Β π #Discussion #LifeWithoutADegree π
Hey there! π Have you ever wondered what people without a degree do to succeed in life? π€ Whether you didn’t finish college or you’re still working towards your degree, there are plenty of ways to achieve your goals without a formal education. Let’s discuss some thoughts and experiences on this topic!
Here are some things people without a degree do to make it in the world:
– Networking: Building relationships and connections can open doors to job opportunities.
– Skill development: Taking courses, workshops, and gaining hands-on experience in your field of interest.
– Entrepreneurship: Starting your own business or freelancing in your area of expertise.
– Persistence: Never giving up on your dreams and continuously working towards your goals.
Share your thoughts on how you managed to find success without a degree or what you are currently doing to achieve your dreams! Let’s inspire each other with our unique journeys and maybe even discover new strategies to help others in similar situations. π #SuccessStories #CareerGoals
Not pay student loans.
I have multiple degrees and honestly the best thing I got from it was learning how to think. Not the information I memorized.
Some with degrees find themselves in the same jobs as those without degrees.
I have a bachelors in video and sound technology and I currently work in a warehouse π₯²
Technician for a CPU manufacturer. The job takes either a degree in a related field or 2 years experience in manufacturing (how I got hired). If you don’t have either of those then you can work for a contractor ( a temp agency type company that my company uses. Work for them and it’s a easy way in to the Technician role. Starts at 65k with amazing benefits. A bunch of room to grow and the company will even pay for you to go to school (as long as it’s a degree they can use). I’m looking at going back to school sometimes this year for engineering on my companies dime.
Become househusbands in my case
Lots of hustle, networking, and proving my skills on the job.
I have some friends that never went to college and they do well. One friend manages a hotel and travels a lot. My best friend from high school works in childcare, she did get some certification but it is not a degree and it only took a few days, and before this she did retail. And my most successful friend, if we’re just going by finances, is a car salesman. He makes a lot of money and is the only person I know around our age who owns a house. My fiance doesn’t have a degree and he does one on one support with special needs children in elementary schools. Before that he was a caretaker for elderly patients with dementia. I don’t think having a degree is necessary to get a decent job. I have a degree and I’m a receptionist in an unrelated field. None of my friends are rich or anything we all grew up broke haha….
I’m a licensed boiler operator at my local paper mill. I’m currently taking practice tests at my job as I write this to take the test for the next class license later this week.
If I pass the test, I’ll get a raise and I will be able to work at any power plant in the U.S (including nuclear.)
Iβve been a Machinist for 18 years. Started out in a vocational/technical high school then finished a 3 year apprenticeship program. Currently Iβm working for a large technical ceramics and semiconductor equipment manufacturer. Long hours getting oily and grungy doing a job that most people donβt know exists but it pays the bills and has provided a decent living for most of my adult life.
My family doesn’t have education. We made it through by trades and the railway.
I make anywhere from 130 to 160k a year as a locomotive engineer. Hired off the street, high school education.
Worked admin/cust service role for a book publisher till I was 25. Was getting groomed for working way to supervisor and then higher management.
Bored the life out of me and didn’t wanna do higher education. Decided to save for 6 months and go travelling. Ended up in Australia for a year, met a girl and moved to Berlin for a year, went back to Australia after for another year, came back home for 5 months, went to New Zealand for one year, met another girl from USA, we travelled together to Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Belgium, Netherlands, France and then USA. Went back to New Zealand and got sponsored as. project coordinator for an Engineering firm (no engineering involved) and then eventually got residency to live in New Zealand permanently.
I was working in between all those trips by the way to fund them, various farm, labouring and office jobs. I don’t come from a rich family.
I’m 38 now and still working for same company and setting up a side hustle selling boxing and MMA equipment.
Did ok for a guy from a small working class town with only GCSEs and humble family upbringing
So many things. Almost all what people with degree can.
90% of the jobs I would say.
Iβm a pipefitter working for the federal government. Worked from bottom up. So worth and no student loan debt
I do a lot of volunteering and courses in my free time to bolster my resume. Anything you do that develops knowledge and transferable skills is attractive to employers – especially when you’ve clearly done it on your own initiative. Moreover, volunteering is a benefit in itself!
to all the people who share their experience and opinions, I appreciated it.
We are starting to see more and more people with higher education working low entry level jobs or jobs in a completely different field.
Higher education was needed 20-30 years ago in order to get the good jobs. Times are changing
Letβs first talk about what the degree jobs are like. Itβs the age of information overload. To get most jobs degrees have become necessary, but not sufficient. People keep on doing certifications and license courses all their lives to keep the jobs. The underlying system that drives most jobs is getting thrown into the deeper ends of complexity and things surrounding them evolves everyday. To catch up you need to be updated with everything thatβs driving them and everything thatβs evolving. To be honest thereβs no win there. You may earn a lot of money, but your stress levels would skyrocket and sometimes you sacrifice personal life to get things done due to the complex nature of it.
