Do You Need a Degree to Succeed in Life? No, You Need Passion.
It’s easy to say. I have a Master’s degree from a good university. However, I don’t work on that field, and it didn’t help me in any way to achieve my current position or entering the field I’m in now.
For me, having a Master’s degree was very important to me for different reasons. It had been a lifelong goal for me that I had failed once. I changed the field, university and country (twice) to get my Bachelor’s and Master’s and I did it in 3,5 years, and I felt good. In that way, it was important. I also achieved a lot. I made connections, I learned, and I got to experience. It all comes back to one thing; what is important to you.
Depending on what is your goal, plan or field, you must make your own decisions. It is important to understand that a fancy degree with possible massive student loans doesn’t guarantee a good job or opportunities.
Let’s say you want to be a medical doctor, teacher or engineer; you need to have proof that you can do your job. Although, in some cases, even a teacher and engineer can be debatable.
What are the ways then to get knowledge and experience?
- Startup companies
Startups are companies or projects founded by a person or group to develop their idea and have a goal to become much bigger. There are different size of startups, but younger, they are more possibilities they offer. They are hands-on companies where everyone does everything. They might not offer you the biggest salaries at first, but you have a possibility to learn, show your talent and build things by yourself.
Startups also grow, and you might be able to find a company that is already grown a bit and offers more stability.
Don’t be afraid of startups if you are not an IT person. They need much more talents than IT. They need accounting, lawyers, customer support, marketing, copywriters, or any specialists in their field. There might be an educational software that a company is developing. They would need people testing it, marketing it, introducing it or providing knowledge.
There are some startup hubs globally, but a great thing about most of them is that they are always open for remote work — since they rarely have offices in the beginning! If you want to relocate, take your chance and start exploring. The biggest hubs are in San Francisco, London, Doha, Hong Kong and so on, but those places are expensive, and the competition is fierce. Take a look deeper and smaller countries and cities. Did you know that Skype was developed in Tallinn, Estonia and Estonia is the third of most startups per capita in Europe. Start exploring!
2. Enter any company through customer support
Many companies value loyal employees. Many prefer training their employees themselves, especially if they offer a specific service or use their own products. Customer support is a hard, fast-paced job that requires an ability to learn quickly, stay calm and solve problems. It is often overlooked job, but not everyone can do it, and it gives an excellent opportunity to learn everything about the company you work in. It is very often the first step on a long path.
3. Take responsibility for your own education
It is easier than ever to get yourself educated. You can use books, free or paid courses in the evening colleagues, open universities, and most of all; the internet.
The internet is full of free material for you to use. You can download an app; you can search YouTube or platforms such as Udemy, Coursera or any other website that offers courses. Some are affordable, almost free and some more expensive. What you really need to do is research. Read reviews, watch introduction videos and even contact the teachers. Make sure that the course you take is the course for you.
4. Internships
An internship doesn’t always have to be after graduation. You don’t have to be in school to be able to do an internship. You can contact companies yourself and offer to do an internship or find a platform on the internet. Don’t be afraid of offering your enthusiasm, ability to learn and be a good worker. Be proud of every little thing that you can offer.
5. Just start doing
This option usually requires a day job. You need a job to pay the bills. It can be any job. The most important thing is that it gives you the freedom to use the rest of the time to reach the Moon. Sounds hard? Of course, it is. But it’s a decision you need to make. You want to be a food critique? You need to start eating, writing and do it with your own money. You want to be a film-maker? Start filming. Writer? Start writing.
You will also need other people; contacts from the field, people helping you with your website, photos, or equipment. You might make favours, save money for a long time and give up free time, travelling and many other important things for you but remember what is waiting for you; the thing you always wanted to achieve.
I want to be a writer and script editor. So, that’s what I do after I go home after a long day at the office. I see my blog being empty of visitors, I only had one customer, and I get rejections, but I try to forget all that. I have always been good at writing, and I have lots of contacts (also outside of my university friends). And most of all, I love to write and tell stories. So, I continue. And so should you.