They say “education is the key to success”, but in my experience, I started having doubts about that statement from what I have seen and been through in life. Don’t misunderstand me, I appreciate education so much i myself i am stillnin school. It’s just that, in today’s economy, a degree no longer assures us the life we want. I’ve watched people spend years earning degrees, some even going through to master’s degrees or Ph. D. programs only to find themselves having a hard time landing a decent job.
Some of them land in jobs that are nowhere near their field of study, and it’s hard to see. These are folks who worked their asses off, but the payoff is something that they didn’t get what they deserved, or hoped to achieve. Let’s take a friend of mine, for example. One of the smartest and hardest working people I know, she graduated with honors in engineering. And all that work still couldn’t get her a job in her field, forcing her to pivot into a whole different industry to survive.
On the one hand, I know someone who went to college. Instead, they learned graphic design and coding online, and now they’re making a lot better money than most degree holders I know. It made me pause: What has changed? What is success, really? As I have come to realize, it’s so much more than just education or grades. Being successful today takes skills, contacts, and, quite frankly, a bit of luck.
The world has changed, and what worked a generation ago may no longer be sufficient today. Employers aren’t seeking credentials alone they want individuals who can think through layers, resolve issues and navigate change. Those are hardly things you find out in a classroom. Don’t get me wrong education matters.
It’s a base line, but not all that there is to make someone succeed in this life. And I believe we must redefine success. It isn’t solely a function of degrees or titles. It’s finding what you’re naturally totally good at, finding what you’re passionate about, and developing that further. I’ve learned that flexibility, curiosity and a willingness to continue learning in school and out of it are just as critical.
So when I hear, “Education is the key to success,” I want to shout, “Of course, but it’s not the only key.” We require more than a good education in the contemporary world. Life has a way of throwing more curveballs at us than we are prepared and that's why we need require creativity, adaptability and resilience. At least, that’s what my experiences have educated me to believe.