Today, we live in a world where college is necessary in order to get a good job, a decent salary, and support a happy family. College is a necessary box that needs to be marked off on the checklist of life. The real question is, does college really help you? I think yes, it does, but maybe not in the traditional sense. Here’s what I mean.
I talk to countless successful professionals who all say the same thing, “I went to college and graduated with a major that doesn’t apply to the job that I hold today.” This idea struck me as intriguing and a bit odd, but then I realized that it wasn’t odd at all. This statement in actuality is the norm. No offense to the professors but the material presented and learned in classes are not essential to doing well in the workplace. No longer do people have to be ‘book smart’ alone, it is equally if not more important to be clever and smart socially. Today’s world consists of social media and constant internet access. People need to have developed impeccable social and technological skills in order to succeed on the corporate playing field. The job hunt and workforce is merely a game that people need to learn how to play. College teaches you the rules of the game and how to win.
College teaches independence as well as social skills. It teaches how to get the job done effectively yet efficiently. Lastly, it teaches control versus freedom. All of these are elements that you need in the workplace. At college, you have to learn to live on your own, which is extremely important. Independence is what sets people apart. Confidence and self-understanding grow from healthy independence. That being said, social skills are equally important. In college you learn to get help from others when you need it, you learn to collaborate, and you learn to build relationships. This is arguably one of the most important skills in today's world, and one of the most important life skills gleaned from college. Next, college teaches you when you need to lay low and mind your responsibilities. You learn to say no and get your work done. Other times it is important to take risks and have fun. This is also important in a corporate setting: you need to know when to go with a big idea and do something out of the box and when to sit back and do as you are told. Put the same focus on the experience of college as the content of your textbooks. Don’t stress out if you think you aren’t in the right major for you, or if you can’t recall that extraneous statistic for your exam. At the end of the day, the books, exams, and lectures won’t matter as much as how you grow and learn from these experiences. College is necessary in order to get a job but primarily because of the skills you learn, not the facts you study.
