Do You Need College to Make A Good Living?
All the books I’m reading lately are telling me I’m a fool to have a day job. I believe them. In case you haven’t heard, those of us twenty or thirty somethings are in a “new economy” where gaining promotions, pay raises, and job security through one salaried gig is about as likely as marrying someone rich without a prenup. And besides, who wants to work for the man anyway? I worked my butt off in college, and all I got was a stinking JOB with bosses, rules and defined hours.
In The Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss, the young author tells you how you can “escape the 9-5, live anywhere, and join the new rich.” Timothy is described as a serial entrepreneur and ultra vagabond. With a successful online product, he has managed to earn a nice income while outsourcing the majority of the grunt work. This leaves room for him to accomplish other lofty goals such as writing a best selling book or training for the world record in Tengo. A Harvard Graduate himself, he says most of the role models he used in his book didn’t go to Ivy League schools and some even dropped out of college.
I just read another book called Grindhopping by Laura Vanderkam. According to Laura (who also has a college degree) you do not need to endure the long hours, low pay, and paper-pushing tasks that are given to entry level employees. She encourages you to go after your dreams regardless of your age or education level. A successful freelance writer herself, she cringes when she hears about people who go back to college for graduate degrees in writing. “Getting an MFA doesn’t make you a writer.” She says. “Writing makes you a writer.”
The more I read these career books, the more I feel like an ass for having a day job -and worse yet the student loan debt to go with it. I wish I had known that before spending over 50k on degrees I don’t even use. These books represent a new generation of young entrepreneurs who are free to manage their own career. The message is simple; Get paid for doing what you love and be your own boss. (Don’t feel too bad if you haven’t figured out how to do that yet. Many of us are still learning.)
Making your own income is a good goal to work towards. Meanwhile, be careful what you wish for. If you are plunking down heaps of money for a degree that will land you a JOB, you just might get one.
March 2, 2008
Posted in: Uncategorized
One Response
Yup, I’m in a similar boat. I went to college, actually got a ‘useful’ degree, and now my job is to fill out spreadsheets. I’m 26 and I fill out spreadsheets. Oh, sometimes I need to contact the customers to ensure it’s correct.
I’m racking my mind to figure out how to start a business. I can’t stand my job and it’s starting to have an effect on my life.
There is absolutely no way I can continue with this work for 40+ years.
This site is interesting.
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