1. How you define success. If you want the corner office by the time you’re 25, it’ll be a lot harder to do it without a college education. That being said, if you start working toward that corner office at 18, four years ahead of all of the suckers attending university, you may have a leg up after all.
2. What you want to do with your life. If your dream is to be a doctor but you don’t want to go to school, well, there’s kind of a disconnect there. But if your goal is to provide for your family and yourself in a job that satisfies you, then you have an awful lot of options that simply do not require a college degree.
3. How hard you’re willing to work. For folks without that bachelor’s degree “or equivalent,” which is a major requirement for many job applications, you will need to have either strong experience or some exceptional skill to prove that you’re worth hiring. This is where trade schools and vocational training come in really handy.

Is it possible to run your own business without a college degree? Sure! Both of my parents do it. I have lots of friends doing it. And of course there are people like Simon Cowell, Bill Gates, Rachel Ray, and Steve Jobs who all have extremely successful careers and not a college degree among them. This list of 15 entrepreneurs who didn’t need college, from College Startup, is kind of inspiring if you ask me.

In his “We Don’t Need No Education” Contest (which, just so we’re all clear, is no longer accepting entries), Bosshatch’s Jim Gordon asks readers to explain WHY college is unnecessary, HOW it distorts your goals, and in WHAT WAYS are people prepared for entrepreneurship straight out of high school.

I’m not going to get into all of that right now, but I do want to talk more about this in the future. What I do want to say, though, is that not everyone is cut out for college. Not everyone is cut out for a corporate job. Some people are great at being employees, work hard, and do a good job, and they don’t NEED to learn how to run a business — they just need skills to work. And you know what? That’s okay.

There’s this huge pressure in America to go to college, to get a graduate degree, to pursue post-graduate education. Teachers and school counselors put the fear of God into these kids, making them think that they’ll be homeless bums without higher education. But you know what? The world needs landscapers, hairdressers, truck drivers, teaching assistants, massage therapists, schoolbus drivers, grocery store stockers, deli workers, receptionists, and dozens of other professions that don’t require a college education, and there are lots of people who are perfectly happy in those careers. And rightfully so, because they are dignified, respectable work.

And this is not to say that if you don’t go to college, you have to do one of those jobs I mentioned before. Running a business takes savvy and common sense, and a few supplemental resources like a class or two on specific skills like bookkeeping or contracts might not hurt either. But there is no reason your average, everyday person must have a 4-year liberal arts degree to be capable of running a successful business.

What do you think? Is higher ed a requirement for success in life, or is a high school education all you really need? Leave a comment.

Recommended reading:

• Around The Business Channel: Why Bother Getting An MBA? – from Darlene @ Interview Chatter

Don’t forget to share What You Want to Be When You Grow Up and be entered to win a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card!

Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King

(photo via SXC.hu)

Tags: women and business, women in business, business advice for women, do you have to go to college to be successful, do you need a college degree to get a job, is higher education necessary, is college necessary, college degree, undergraduate degree, graduate degree, career, job, simon cowell, bill gates, rachel ray, steve jobs, biz chicks rule, kristen king

Post from: EveryJoe

Throwback Thursday: Is Higher Education Mandatory to Be Successful in Life?

Do you choose to vote? Why or why not?

I’ll go first. I believe strongly in equality of the sexes, just as I believe in racial equality. But althought I am a registered voter, I choose not to vote for religious reasons. I believe that I should pay my taxes and obey the law, but that otherwise, I should not be involved in politics based on what I have learned in my study of the Bible, so I don’t vote, attend protests, put political bumper stickers on my car, etc. For some details on religious objections to voting, there’s a great Google answer to "Which religions don’t vote?" that gets into it pretty well.

So, even though I support the right to vote, I exercise my right by consciously choosing to abstain.

Leave a comment and share your stance!

Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King

Tags: women in business, women and business, business advice for women, womens right to vote, womens suffrage, voting in america, should you vote, do you vote, who are you voting for, who should i vote for, should i vote, why don’t you vote, which religions don’t vote, religious objections to voting, politics, throwback thursday, biz chicks rule, kristen king

Post from: EveryJoe

Throwback Thurday: The History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement in America

Do you see any elements you recognize in your professional history or your current work situation? Leave a comment.

Related reading:

• Quota Schmota: Why Race- and Sex-Based Hiring Guidelines Are NOT the Answer
• Should Businesses Have Quotas Based on Race and Gender?

Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King

Tags: women in business, women and business, business advice for women, racial stereotypes, stereotypes in the workplace, workplace discrimination, throwback thursday, biz chicks rule, kristen king

Post from: EveryJoe

Throwback Thursday: Racial Stereotypes in the Workplace

• Consensus building
• Negotiations
• Multi-tasking
• Project management
• Presentations and public speaking
• Coaching and mentorship
• Prioritizing
• Strategic planning

Friend and client Amy Smith, who runs her own PR firm while raising her three sons, and has is proving to doubters everywhere that motherhood really is a business — and a worthwhile one at that. Her Business of Motherhood website and accompanying Mom-Tini Lounge are full of great tools, advice, and support for businessmoms. And Amy was recently featured on Fox News!

Thanks, Amy, for setting the world straight on parenting as a legitimate business.

Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King

Tags: women in business, business of motherhood, amy smith, parenting as a business, moms have real jobs, advice for business women, biz chicks rule, kristen king

Post from: EveryJoe

Throwback Thursday: Being a Full-Time Mom Isn’t a Real Job

Please tell me that the people who made this are joking. Seriously? Seriously?

This is the most offensive piece of ignorant and discriminatory BS I have seen in a long time. Seems to me that if men can’t handle women in the workplace without feeling the compelling need to throw themselves through plate glass windows, perhaps they are the ones who shouldn’t be working! What do you think?

Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King

Tags: women in the workplace, gender discrimination, women in business, gender stereotypes

Post from: EveryJoe

Throwback Thursday: Women Shouldn’t Work Because It Increases Male Suicide?