Getting a good paying job without a degree/certification: autodidacts

[marioh]

IT is a field where plenty of folks are doing well without degrees, particularly those who are tech savvy.

 

[Fatchops]

IT is a field where plenty of folks are doing well without degrees, particularly those who are tech savvy.

This is why I love the IT field. They care about skills, not what college you drank beer at for 4 years.

 

[Lubaolong]

It really depend on the field. You wouldn't like someone to operate and open you up without knowing at least on paper that the surgeon is qualified.

Medical education is basically paying a school $200-350k to self-study and take tests for a few years before applying to residency, which is where you actually learn how to practice medicine. Medical schools could be completely eliminated. People could self-study to pass licensing exams and then do an apprenticeship.

 

[MadSquabbles500]

My ole man came to this country with no education, worked in restaurants, and started buying real estate. He now a multi millionaire.

He had no education. He always rubs that in my face. We got into fistfights over it. He is ashamed of me for not achieving his status, and I remind him, that it all has to do with the time and era. What he did is simply not achievable nowadays. I could never buy Manhattan real estate if all I did is work in restaurants. Nowadays you have to have money to make money.

 

[facePuncher7]

I'm a high school drop out. I remember so little of high school that I'm not sure if it was year 10 or 11 that I dropped out.

I'd taught myself visual basic by the time I was dropping out of school, learners on the job as a surveyors assistant too, now at 30 I develop software for a spatial data company which combines my 2 skills. I get paid pretty good.

 

[facePuncher7]

PS I run somewhat successful game development and boxing businesses too. They're both very (VERY) part time at the moment though as I'm in the office 10 hours a day.

 

[bushman505]

PS I run somewhat successful game development and boxing businesses too. They're both very (VERY) part time at the moment though as I'm in the office 10 hours a day.

If you had a degree, you'd be making more $$$ while working fewer hours.

 

[WebAlchemist]

I'm a high school drop out but my current title is lead software engineer, most of my co workers are also drop outs and the one that actually has a degree, says it was a waste of time.
As he put it, in those 4 years if you only did the school work, you would have only logged in about 500 hours of actual coding (which is nothing) and the rest is a bunch of random stuff you don't need or ever use.

Another industry that doesn't require a diploma is anything to do with art, i started drawing and digitally painting 2 years ago, just as a hobby, but have managed to get a lot of freelance work doing concept art and some short animations, i have never taken a day of art class in my life. Same as IT they only care if you can do the work or not, they dont give 2 shits where you learned it.

So unless you want to be a lawyer or a doc , the internet has everything you need bro.

 

[Jack Reacheround]

Let's make something clear that people here don't seem to understand. Yes, you can make money without going to college. Hell, you can make money without even attending elementary school as long as you learn whatever skills are necessary to do whatever job it is you are doing. You don't even have to know how to read.

But you are more likely to make more money if you go to college. Sure, there will be some people who go to college that make less than someone who only has a high school education. It just is not typical.

And the entire point of education, especially a higher education, is not to make more money. Getting your phd in economics actually has a negative return on investement. You get an education for other reasons than just money, like knowing things, and knowing how to make more informed decisions in all aspects of life, not just how many boxes of pepperoni you need to restock the walk-in.

 

[Bme26]

I know two...

A family friend who made it big in real estate in his twenties. He's now the owner of his own company and doing really well. Though, in between the time he was in real estate and now owning his own company, he worked in the banking sector in some pretty high up positions. No degree or anything. Two things he had a lot of though, savyness and cojones.

Second is my bestfriends sister. She didn't even graduate high school (later went for her GED), but now she's a VP for JP Morgan. Mind you, she comes from a family of number savy, business minded people, but I have no idea how she hustled her way to the top like she did. I know part is because she's attractive and also pretty smart, but in the midst of all the competition she was probably facing, I give her all the credit in the world.

Funny is both of them are in the same social circle, yet I've known them both for a long time in two totally different ways. I guess success attracts success.

 

[Lubaolong]

You get an education for other reasons than just money, like knowing things, and knowing how to make more informed decisions in all aspects of life, not just how many boxes of pepperoni you need to restock the walk-in.

You don't have to pay $100k to sit in a seat and have a TA read to you off power points for 4 years to get an education.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

I am also a highschool drop out - modded this place TWICE. Not bad for a national statistic.

