PDA

View Full Version : Academic qualifications - success in life? [ENDS 11/07/2010]



Grig
27-06-2010, 05:36 PM
Academic qualifications - success in life?

Ends: 11/07/2010


Many in the world today have a never ending resume of academic qualifications that are argued to ensure a respected job with a high pay check. However, many are questioning whether this does indeed ensure all the success to life. Many of the world's richest people such as entrepreneurs Bill Gates and Richard Branson are college drop outs. People argue that these qualifications give them no needed foundation in life and when they are actually in the real world, things are completely different. If success was in direct proportion to qualifications, then why aren't graduates from Yale, Oxford, Cambridge etc. not always successful- it is all about hard work.

Others argue that such people are simply a small minority who managed to achieve this success in the past, However, we cannot simply look at the minority and drop out simply because one person out of a billion did it. A qualification means that it is easy to find a better paying job, and also gives one respect in society and may even dispose of any negatives that person may have done.

This juicy argument can go on and on with valid points from both sides. Therefore, it is now your turn to immerse yourself into this debate and answer the question of whether academic qualifications do indeed give a good foundation for one's future.

Special
27-06-2010, 05:41 PM
of course it helps if you get good grades at gcse, but now days anything from C-A* is considered then same now especially when applying for college. it's definatly not worth risking your social life over exams/revision

Inseriousity.
27-06-2010, 05:50 PM
Academic qualifications - success in childhood. That's it.
After that, it's all about experience.

Jessicrawrr
27-06-2010, 05:52 PM
they only really help with certain jobs.
My parents have no qualifications, yet they both have good jobs :)

MrGazet
27-06-2010, 06:13 PM
I believe academics qualifications can secure you a better future with high pay checks but not always.I suppose the most important thing is to be driven,hard working and focused on your goals in life no matter what you do.Plus,being street smart and having a bit of luck always helps :P

dbgtz
27-06-2010, 06:39 PM
academic builds up the base but its social initiative which will keep it.

Josh
27-06-2010, 07:19 PM
Define success in life?

Mathew
27-06-2010, 07:35 PM
Academic qualifications - success in childhood. That's it.
After that, it's all about experience.

Agreed.
My Dad has very few academic qualifications (my mother has considerably more), yet we manage to visit Florida for up to 7 or 8 weeks per year, nice car, nice house, etc. None of my parents drink excessive amounts of alcohol, we don't smoke, we don't do drugs - we only buy what we need and I think that is where so many people go wrong.

I do agree the term "success in life" is much to be defined. Is success a happy life? Or a life with lots of money? I daresay the top businessmen may lead a rather pathetic lifestyle all work and no play - is that considered successful? I wouldn't say so.

GommeInc
27-06-2010, 09:43 PM
Qualifications are useful for jobs you're aiming to get into such as dentistry etc. They're not useful for things like business where you could rely on experience OR if you plan to own your own business, you can just go straight into it like Lord Sugar and the Virgin guy :P

That said, the older generation have it tough too. If you were a legal secretary you didn't need qualifications as such, so if you quit and aim to become a legal secretary again in the future, you're nearly always expected to be qualified, even though you've been in that position before. It's the newer generation that brought in the importance of qualifications - qualifications in the older generation only really served important for doctors, teachers, dentists, veterinarians and so forth.

Fehm
27-06-2010, 09:44 PM
Take a look at Greg Cooper. (awfy) Prime example that success does not have to come with excessive schooling.

Sameer!
28-06-2010, 11:48 AM
It builds you up for the future so you can get a good job.

Meanies
28-06-2010, 12:02 PM
i don't think they necessarily give you success in life, obviously they'll be able to help towards monetary success but i think personal success and actually doing something you want to do is more important

RedStratocas
29-06-2010, 01:18 AM
well i think in general, the more education you get, the more likely youll succeed in what you want to do in your life. i mean its not a coincidence you find more high school drop outs working at mcdonalds than college graduates.

but academic qualifications are mattering less and less nowadays. it used to be that a college degree guaranteed you at least modest comfort in life. but now people worry that college will do nothing but set them back 4 years in their career. it really depends on a lot of things. for example if you're looking to become a doctor good luck if youre not going to school for it. but if you want to be an inventor, an engineer, a business entrepreneur, you dont need anything other than a good idea.

