Do I have to go to university to become successful?

No, you do not have to go to university to be successful. But. University degrees make things easier. They increase your statistical likelihood of getting hired, staying employed, and getting promotions. Why hired? Because employers think if you can stick with college well enough to pass, you can stick with their job well enough to be worth hiring. Why staying employed? Companies think it makes them look better to have college graduates, so they'll hold you tighter than someone without college. (I worked at a store and my manager grumbled she couldn't fire the College Graduate because it'd make her numbers look bad) Why promotions? Looks good on their numbers. College isn't necessary, but it gives you a leg up. It really does help make your life better.

Hi there! For some, the path to success lies in education. For others, in trade work, parenting, travelling, or otherwise chasing their dreams. The best answer to your question depends on what you would like to do for a career. Do you need a university education to achieve your dream job? Are you undecided on what you should do? Some people take a few years off in between high school and university/college in order to figure out their strengths and skills, and how to apply those to the work force. You should also consider what is your definition of success. Do you want to make a certain amount of money? Work in a certain field? Have a certain lifestyle? If so, research what jobs or degrees people who have achieved these goals have gotten. Perhaps you could be just as happy pursuing a trade job, or starting in an entry-level unskilled position and working your way up. It all depends on what you want out of life. And if you change your mind later, there is no law stating you can't go pursue a university degree then. Try sitting down and writing down a list of long-term and short-term goals for then next year, five years, and ten years, and see if they seem attainable for you or if they seem like they would make you happy or make you feel successful.

It really depends on what field you want to be successful in. Some professions (ex. doctors, lawyers, nurses) require many years of undergraduate and postgraduate school in order to pursue that career. However, many successful people either didn't attend a university or dropped out of their school and still became successful. For example, Billy Joel became one of the most successful musicians of all time, and he didn't go to university or even graduate high school. Additionally, Steve Jobs, one of the most well known and successful businessmen of recent years, dropped out of university after only completing one semester. It is very possible to be successful without university, it all depends on your own personal definition of success (:

No you do not - I agree with SylvanGrantaire that going to University does increase your statistical likelihood of getting hired/employed and getting promotions, however ultimately it depends on the industry that you'd like to work in and what's required for your role. As an example, if you wanted to become a Doctor then by law you would need to go to university; however if you wanted to become an artist, then not necessarily. A lot of people can become successful just by getting lots of work experience, networking and jumping at various opportunities within the field. It's important to know that just because you may go to University doesn't mean that you will find work afterwards - I know lots of people personally who have graduated and couldn't find work. So it's definately worth tossing up and seeing which is right for you. :)

