In early 2020, I wrote a shitty blog ranting about college.
I still hold all the same opinions. But today I’d like to briefly discuss one aspect.
The fact that I run a profitable business that sustains my life and fulfills me at the highest level. I help people create the lives they want, get organized, and even grow their own businesses.
And in the last four years, not a single person has asked if I went to school.
Not where I went to school. If.
I’m not saying any of this to brag. I’m a college dropout who spent most of those four years living with his mom because he couldn’t afford anything else. (To which I’m incredibly grateful. Thanks, mom!)
The point is this.
In the past, people cared about where we got our credentials. Today, most people just want to know if we’re useful.
“Where did you graduate?” is now “Can you help us?”
I have friends making six figures because they taught themselves how to code. I know folks with great jobs because they’re great people who learn well and have strong interpersonal skills. I do well because I’ve developed the skill of coaching and curiosity.
All of which is possible without paying $80,000.
The caveat here is that of course there are professions where schooling is entirely necessary. I don’t want a surgeon who taught herself how to cut people open.
I don’t think college is a bad idea. It’s just not the only idea. There are many other ways to do interesting things and make money.
Many companies would ask me: What are your credentials? “Alcoholism,” I would say. “Bankruptcy and divorce.” Steve Chandler