Quote from Big Money:
I am not saying it is impossible to succeed without a degree but it certainly gives you more options down the road whether you are successful or not. Those that do are few and far between. I have a few friends who did not graduate college who as a group are quite successful. But they all wish they had stayed in school despite earning well into six figures each. Why? Because even though they do very well financially, they are trapped in their current positions and even though they want different careers cannot leave because they are used to the good life and would lose a vast majority of their earnings to start over. Most people are not willing to start over from the bottom once they do well financially. For perspective we are all in our mid 30s.
Your post was one of the most relaxed and well meant posts.
However, I must digress, if only for a moment.
Your friends.... Feeling trapped...
I feel sorry for them, yet I don't. College is just but one way to extend yourself options.
In addition to what you've stated, the limitations one feels are 100% based on their desire and/or capacity to move into alternate areas of "enlightenment."
I have participated in so many fields of study personally, it took me 6 years to focus on the one thing I loved most. AT the time of my college travels, there weren't any colleges offering what I do as a field of study. Sure there was the specialized "school" but my career was not a formalized accredited field of study when I was on the "collegiate" hunt.
Now They crank these kids out at "accredited" schools with a full range of study. My biggest complaint.... They come out arrogant and clueless. You have to spend well over a year retraining them, and all they are really good at is operating a computer. They lack the "basic passion" needed to be truly successful in this business and enjoy a long fruitful career doing what I do.
You mentioned your friends careers and earnings potential being lost should they transition to alternate careers and fields of interest. Watching OLD money I have always admired the difference between earnings and true wealth. Perhaps with the financial savvy they have amassed, they should have also planned for career transition. Again, something college doesnt teach (or do they these days)
I have started and run a number of business ventures over the years. Some really successful, others marginally so. One thing I learned prior to leaving high school was savings and planning for your future.
The purpose of said savings being to cushion you for the inevitable career choice change.
Although my mother was the college groupie and worked the same basic career for 30 years till retirement at age 52, she taught me those basic financial skills as a child.
You have just reported a weakness in their mindsets that college cannot cure.
I am reminded again... Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