Do you have to go to university to become successful? I guess it would be useful to start with this question: "What does success mean to you?" If you think that to have a well-paid job is something that will make you think you are successful, then I would say, "Yes, getting a university degree will be helpful.” However, I have known people working in the trades, or people who run their own businesses, relying only on their natural talents, and with no university degree, who absolutely feel successful and claim to be very happy. Therefore, I think maybe it is better to ask yourself whether you want to feel successful or become successful according to others’ definition and standards of success. I have realized that to feel successful is more of a personal discovery and to be successful is something dependent on an opinion or a point of view, and not necessarily always yours. For example, your family or friends may think you are successful if you have secured a university degree for yourself. However, this would not be your idea of feeling successful. Perhaps a better question is to ask yourself what would make you feel successful: to pursue a university education, a specific career path, accomplish a specific goal, or to embark yourself on becoming very knowledgeable and understanding of your own self first? In their own pursuit of success, numerous people have found happiness in doing something that did not require a university degree, but instead, a certain type of attitude that was very helpful for goal setting and achievement. My father, for example, managed to have a very successful business in real state, without having even a high school diploma! He came from another generation, though, and from very different times, but he managed to shape his personality for accomplishing what he wanted, against all odds. I think, though, that not everybody has the same entrepreneurial bug that my father did or the ability to become financial independent from being self-employed, so for some people the road to higher education and a conventional career path is the best call. I have been a teacher for many years and had the fortune to work with students of all ages, diverse ethnic backgrounds, walks of life, and different levels of English proficiency. Even though I agree that the education systems of the world do need serious change to best suit students' needs and interests, I have often witnessed the psychological and financial rewards that a university education can deliver. I consider myself a lifetime learner and I have a true passion for teaching, so I do value education. I have also been a business owner for a considerable amount of time, and I have concluded that to learn how to run a business through school is not necessarily the same as to succeed in running a business outside the classroom. Therefore, experience can be, like in my father’s case, a very valuable condition to have for the acquisition of success. I truly believe that success is not so much defined by a university degree, the field you work in, the money you earn, or by what others think about your education and career choices. Eventually, to feel successful means, in my view, to have the ability to study, work, and or play a role in your family, with truthfulness, joy and confidence. And to achieve this, you need to build up strong intention, motivation, focus, commitment, and unwavering LOVE for the process. If you manage to combine all of these essentials, you will feel successful, regardless of the outcome, because you will also feel a sense of purpose, meaning and peace of mind in doing whatever you want: you could be working as a day care provider, baker, writer, a sales representative, a CEO of a corporation, an engineer, a hairdresser or a dog walker, for example, and feel completely accomplished and content with what you do. If you love what you do, or do what you have to do with love, you will surely get up every morning 'wanting to do it again,’ or you will find ways to motivate yourself when you do not feel like doing anything. You will also be able to remind yourself of the reasons for doing what you do, even though it is hard sometimes. To know your intention will help you persevere, and not give up. To build up a strong sense of commitment for what you do, will help you maintain focused efforts to achieve goals and become certain of you are and what you do. Wrapping up, I think it all comes to know how to work on the fundamentals, which means to know how to keep nurturing unrelenting Intention, Motivation, Focus, Commitment and Love in your heart and mind. Will you learn the fundamentals for success at school? School will assist you to gain new knowledge, skills, tools and strategies that will surely be valuable in your life and career paths; however, you have to work hard on yourself so you can understand that these fundamentals need to be nurtured within yourself and by your own volition and initiative. How can you accomplish this? I am convinced that the best you can do to feel successful is to invest in your personal development and growth. In doing so, you will gain awareness of who you are, why you do what you do, how you can make changes to improve yourself, how to hold healthy boundaries, become accountable for your thoughts, behavior, and actions, and thus consistently be able to work towards becoming the best version of yourself every time you need to do that. When you can trust in your ability to reinvent yourself whenever necessary, you will feel fully trusting and confident of yourself; you will naturally be making the best choices and feel you are very successful, regardless of what you decide to do or of what life circumstances may dictate for you. You will feel a sense of control, even when going through uncertainty or chaos. You will be able to count on your own self, and I think this is the definition of true success. I hope this has been helpful or at least given you some food for thought, or fuel for your heart:)

Personally I don't think you have to. If you have a concrete plan on how you want to make a living, and you have the means and the determinatiom to go through with it, then you can be really successful, no matter at what point you stopped your education. But it's also very important - if you want to thrive, you needn't run away from learning altogether. Really successful people know the value of constant growth and of expanding their horizons. You can do it!

not necessarily. To be successful, you have to follow your goals and try hard to achieve them. There are many successful people who do not have a college degree.

Nope! There are plenty of successful people out there who never went to university. Ellen Degeneres, Russell Simmons, and Rachel Ray are some great examples. If you don't want to go to college, you don't have to. It's totally up to you.

No, not at all! Some of the most successful historical figures never even finished high school nevermind attend university and still achieved and discovered incredible things.

I believe it depends on the field of study. Some career paths need the degree in order for you to progress. Others don't. It's for you to decide if you need the degree or if you can gain knowledge elsewhere.

No, you needn't to go to university to become successfull. There are many jobs and many opportunities to work as self employed which doesn't require university degree and you can be successfull in them. Furthermore, being successfull is relative and very broad term. You can be successfull in your career, family (having good spouse, well raised children), hobbies, sports. It is almost impossible to be equally successfull in all area of the life, it is why you need to find out in which area you wish to be successfull and then work on it. For many of these areas (family, sport, art, many careers) you needn't university degree and you needn't to go to university for it.

No, you don’t have to go to University to become successful. There are many options for higher education or work experience after finishing secondary school, sixth form or college. Some people choose to go on a gap year to gain some work experience in different work environments, others join apprenticeship schemes, and some do higher education courses - which doesn’t have to be at University, you can take online courses instead. So there are many different routes you can take to become successful, it all just depends on how much effort and work you put in to your career path.