I don’t believe in college…

… but you should finish it anyway.

That is what I almost always use to say to my younger sisters. Don’t get me wrong I do believe that having a college degree will help you get started in life when you finally start looking for financial freedom. But what I actually mean is that a college degree is NOT required to be successful in life. Or in some cases for you to get a good source of income.

Allow me to raise some points regarding this:

1. A considerable chunk of the successful entrepreneurs of the Philippines (of the world for that matter) did NOT finish college. Famous tycoons like Bill Gates and Henry Sy are part of this popular line up.
2. Good grades does NOT guarantee good salaries or good living. I’ve seen of apparently smart ones from my college days, who happened to rake in the high scores in all of the exams, who are currently struggling in their careers. It’s not about being smart. It’s about being street smart!
3. If you are part of the IT industry, you will notice that almost, if not all, of the topics you studied in college are obsolete by the time you graduate. Like if you learn using HTML in class but the professor teaches about HTML4 by the time you graduated its not longer considered best practice to use HTML4.

Well enough of those, the real point of this post is Why you should finish college even I tell you that I don’t believe in it.

1. College teaches you discipline – Studying for some people (like me) does not come naturally to everyone. And the somewhat rigid structure of our education system will allow students to have the discipline to do their school work.
2. College teaches you public speaking – or atleast how to communicate your ideas to a group of people. This is important for almost anyone who wants to go into business. Speaking in public and relating to people is important for entrepreneurs.
3. College help you build your networks early – going to classes, participating in organizations with your college is actually the early stage of networking. You’re building your contacts for future endeavors. So while studying, start building those connections.
4. College teaches you how to handle difficult people – one the problems in the corporate world is that people within organizations even within departments do not always agree. And different personalities will always clash with other personalities. Bullies, Toxic people, user-friendly people all these are part of college life.

To sum it up, I believe that while college is being branded by some people as not necessary, I still believe in finishing it. Just dont take too long. Living and learning in the real world is better than staying in the classroom. But finishing college will allow you to be ready for it.