Achieving a goal you have set for yourself is success. Examples might be earning a good living, having a really enjoyable job, having no debt, living where you want to, getting married, having a family, adding value to people’s lives, being in a position to help others and to change the world. For several decades we have been told that to achieve these successes and to make something of ourselves in this world required a college degree. It’s simply not true. For most people, you can achieve your goals and succeed without a college degree.

For high school students

We need to start teaching kids real job skills that they can use to earn a living. We do a lot of talking about kids having the freedom to make their own choices, but then we put them into a sort of educational maze that only has one exit. They become trapped with no skills, no job and everyone telling them to head off to college. There’s no excuse for a high school graduate in 2017 to have zero job ready skills. It’s also unacceptable for these graduates to have never worked a day in their life by the time they leave high school. Are we attempting to prepare kids for a life of work by not having them work? Are we attempting to prepare kids for skilled jobs by not encouraging them to explore and learn any of these skills? The traditional educational system is going to have to change or it’s going to collapse. 

It’s never too late to change careers or learn a trade or new skills

If you don’t have a job, or you’re unhappy with your job, dropped out of college with an incomplete skill set or you got a degree in a field you have no interest in working in, don’t stress it. You are living in one of the greatest moments in the history of the world. You can literally learn anything you would like quickly, for very little money or even for free. And you don’t need anyone’s permission. You are free to learn skills and add value to businesses or other people’s lives however you want. So be encouraged and read on!

Students need exposure to as many career options as early as possible

One of my favorite movies is October Sky. It’s the story of Homer Hickam who was raised in a coal town in West Virginia. He was being pressured into becoming a coal miner from his dad, classmates, school administrators and people in his town. But the movie shows what happens when Homer was exposed to the space program which kindled a fire in him to build rockets. Everyone thought he was crazy except his math and science teacher, Freida Joy Riley. Against even the school principal’s advice, she helped expose Homer to resources where he could learn how to build rockets.  I won’t ruin the rest of it, but it’s a powerful true story and I encourage you to check it out. Even though Homer ended up going to college and got a BS in industrial engineering, (a great reason to go college) my point was that it all came about because of the exposure to the field and encouragement he received to pursue it.

I remember in grade school being told that I could do anything. I really believed it. But then I was told to get in line and join the slow 12-year march to college. There was no more dreaming, there was no exposure to the hundreds, even thousands of career choices that are available to pursue. Just prepare yourself for college I was told!

Kids are far more capable of finding their interests early in life than we give them credit for. This notion that they shouldn’t be exploring specific career paths or trades until late in high school or into college is foolishness. We say that every kid is different. We encourage them to explore different books, authors, colors, who they become friends with, what sports to play, music to listen to but not what type of work they would like to do.

People need encouragement

Where a person is at in their learning journey makes no difference. Everyone need encouragement as they navigate down the road of learning. This is especially the case when someone set’s out to learn a field of study or trade where they have no connections. When I was learning the appliance repair trade and business, I longed more than anything to be able to talk to someone else in the business and ask simple questions. But there was this weird protective vibe, almost like many of those in the business didn’t want to let me in on the secret of how lucrative the trade could be. So I learned on YouTube, various online forums and by trial and error, and it was such a lonely road without a mentor, teacher or community.

So what do you think it’s like for the millions of students out there when they are considering what field to go into or where they should learn? Nobody wants to be alone during such an important time. If you are a teacher, parent or mentor, be the one that encourages students that they can succeed outside of institutional paths.

I’m not against teachers

I’m not against teachers. My mother was an elementary school teacher, my sister and brother–in–law are teachers and I have relatives and many friends that are teachers. I love teachers, I just don’t love what is being taught. It grieves me that kids aren’t encouraged to find their unique passions and interests in real life jobs and occupations until their 20’s.  Students are unique, and will all end up in different occupations. Yet they are being told there is only one path that to leads to all occupations. It’s not true, and real lives are undergoing real consequences that can last for decades because of this herding of all students towards college.

