I heard about it all the time. Education is expensive, but that’s not true… Nowadays, education is free. What is expensive is the old legacy educational system that would give you a diploma after four years of sitting in a classroom.
But the good news is that many big employers don’t require a college degree any more.
Here are three universities (out of many) offering free classes as long as you have an internet connection.
Harvard University Yes, we all heard about how elite Harvard University is, yet they are offering over 600 free online courses. All you have to is go to their website and enroll for free.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is highly regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious universities, and all you have to do is to go to their website and start taking any of their free classes.
UCL (University College London) One of the top schools in the UK, ranking eighth in the world.
And like I said, there are hundred of other university offering training and courses, completely free of charge.
And my favorite learning channel: YouTube.
Employers care less about college degrees
On the other side of the coin, there are hundreds of employers who offer high paying jobs without a college degree.
Employers are prioritizing skills over diplomas. This trend is more common among small businesses. if you teach yourself coding, or any other technical skill, employers will look at your work instead of looking at your degree.
Employers are investing in training you. Employers are finding that colleges are doing a poor job training the next workforce, so employers and just doing the training themselves.
A few weeks ago, I posted a vide about how Walmart store managers don’t need a college degree and are earning up to $400,000 a year.
Apple has been known to hire individuals based on their skills and experience rather than solely on educational qualifications.
Apple CEO Tim Cook says there’s a “mismatch” between the skills learned in college and the skills that businesses need, especially when it comes to coding. He also said that half of Apple’s US workforce was made up of people who did not have four-year degrees.
Costco, just like Walmart, is another example of a company that prioritizes experience and skills over educational qualifications, especially for roles in their retail stores.
Useless degrees
Finally, if you got one of those useless degrees with almost zero job opportunities, Starbucks will have the doors open for you. Starbucks offers various development programs for people without a degree or with a useless degree.
Conclusion
You really don’t need a degree to make good money and to have a productive life. All you need is an internet connection.
College degree according to Elon Musk
“When I interview somebody, I really just ask them to tell me the story of their career and what are some of the tougher problems that they dealt with, how they dealt with those, and how they made decisions at key transition points.
And usually that’s enough for me to get a very good gut feel about someone.
What I’m really looking for is evidence of exceptional ability.
Did they face really difficult problems and overcome them?
There’s no need even to have a college degree at all, or even high school.
I mean, if somebody graduated from a great university, that may be an indication that they will be capable of great things, but it’s not necessarily the case.
If you look at say, people like Bill Gates or Larry Ellison, Steve Jobs, these guys didn’t graduate from college, but if you had a chance to hire them, of course that would be a good idea.”
You can teach yourself anything
Other Personal Development Posts
- Real wealth is not about money.
- The harder you work, the luckier you get
- Balancing work and life with Ali Wong and Scott Galloway
Example of useless degrees