I Challenged the “Norm” and Skipped College
After graduating high school a year and a half early, I made an unpopular choice to skip college.
My choice to challenge the “norm” and skip college was pretty unpopular among some people, but here is where I’ve gone only 18 months later.
- I have no debt.
- I have worked incredible jobs.
- I have kick started my career years before my peers.
Debt-free
You heard me, I have absolutely no debt. All the income I make goes straight to me (minus taxes of course).
The average American student loan debt is about $39,351. That means, paying $393 per month for 100 months! For me, this means an extra $91.70 that I save per week.
I didn’t choose to skip college simply to be debt-free. I did however realize that college was not worth the money I would be spending.
If you have a career plan such as lawyer or doctor, by all means, go to college. I believe that in this day and age, college is simply the “next step” for a lot of graduates.
Job experience
Since graduation, I have worked some incredible jobs and learned more than college could ever teach me about business.
Instead of college, I looked for alternative forms of education such as Praxis, real-life experience, apprenticeships, and lots and lots of reading.
Greg Mckeown said, “While non-essentialists tend to force execution, Essentialists invest the time they have saved by eliminating the nonessentials into designing a system to make execution most effortless”.
Career kickstart
Yes, I am just starting but I have a pretty stacked resume for being an 18-year-old college skipper. I’ve had the opportunity to take point with some incredible projects, worked as the head of marketing, managed an entire business and so much more.
Deciding after high school to take control of my life, enabled me to become an individual thinker. I have had the opportunity to do amazing things like start my own business because I am not afraid of a challenge.
In conclusion
In this post, I don’t mean to rip on college and say that it is unimportant. I do, however, think that college is just the “next step” for some.
How many people went to college, are in lots of debt, and now aren’t even working in the field they were schooled in?
If I was able to challenge the norm, so will you. Take control of your life. Dare to do something out of the ordinary.
“If you don’t prioritize your life someone else will” -Greg Mckeown