 

[liljoe]

Thanks Sodapop. Variations of this thread turn up every few weeks.
Yes, a formal education is not needed to make great money and you can learn anything on your own by self study, reading books, etc.
However, having a degree provides more opportunities and puts you in a advantageous position when job hunting.
Also, in this society there are fields that are impossible without formal education. Doctors, research scientists, engineering, corporate lawyers and professional accounting/finance cannot be done without going to college.

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

Those who have the will, will find a way.
I have zero college education, dropped out of HS too, but taught myself the skills needed for a high paying job in the tech industry. It can happen if you push yourself, and sacrifice.

I'm a high school drop out. I remember so little of high school that I'm not sure if it was year 10 or 11 that I dropped out.

I'd taught myself visual basic by the time I was dropping out of school, learners on the job as a surveyors assistant too, now at 30 I develop software for a spatial data company which combines my 2 skills. I get paid pretty good.

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

Degrees are for the most part used by employers as a tool to vet out candidates (unless it is a specialized degree)

It is possible to obtain a higher income without one; but again, that falls into the area of possible -- not probable

 

[bubbleboyjones]

This company flies him out there. His interview was some program code written on a dry erase board.
That program was currently running on the computer. There was an intentional error on the board. he had to fix it on the board as well as fix it on the computer.

He does the task and they offer him the job. He was alittle stunned asking if they where going to talk about his resume that he had originally sent to them. They said it didn't really matter. He asked "what if I was just some kid who knew programming, didn't attend college, and still was able to fix the issue?"

They said, "we would have hired him".

Anyone have similar stories of not taking a formalized education route but still getting a degree in a field where most would think you'd need a degree?

Usually you won't get past HR at any larger company. The older and more established the tighter they are. I can see this working sometimes in smaller start up type operations. That said the only people I know who got around this at a larger company was to get hired within and then eventually get into a position where they could interview internally for it.

 

[bubbleboyjones]

My ole man came to this country with no education, worked in restaurants, and started buying real estate. He now a multi millionaire.

He had no education. He always rubs that in my face. We got into fistfights over it. He is ashamed of me for not achieving his status, and I remind him, that it all has to do with the time and era. What he did is simply not achievable nowadays. I could never buy Manhattan real estate if all I did is work in restaurants. Nowadays you have to have money to make money.

If you didn't meet his standards it sounds like your father failed as a parent. He shouldn't be rubbing anything in anyones faces. It a reflection of himself.

 

[MC Paul Barman]

Let's make something clear that people here don't seem to understand. Yes, you can make money without going to college. Hell, you can make money without even attending elementary school as long as you learn whatever skills are necessary to do whatever job it is you are doing. You don't even have to know how to read.

But you are more likely to make more money if you go to college. Sure, there will be some people who go to college that make less than someone who only has a high school education. It just is not typical.

And the entire point of education, especially a higher education, is not to make more money. Getting your phd in economics actually has a negative return on investement. You get an education for other reasons than just money, like knowing things, and knowing how to make more informed decisions in all aspects of life, not just how many boxes of pepperoni you need to restock the walk-in.

You're conflating education and schooling.

 

[coopdro]

As someone who never finished college, I'm living proof that you can do quite well for yourself without a degree if you're willing to put the work in and get outside of your comfort zone.

I do have upwards of 10 IT certifications at this point, but I landed my first engineering role about 7 years ago with only a year of experience. I proved I was able to do the work and grasp concepts of various architectures with regards to high end compute devices and peripherals.

I was born into low-income housing and now own my own house in a significantly affluent part of St. Louis. Even without a degree and not going into management, I should probably hit around $120-150k/annually in the next 5 years provided I don't screw the pooch.

 

[Oblivian]

Given two applicants, one with an IQ of 100 and a college diploma and the other with a 150 IQ and no degree, the employer will prefer the former in most cases. Everyone has been fooled by academia into thinking that intelligence and ability equates to a piece of paper, when in fact, what's most important is one's innate capacity that's independent of formal training and credentials.

When I first parted ways with academia, I feared this would hurt my chances of making a good living. Luckily, I was finally able to find ways to test out of everything after studying the material on my own. I was able to find a number of high paying jobs, ran some successful businesses, and eventually made use of my 4-month rinky-dink diploma to get into medicine (which is also basically all self-study).

One of the biggest aspects to get hired at our job is the outdated Wonderlic test. We've had several college graduates who score 20 or below. Some of the simple math they fuck up is ridiculous. I have a love/hate relationship with that test. It just seems really dated as our owner has used the same one for 30 years, but I will say that all of the high scorers have turned out to be very easily trainable and good independent workers. The mediocre scorers have been able to catch on, just more slowly and they still need guidance quite often.