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As someone who grew up learning the importance of attending university or college and getting taught that it will be THE pathway to success and THE pathway to a financially stable and happy life, I know there are people out there that grew up being taught the same exact way…
AND I definitely know for sure that there are many people out there that realized that this is not true and in fact many of us had learned the same lesson…
The lesson being that going to university/college isn’t the ONLY pathway to success.
Growing Up With Parents Who Praised Uni/College:
I don’t know about you but growing up the talk about how important it is to go to university or college was the one thing that was being constantly mentioned. My father in particular was the one always bringing it up ever since I was a little girl. I didn’t even graduate from middle school yet and he was already bringing up university and college…
He would always say “you need to finish high school and go to university in order to get a good job so you don’t end up having money issues and end up being stressed like me”. As a kid I did agree with his understanding of life. I did agree with him that in order to live a financially stable and happy life, I HAVE to get a degree.
The crazy thing is, it wasn’t just my own parents that would make me feel like the only pathway to success was going to the best uni/college in town and getting that degree. It would be high school itself and the teachers that would make me and everybody else feel the pressure of making sure to pick a good school in order to be “successful”.
Attending post-secondary in general seemed like the most important thing in the world. As teens it made us feel like if we don’t get into uni/college we were less likely to succeed.
And those who dropped out of high school or post-secondary or those who didn’t attend uni/college AT ALL, people would judge those kids quite hard. There would be teachers, parents and other students who would speak about them in such disappointment.
Some would sadly even use those students as an example of what kind of kids we SHOULDN’T become.
My College Experience:
From being taught this ever since a kid, of course growing up my major goal in life was to get into a good university/college and graduate with a degree that will land me a job that will make me happy and financially stable and that was everyone else’s goal too.
It wasn’t till I started college that I started realizing that this wasn’t the only pathway to success. This wasn’t the thing that was going to make all your problems go away. This wasn’t the only solution to avoiding financial issues and un-happiness (which was the kind of impression we got as kids).
While being in college and seeing my other friends/classmates in university/college, a sad realization just started to hit everybody I feel…
In my own experience, I went to college for film and when leaving it was hard to find a job.
I talked a lot about why film school didn’t work out for me and why it wasn’t the degree for me in another post called “Lessons I’ve Learned In My Early 20’s” (you can go read that post to read more about my college experience).
But essentially it was a degree that was hard to get a job upon graduating.
Don’t get me wrong there were students that were able to get jobs in the film industry but there were also lots of students who didn’t. I would say only less than half of the graduating students are working in film right now.
Which was a sad realization for me because I thought this was IT for me, I definitely thought after finishing this chapter in my life that I was going to start my life that I dreamed of. The life I thought I would have a after finishing school. A life where I can buy a house and start a family.
However, that was just the impression I was given at a young age (you got to a good school and graduate and you will be just fine).
Having To Start A New Career Path Upon Graduating:
Those who weren’t able to get a job in film are either still working their a$$ off to find a job in the film industry, working a part-time job while looking for work in their degree or have completely moved on and started a new career path.
I myself had moved on from film like I previously already mentioned in my post called “Lessons I’ve Learned In My Early 20’s”.
Along with realizing that it was a job that was hard for me to get, I also lost my passion for film and putting those two together just really motivated me to find a new path.
(Not to mention, I went to a school that was the best when it came to studying film but that still didn’t make a difference in my resume).
With trying to start from scratch and having to search for a new passion, it was a very confusing and difficult place to be. However, all you can do is keep searching even if you’re not 100% sure.
At the end of the day we are never going to know 100% what we’re doing. We are not here to know it all and know everything and to not make any mistakes. Without mistakes, how will we learn and grow? How will we find our true path in life?
So even if you’re not 100% sure with a decision, go for it anyways. You will never know until you try.
That’s why after a year and a half of trying to find a new career path I stumbled upon a course in a private college where in 10 months I could be done. I wasn’t sure if this was the right path for me but I knew that I needed to find something that I can do instead of sitting at home doing nothing during a pandemic.
I started the program within the next few weeks and now I have a job that is entirely new for me. I had to learn a bunch of new skills but I do have a job now that works for me. In addition, I got a job in my field of study before even finishing school.
I may not have been 100% sure if this was the right move at the very beginning but man am I glad that I gave it a shot because this was a job I didn’t think I was smart enough for.
If I had stopped my self from fear, I would have not been able to prove my self wrong.
However, it’s important for me to mention that I still have times where I doubt what I am doing in my life but like I said, we’re never going to be 100% sure anyways so why not just enjoy the present and be grateful. I am grateful to be in a better place than I was.
All you can do is to keep doing better than the last time and to become a even better person than you were.
The Sad Realization For Others:
While going through my own experience with college, I can’t help but think “does everyone else think the same way about uni/college?”.
I know that I now have my own understanding of post-secondary and that it’s not the only pathway to success and that no matter what school you go to, it doesn’t determine your success.
For example, my old classmates from high school, I seen lots of them graduate from their degrees but I don’t think there was one I seen that was working a job in their field of study. Most are working min wage jobs, nothing wrong with that but imagine working so hard for that degree you were being pushed to achieve to not even be able to get a job from it…
Imagine everyone telling you that after you secure that degree things will be fine but it ends up not being that way. There are people that graduated from uni/college and 5-10 years later, after attempting to find a job a numerous amount of times they still cant get a job in their field (I am not saying this is how it is for everybody but there is a good number of people that experienced or are experiencing this).
