Sunday, July 10, 2011

Dropout Billionaires

By Sean Scarpiello

Today, some of the richest business people on earth are college dropouts. Take, for example, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Both had dropped out of college and were still successful. However, these days students are constantly being told to do well in school so they can go to college and be successful. But is it true? Do you have to go to college to be successful in life? Some entrepreneurs are paying students $100,000 to drop out of college and start their own business. So far, this idea has been promising. But does a college education always lead to success or is it better to drop out and work towards owning your own company?

Do you need a college degree to be successful? No. College is not for everyone and some people simply learn better outside of the classroom. There are people with careers regarded by society as being blue collar jobs that make much more money than people with college degrees. That is why there is no shame in having a less prestigious job like a mechanic or plumber and owning your own business. Some of these people find a lot of success in their field because we will always need people with the skills to fix cars, plumbing systems, and more.

This being said, society should not look at a college degree as the only key to success. There are ways of being successful without a degree. Society should reconsider looking at a college degree as increasing one’s probability of being successful. Some people graduate from college and think they will be making the big bucks, which is not true. Also, some college graduates may not work as hard and expect more money because of their degree. In this economy, a motivated electrician can be making a lot more than an incompetent lawyer.

Is it a good idea to drop out of college and start your own business or attempt to hit it big with an idea, just like many of today’s businesspeople had done in the past? No. Some people would definitely benefit from this, but not enough people would do well. The only reason Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and other college dropout billionaires made their money was due to their monumental ideas and persistence in working towards making these ideas a reality. Plus, most people simply do not have ideas as fruitful as Microsoft and Facebook.

Another reason to stay in school is to increase your knowledge so you can open your own business one day based on what you have learned. For example, people cannot dropout of school and open their own architect or rocket science business. Businesses based off of knowledge can also bring lots of success. Creating Facebook does not take a doctorate in Computer Science. However, running your own law firm does take several years of schooling. Most people need to realize that not everyone can own their own island like Fortune 500 CEOs. But there is nothing wrong with owning a few houses around the world or having a new Porsche in your garage. The best doctors and lawyers in the world will never make as much a Bill Gates has but they still contribute to society and find success.


Source: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/07/06/college-scam/?test=faces

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

very interesting, thanks