Education Is Not the Key to Success Essay

Unfortunately, as the years went by, the idea of â€Å"Education is the key to success† got more, and more  enforced. People eventually started to believe that education was the single way to succeed, and the  only thing needed for success. Despite the fact, many Americans believe a college degree will lead  them to be successful, in reality, education is not the solitary way to succeed. Not everybody can receive an education, or even an excellent education from a â€Å"decent academic† college/university. There are many students who have no desire to attend college and who  would be much better off if they received training that would qualify them for a better- paid job with  just a high school diploma† (Finneran, 22). Many students today that are receiving a secondary  education are either doing it because they think it is the right thing to do, or because their parents told  them that the only way to succeed in today’s world was through a c ollege degree. Parents put a lot of  pressure on their children when it comes to college, and receiving an education. Some students are so  overly pressured that they believe that in order to be somebody n life, he/she must both attend college,  and receive a college degree; if it is possible go beyond bachelors. What many students and parents fail  to comprehend is that book learning is not the only thing needed to succeed. Success is made up of many skills; sure education is a building block of it, but it is not the key  to it. Success can be different for everybody. There are many careers out there that pay a good amount  of money and do not require a college degree. Some examples of careers that do not require a college  degree are: Police men, Dental Hygienist, Online Advertising Manager, Web Developer, Insurance agent,  Mechanic, hair stylist, construction, electrical technician, etc. If a person wants to be a police all he or she  needs to do is obtain 60 credits in any courses and go on to learn the skills he or she really needs for his or her  career. Education or book learning had nothing to do with the success of those people that chose to take  another path rather than the typical one (education). People can be successful in any field with the right  skills. Book learning has a lot to do with the knowledge a person has, but not with the skills a person  has. There are many A+ graduates out there that cannot get a job, or are stuck working at a place that had  nothing to do with their degree. A numerous amount of students in college care more about grades  than knowledge; some graduate having forgotten everything they ever learned. So there goes a college  graduate with little knowledge and no skills. Can a person like that succeed? No. That’s why education  is not the key to success. People cannot just go to college and expect that passing classes will get them  to succeed. The main thing a person needs in order to succeed is drive, motivation and passion. He/she has  to know what their end goal is and what they need to do to get it. â€Å"Commit to the achievement of the  elusive goal in your life† (Arcement, 101). The person has to go about learning what skills will take her  or him to be successful. One of the main skills a person should have is persistence. A person must  always keep going after his or her goal even if it takes years to reach. â€Å"Persistence takes discipline. Discipline is doing what you need to do, even though you don’t feel like doing it† (Lyman, 4). Two other  skills a person needs, is to be friendly, and kind. Being nice and friendly is significant. Like Lyman said,  being kind is important because it will beothers that will help a person be successful. Other people will  help a person get to where he or she wants to be. They will help the person envision what they want  and obtain a job. They will also help a person gain opportunity. People like to help others, but only if  the person is nice and friendly. Others want to have people with those qualities around them. Besides persistence and being nice and friendly a person also needs to have other life skills in order  to succeed. One of the skills a person needs is public speaking. A person needs to be able to express  themselves clearly in front of a group of people. â€Å"People who are effective speakers come across as  more comfortable with themselves, more confident, and more attractive to be around† (Wax, #1). Another skill is self-management, and the skills needed to obtain self-management are: strong sense of  discipline, sturdy organizational skills, and impressive productivity habits. A person needs to keep him  or herself on track. A third skill that a person needs is to know how to network. Knowing how to  network can build relationships nd those relationships can help a person land a job or career and take  them one step forward at being successful. These skills are really important to have. There are more skills that are really important to have in order to be successful in life, in a job,  or in a career. A person needs to know how to make effective decision making. â€Å"Being able to take  over the scene and respond quickly and effectively is what separates the doers from the  wannabes† (Wax, #6). Another skill that a person will need is time management. A person needs to  show that he or she is hungry for success and that he or she wants to be where he or he is at. What  employer would want to hire a person that will always be late? None. People should not be pressured to do something that they don’t want to do; parents should not  pressure their children into receiving a college education and obtaining a college degree. As it was  shown and proved, having a college education and obtaining a college degree can help you succeed, but  is not the key to success. In order for a person to succeed, he or she needs to have more than just bookà ‚  learning. A person needs to have skills to go with his or her career, job or education.