Also an important thing to mention is that these were kids who went to the top ranked universities where I live. They all got into the best universities.
I use to feel like sh*t because I didn’t have the grades for those universities, let alone the grades for the most well known universities. I was only capable of getting into colleges and where I live, you are considered more intelligent and successful for getting into a university.
I remember teachers and guidance councillors making it seem like the name of what school you go to will matter on your resume. If an employer was to look at your resume upon graduating and they saw “Yale University” then automatically they will hire you.
NO! That’t not the case!
As someone who went to two completely different colleges, I can say that this is very un-true and I’m not only saying this from my own experience, everyone around me can agree with me…
It doesn’t matter how popular the school is, if it’s a university or a college, if it’s a private college or a more popular college, this doesn’t affect your future!
If you graduate from a degree that is high in demand at that very moment, you will most likely get a job. It’s not going to matter what school you went to and how much money you paid to get that degree. If they need you, they will hire you.
If you are a graduate from nursing school and a hospital is in desperate need to hire nurses, the hiring manager is not going to focus on what school you went to. If they are in desperate need they will hire you.
But those with degrees such as maybe in creative arts, they are going to have a much harder time finding jobs. They have to know the right people and sell themselves to be able to find a job. It’s not a job that you can get instantly upon graduation because simply the job market for creative people is very low and it’s not in demand.
For example, when I went to school for film, it was a 3 year program. After finishing, it was very hard to find a permanent job that paid. I had to do a lot of work for free just to build a portfolio and just to build connections.
This was a school that was popular and a school that was the best when it came to studying film but people still snuggled to get hired.
Those who got a job working in film, majority of them got a job because even before they attended film school, they already had some experience and a huge portfolio to show.
Some also got job offers from just knowing the right people and already having connections prior to going to film school.
However, a year and a half later when I went to school at a private college that NO ONE knows about where you finish courses much faster…
I was able to get a job before even graduating because of the fact the kind of job I was studying is high in demand.
So what I’m trying to say is that the kind of school you go to doesn’t matter. It all depends on what degree you’re going to study and where you live.
Everything works differently around the world.
But don’t let people make you believe that you have to spend thousands of dollars and work your a$$ off for many years to get accepted into a “well-known” school because that won’t make a difference in your future.
It all depends on what you want to study. If you want to work in the film industry or anything creative then do it. I am not saying you shouldn’t pursue these kinds of careers. You still can but you don’t necessarily need a degree to help you get a job. Just work on building your portfolio and making connections.
Careers such as nursing, law school, med school, policing etc… yes of course go get that degree. Go to school and learn as much as you can. But there’s no need to spend more money and there’s no need to work extra hard to be able to get into a “popular” and more expensive school. You will learn the same concept and the same things at any other school.
Every school has the same end goal, to teach students. Why go the extra mile to get into the best school in town when it’s not like they are going to be teaching you some top secret information. They will be teaching you the same kind information as any other school, as a school that is less known and less expensive.
Successful People Are Not Only Uni/College Grads:
With everything I said about which school you go to doesn’t determine your success.
Another important thing to mention is those who didn’t attend post-secondary at all.
I feel like some people shouldn’t feel like absolute sh*t for not being accepted into any post-secondary school’s or for choosing not to go.
If you didn’t attend post-secondary, this does not necessarily mean you have no future and that you have no chance of becoming something great. You still have a chance to be somebody you want to be and you still have a chance to find something that is for you that you don’t necessarily need to go to school for.
For example, business owners are the best example for this.
In today’s society especially after the pandemic happened, A LOT of small businesses started. Businesses that started from people’s homes and then later turned it into something much bigger.
My mom’s friend starting baking a lot during the pandemic and then later on started to bake for her friends and family, it had then reached a point where they started to request more and more of it and so she started delivering to their homes.
It all started out of love and for free but soon enough the word about her name and her baked goods started to spread. Now it’s to a point where she has created a living out of something she simply enjoyed doing and it’s from the comfort of her own home.
This wasn’t something she took years of schooling for. This wasn’t something she paid thousands to learn. This wasn’t something she went to school for period.
She just sold herself and her talent. She made connections and a list of customers from starting with family first.
What I am trying to say is that there’s always a way and there’s not only one way to success even if at times that’s how it feels.
We Are All Just Trying To Figure It Out:
And so to end today’s post, I just want everyone to feel much better of where they are at in their lives right now.
So many of us just feel constantly pressured into doing things that people think is best for us when we’re the ones that know’s what’s best when it comes to what we want.
We all have different goals in life and we all have different perspectives of what a happy and successful life looks like.
If we always look at life the way others see it then we will always live our life trying to impress them and trying to achieve goals that are not ours but THEIRS.
You just need to find out what you want to achieve in YOUR life, what kind of goals do YOU want to achieve and ask yourself what does a happy and successful life look like to YOU because after you give yourself your most truest answer then it’s time to go after that life you want.
It’s also important to not feel bad if you haven’t figured out the answer yet. Not everyone is going to have the answer at that very second you ask yourself the question. Most likely you will just have to let things happen and experience many different things to find out what you really want.
All of us are going through the same battle of finding our path so don’t ever feel lonely.
Don’t ever feel like others have it all put together because we are all just acting like we do.
We are all just trying to grow and become better.