On the other hand people without degrees end up in trade school and learn how to fix a few things, be a part of construction crew, start a plumbing business. There are people who have stared driving schools and they are winning. Itβs a business that grows and usually you work in partnership with other driving instructors. Another thing I can think of is to learn how to fix computers and other electronics like phones and stuff and open your own shop. You work for yourself and in your own time. I have known people who have bought 2 houses in 5 years and working on the third just by fixing the broken electronics. They seem relatively happy with their work, less stressed and earn much more than most degree owners I know.
Sales
Garbage Truck Driver. I do pretty decent in life. My wife is a Registered Nurse so she does very well when she combines our incomes.
We both have pretty flexible jobs. We both get 3 day weekends almost every week. That’s where our quality of life really comes into play.
I manage a team of software engineers
Deaf felon without a degree.
Make 6 figures estimating utility scale solar projects
I got a trade . If you can work with your hands and your head big bucks await. My plumber friend has a Porsche. My buddy that does x -ray inspection on pipelines made 120$ hour on OT Sunday. 2nd year apprentice electricians start at 55$/hour. .
Iβm a little unique. Tried college right out of high school to be an English teacher and immediately realized that wasnβt my future. Dropped out for a couple years. Went to a Film school. Ended up dropping out as well due to financial issues; I did, however, make enough connections to get a job in the film industry, so college had accomplished that. Then, after two years of 16 hour days in the October rain, decided that wasnβt for me either and returned to bartending.
Some 10+ years later I was fortunate enough that a close friend said their as agency was hiring. Iβve been doing that for a while. Iβm in the final stages of getting a job and elsewhere in this industry for a nice pay raise. I was in a medium-sized city but have been in NYC for a few years now.
Less and less careers require a degree for associates, so that societal shift is on our side. Once I got into the interview process I talked about the financial shortcomings, and how what I studied got me a job anyway; then, my resume shows managerial experience and self-starting in that I taught myself how to code and make my own mobile app; and that Iβm willing to take a pay cut from bartending to establish a career at the bottom of the ladder.
tl;dr: Ad Agency, Hospitality, Movies. Self-Taught coders seem to be on the decline unless youβve got really good work.
Truck Driver.
Just need a commercial drivers license. Most trucking companies will pay for you to go to school.
My partner didn’t finish his bachelor’s degree. He is a full time firefighter and he loves it.
I grew up poor on one of the worst council estates in the UK. I ended up working as a receptionist and grew through the ranks, eventually working in UX & web development for a large company in Amsterdam. After 10 years, I realised I didn’t enjoy it anymore, so I quit and went travelling. Had some crazy experiences. Ended up in Australia and got a gig as a Runner on a film. One gig led to another and now I’ve worked as a Set Dresser and Assistant Director for shows on Netflix and other big production companies…. Now I’ve quit that and I’m a registered Disability Support Worker ….. The world is your oyster! You just have to have a little audacity in the belief that you are capable of anything (except maybe like… brain surgery… please don’t do that unqualified π€ͺ)
*EDIT: Just wanted to list clearly for you the industries that I worked in that don’t require a degree:*
* *Film & Television Production and Art Department*
* *Digital Marketing*
* *Tourism*
* *Admin*
* *Farm Work*
* *Teaching English as a Second Language (if you’re a native speaker)*
* *Aged Care & Disability Support Worker*
I’ve found most employers value work experience over a degree. Also, we find jobs the same way you do.
Got my job with no degree although I am taking courses now. I make 160k plus benefits, bonus plus stock options. I took a 2 month temp job about 13-14 years ago and worked my ass off which led to a full time role. From there I have moved up through experience over time. My current job my boss said the recruiter had placed me in the No pile automatically cause of my no degree but when they werenβt happy with their Yes pile he asked to look through some of the Noβs and I was one of them. Iβm lucky he didnβt like any of the Yes people, and that he cared more about my experience and interview presentation than my lack of degree but it is a huge hurdle to overcome. Which is why Iβm getting my degree now.
Dropped out of a degree in Hydrology half way to become a Diesel mechanic. No degree. I eventually did online classes and certificates over the years. Overtime is optional. My current shop recruited me during Covid. They gave me a 10k bonus. And they pay for my kids college. I also do side work when I want 120 hr is my rate. Tax free. I live in the Burbs and have nice cars and take X2 big vacations a year.
Sales. I started at another company cold calling making +300 calls a day. We broke off about four years ago to form our own company. I now run the day to day of new company and make about $200,000.
Learn how to sell and how to lead people (a lot of overlap between these two skills.) Itβs a talent that you can utilize regardless of where you go in life.
Take risks. Without risk there is little upside for reward.
Also, befriend and surround yourself with the right people. Find the people that are where you want to be. Talk to them and ask questions on how they got there, then actually take action and do what they did/do. Copy others. Iβm no genius, I just listened to others and copied what they did