Elementary, middle and high school teachers don’t get paid a lot of money, especially for the work they do and things they have to put up with. To top it off, schools are getting their funding cut all over the place, I believe because the education that is being given isn’t translating into real world results. So people pull their kids into private schools, charter schools or home school environments.

Additionally, could it be that because college is viewed as the place where students really learn how to make a living, they are the ones getting all the money?  Colleges and universities are getting 2-3x the amount of money per student as public, middle and high school students. I think that’s crazy. Middle and high school teachers are more than capable of helping their students learn job-ready skills, especially assisted by the online learning revolution that is taking place. Do this and you change the system, and possibly rescue it from collapse. Do this and you will make a life-changing impact to countless students. Just think of Freida Joy Riley and how she treated Homer as an individual and encouraged him to pursue his passion.

One more thing, please help crush the vocational snobbery that looks down on people that make and repair things, or have what is considered a dirty job. I grew up in the still non-politically correct years and had teachers making fun of plumbers and garbage truck drivers. It’s not a coincidence that we now have a massive shortage of workers for trade jobs like these. It’s also ironic that these trade jobs now make more money than many teachers with masters degrees. The shaming our culture took part in was very effective.

I’m not anti-college, but pro-student

Ryan Carson, Treehouse CEO says it very well. “I’m not anti-college, I’m just pro-student.”

There is a need for college when it clearly serves the student for their particular career path, and when everything for that student is taken into account. My Dad was a dentist, and I have a lot of friends in highly specialized and regulated fields. I get it.  But giving up 4-8 years of a one’s life, moving across the country and starting over and taking on enormous amounts of non-dischargeable debt is not what’s best for every student. Also, hyper-focusing on college graduates earning more than non-college graduates is not helpful. It’s saying that if you don’t go to college, you are going to end up poor. That’s not true. If you aren’t willing to keep learning and work hard you will most likely end up poor. Education in a high demand field is the key to earning a lot of money, not the location of where the education was received.

Students, take your education into your own hands.

First, a message to those in difficult living situations. If you are in a situation where you need to help provide for your family because a parent left, or died, or a family member is sick, or your mother has to work too many hours or too many jobs, our educational system is not much help for you. It’s up to you to learn in–demand skills or a trade, but you can do it! Spend some time thinking about what you are really interested in. Then, seek out someone in the field that you would like to get into to learn from and be encouraged by. Almost all online learning environments like Treehouse, Khan Academy, ApplianceSchool have built-in support structures where students can ask questions, share ideas and encourage one another. This will only increase. 

There are many people working tirelessly to change our educational system and the existing mindset that simply does not serve most students. But it’s going to take a while to turn the ship around, so I want to encourage you to take your education into your own hands. Educate yourself, set higher standards, higher goals for yourself years before others expect you to reach them!

Embrace online education

If you haven’t checked it out, go check out Khan Academy and get a glimpse of the resources available to elementary, middle and high school students. It’s really amazing. These people are working hard to create better, more accessible and more affordable resources available to everyone regardless of geographic location and career path. For example, for someone that is interested in learning web development or coding, Treehouse has 28 different tracks for students to choose from. I’ve started ApplianceSchool and so far have trained over 500 students the basics of appliance repair and have helped several dozen people start their own business, all over the internet. Structured resources and online schools are only going to increase. In the meantime, there are training materials on websites and videos on YouTube for every job and career you could ever imagine.

Why am I so confident that success can be achieved without a college education?

• I have other friends that are self-taught in various tech related fields that make very good livings, with some making over six figures. And we are just getting started. The era of the self and online taught coders is just beginning, but there are already tons of success stories. 

• Then there are apprenticeships that have been around since the beginning of time. There are a lot of trades that you can learn on your own to a certain point, but to get certain certifications and licenses you need to go through an apprenticeship. And they very effective and provide people excellent training and very good jobs at their conclusion. There is a big push right now to create 5 million apprenticeships which Nicholas Wyman writes about in his most recent article.