Can people who don't have a Degree or have the intelligence to gain one be successful?

[UrbanMan27]

Hi,

Im just wondering does not having a Degree or having high enough intelligence to get one make you a failure? As I feel like Society makes people feel without a Degree like a failure and that they'll be working jobs and not having a career in such jobs as working on minimum wage or just above for the rest of their lives.

What's your thoughts?

I have a degree, have still not figured out what I want to do, and earn below average salary. Richard Branson doesn’t have a degree. So, no.

It depends. A medical degree from Oxford is very different from a degree in media studies from a low rent polytechnic. Too many are encouraged to go to uni now it’s all about the money not how they will get by in real life.

Of course.
The most successful people are not the most intelligent ones, it's the ones that are the most adaptable. If you can adapt to whatever life throws at you, you will be successful.

You need to be intelligent to be successful, but that doesn't mean you need a degree. There's plenty of intelligent people who aren't academic.

Absolutely not!

Interesting question. As a lawyer I have lots of very successful clients. Mostly they are very bright, academically or otherwise. The ones who genuinely are pretty dim (which includes some university educated ones) tend to be big personalities and good at delegating.

I know a few successful people without degrees. They're all intelligent and are driven. Some worked their way up the ranks in different industries, others run their own businesses. One has an advantage of being bilingual so used that as a career path.

Having a degree doesn't make you clever or wise op

My son has hiss own building company - no degree, did an apprenticeship. My DH is at the highest level in his insurance company - no degree. Both get paid a huge amount more than DD and I who do have degrees.

Really? You’d employ somebody with a 2:1 in history from University of Gloucestershire, or University of Chester, over somebody with a 2:1 in history from Cambridge, because you think the person with EEE at A level worked harder than the person who got into Cambridge?? Okay… the people I knew who got EEE and went to a low-ranked uni did so because they dossed about, but suit yourself.

There are lots of educated fools. My husband doesn’t have a degree and is one of the most intelligent men I’ve ever met. He’s the only man I ever dated who didn’t go to university. Too many people are going to university now for it to held in the same regard as it did 25/30 years ago. It’s not exactly difficult to get in especially when you’re paying.

John Major managed to get to be thee most important man in the country with just a handful of O Levels.

How do you measure success? Wealth, money, property , monthly income, money in the bank ??

How does one know they don't have the intelligence to get one?

Learning is mostly practice and persistent.

Bill gates was invited to speak to students at the Ivy League college he attended briefly. Asked what was the best way to end up as CEO of a trail blazing company, his answer was "drop out of college now ".

Of course people who haven't attended university can be successful - how ever you care to define success

There are successful people without degrees, of course there are. But I still think a degree is a massive advantage compared to not having a degree , as long as it is in a useful subject, that the market needs. It kind of opens doors more easily for you, if you know what I mean.

Are you measuring success by dollar only?
Then easy yes you can earn big dollar without a degree.

The idea that a person with a 2.1 in history from an ex-poly must by default have worked harder than someone with a 2.1 in history from Cambridge is laughable. It is far more likely to be the other way round. There are very few people at Cambridge who haven't worked their arses off to be there, and those that haven't would normally be in subjects you get complete geniuses in, like maths (and even then it's rare).

That said: of course you don't need a degree to be 'a success'. I would say (as has a previous poster) that people who are very successful in their careers tend to be pretty switched on and I rarely meet someone who I feel would have lacked the intelligence to do a degree, and when I do it's because they have a personality type which means people gravitate to them and want to help and support them.

The successful tradespeople mentioned will be intelligent or they wouldn't manage the cost estimate/financial side of their businesses. You can be a great plumber, but if you can't work out how to price a job then you won't be 'successful' (if, which I dispute, money=success).

Academic standards aren't the only measure of intelligence.

This obsession/need for degrees is a relatively recent thing (did it start with the Blair Government?).
It used to be that only the top 5 or 10% of people went to university, there were also technical colleges but it wasn't considered necessary for most jobs.
I went into banking at a time when the entry requirement was four O Levels. Now, a lot of the jobs want a degree.
I'm not sure that a lot of this isn't a money making exercise.

I don’t t think it’s as easy now as it was when we were starting out in the late 70s/early 80s.

I have a degree, most in my industry do; my very successful manager does not. I only know this as we’re friends and originally worked together years ago early on in our careers.

No one talks about their degree experience (or not) day-to-day, not sure anyone would be interested, it’s where you are now that matters. Common sense, and an ability to pick things up and make smart decisions has to be present whether you have a degree or not, and that doesn’t always automatically present in graduates.

Not really, I got a "top" degree through a reduced offer. I was from a low income and a teen parent. I'm sure there are also middle class privileged people who go to less ranked universities because they missed Cambridge.

The idea of just assuming someone worked harder because they attend a low ranking university is beyond silly. So many people from challenging and low income backgrounds get into the top universities.

I think that many of the highest paid people don't have 'academic/intellectual cleverness' but unless you are very lucky indeed you still need to be clever and you still need to work hard. Perseverance and resilience are worth as much as ( or more than) intellectual ability imo.
Music, performance, tradespeople, top flight sports, entrepreneurs, business owners, IT (niche skills), can pay very well.