yet to this day I still talk to him like he is dirt. Having a formal education is nice....but, it dont beat being a smart and determined S.O.B.

What if I told you insane was working fifty hours a week in some office for fifty years at the end of which they tell you to piss off;ending up in some retirement village hoping to die before suffering the indignity of trying to make it to the toilet on time. Wouldn't you consider that to be insane?

It is hard to tell. I know people who do not have degrees that make decent money. I also know people who have degrees who do not.

I think you have to go out and really sell yourself, especially in this day and age.

Some that I know have left corporate and are taking what they learned and now working for themselves.

I have a certificate for being a Personal Support Worker (medical field). I make the most in my area for doing what I do. However, that was just luck. Most pay minimum wage or a couple dollars more. Now I paid very little for my certificate compared to others and I am very fortunate to not have any debt and was able to pay for it all upfront. If I were to pay what others paid and didn't get a job where I am now it would not be worth my money. When I first graduated I had worked 3 jobs so I have seen both sides and how hard it can be to compete.

I also know people who have degree's in other fields and some are very lucky to have a good job and others are not. It just all depends on the field of work and if that field of work is in demand. Even then it all depends on if the company who has the most to offer will consider you as the best candidate. I also know people who are right out of highschool making more money than people who have gone to school.

Luckily I am one of the ones that did not go to college, yet have an awesome job that pays me well. I earned it by putting in the hard work and time in my career field.

So no...you don't HAVE to have a degree to get and maintain a good job these days. Hard work and dedication can take you just as far as that sheet of paper.

$.02

i have a bachelors in project management got a job the owner retired,started my own business glass/aluminum my partner f**cked that up,so had to fold.now i'm a superintendent

I've got two degrees, they are both completely worthless.

I'm not saying that having a degree isn't helpful, I think it matters what degree you are pursuing. If you have a degree in a "hard science," i.e. Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, you'll have a "leg up" on the world. Those that pursue these types of degrees are important to various industries because of the knowledge they have. They are also studied by fewer people which makes the demand for the services greater.

I'm pretty sure I'd want my physician to have a degree, preferably from a place like Johns Hopkins. I don't think I'd want a drop-out preforming invasive surgery. I'd like my electrician to have some sort of certification. I generally like my mechanic to be ASE certified as well, I don't want to pull out of his lot and have parts trailing behind me.

However, my entertainers can be dropouts, my website guys can be dropouts, the guy working at my restaurant can be a dropout. I do want my barrista having a PhD in Philosophy, and they usually do (never under-estimate the coffee making ability with someone with a PhD in Philosophy).

Can someone be successful without a degree? Sure, I live in a rural area and can point to at least a dozen farmers that are millionaires and never graduated college. However, they learned their trade, worked hard and were rewarded by their own endeavors. So the actual axiom should probably be, "Does hard work pay off?"

A degree matters if it is necessary to obtain a particular type of job.

A degree has less value if it is for a particular type of job that cannot be obtained.

The education that you obtain while pursuing a degree can be useful even if you do not obtain a job requiring a degree.

[Personal Note: I am the first person in my family to earn a Bachelor Degree, and it took me 22 years to earn it. I have not yet had a job requiring a degree, but I still use the knowledge that I gained while pursuing my degree.]

Id say, you dont have to be a great dancer to win a dance contest (but USUALLY it helps just a little)...lol


I think the exceptions are great but the rule is usually that competition prevails and to compete you have to know what the top in that field have done and duplicate or surpass it,,,

I'M AGREE WITH YOU...

EDUCATION IS TO GET BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF EVERYTHING. WHEN IT COMES TO DEGREE OR CERTIFICATION , MOST OF US UNABLE TO DISCOVER THE INNER DIAMOND AND GET THEIR DEGREE AND CERTIFICATION DONE.

WHEN YOU KNOW YOUR POTENTIAL,INNER DIAMOND, YOU WILL TRY TO CHASE AND INNOVATE IT. YOU WON'T NEED A DEGREE OR CERTIFICATION.

@@@@@@@@@@@

stop yelling!!! it's not even 7 am here!!!

And the President of the United States went to Harvard, you need a Ph.D. to be a doctor, and you need to pass the Bar to be an accredited litigator.

Can you make it through life without a degree? Of course you can. However, having the degree opens doors. Also, the real value of going to school isn't the degree, it's the education.

Also, you can point to as many special cases as you want, but people with an education make an average of about a million more dollars in their lifetime than those without one.

No.

No.

Yes.


This is nuts....but anywhoo....

ask for people's opinions....you'll get them...and realistically you THEN telling them they are wrong, is a really f * cking arrogant thing to do, that literally sh *ts me up the wall!


Don't ask a freakin question if you are not open to the answers....my mother has a name for people like you....but seeing as I have a number of degrees....I won't call you a narcissistic, ignorant arrogant a**ehole...like my mother would...





(yeah I know....two weeks in the pound....)

{{{Jess}}}

YOU GIVE YOUR VIEW, I GIVE MY LOGIC IF IT MAKES ME ARROGANT, IT'S OKAY FOR ME....THANKS ..

I HAVE ONE DEGREE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE.......