Lost_Addict
29-06-2010, 06:16 AM
Well i'm on work exp this week, and i;ve been discussing my choices to this buisness, and we were joking around. This is a very technical buisness with computers internet/intranet and so on and half of the people there didn't get GCSE grades so i'm guessing Grades only look good on your CV. But if your really good at a job you don't need grades to show that.

Also my dad who runs a diffrent company says they look for work expiriences rather than Uni Degrees and so on.

Soy
29-06-2010, 09:52 AM
recently i just had an interview, it went awesome but my freind also had an interview, he said he didn't say anything + he has a stutter.

He has no qualifications and yet he still got the job, the only thing he had on me was a bit more experience.

Obeying
30-06-2010, 09:26 PM
My father holds no GCSE's, or qualifications of that matter. He worked his way up the scale & now has a very respectable position in the Education side of the Public Sector. But i certainly wouldn't risk missing revision etc.. for one night of your social life. Because of the economical downturn, people need all the education they can get.

Judas
30-06-2010, 10:50 PM
My father holds no GCSE's, or qualifications of that matter. He worked his way up the scale & now has a very respectable position in the Education side of the Public Sector. But i certainly wouldn't risk missing revision etc.. for one night of your social life. Because of the economical downturn, people need all the education they can get.

absolutely agree with you, and my dad is the same except he has a completely different job but hes now high up and earns a lot of money and is happy.

ifuseekamy
01-07-2010, 04:26 PM
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7861102/270-students-vying-for-top-graduate-jobs.html
lol.

Swastika
03-07-2010, 02:13 PM
It depends, i agree that getting grades is socially good for you, and that people do tend to look down on if your perhaps a cleaner or binman.
Having saying this, these days with the way things are in the world, sometimes it matters WHO you know rather than WHAT you know to get a job.
They are very well paying jobs around, jobs in which you don't need qualifications, such as food factory working - i myself work in that for the time being and you do not need any qualifications whatsoever.
I also do joinery at college, yet again - i didn't need any qualifications at all to get onto that course, it all depends really - i think it matters more if your going for career choices like doctors, dentistry, vets etc and not for joinery, bricklaying, engineering.
The world is a weird place, it all depends on one certain thing to get a job sometimes, and most of the time - it isn't qualifications.

Mr-Trainor
03-07-2010, 02:40 PM
I think that academic qualifications definately provide some kind of assistance to your future. Obviously, other factors like experience could play a part in sucess but that does not totaly rule out academic qualifications which I believe are still quite important! Obviously the importance will vary with the kind of job you are going for :)

lolwut
03-07-2010, 05:47 PM
I think it's stereotypical to say "I got straight A's from my A levels and a degree with honors from Cambridge, I therefore will make loads and loads of money", because that's just not true.

My mother's friend got enough GCSE's to pass, and enough A levels to pass... No university.
She works for a very large UK company in a position I will not disclose for a very large salary, we suspect it is ~125k/yr - why? Because she has brilliant people skills and is a convincing entrepreneur who's good at her job.

My dad, on the other hand, got straight A's from his A levels and a PhD from London's Imperial College. He works as the Senior Head of Technology for an up-and-coming office management company, he only makes (post-tax) ~35k/yr.

In short we can tell one sure fact from these cases: the grades you get at one level of education only help you to get to the next level. Once you've got to the highest tier of education (university degree with honors, I suppose) they mean very little. Sure, they're favorable but not ask any recruitment agency and they will say they prefer candidates with substantial prior experience in a field as opposed to those with prestigious degrees and even doctorates.

I admit there are some exceptions; doctors & lawyers need to have a specialized degree before they can be employed and it's as simple & clear cut as that. But in the vast majority of professions, I do not personally think academic qualifications play any part in it.

buttons
03-07-2010, 06:16 PM
my mum is a qualified nurse, hairdresser, beautician, history teacher and classroom assistant. she got all these even though she left school without any qualifications. instead she does home help work because that's what she enjoys (bathing old people mm hot) even though the teaching, nursing and assistant would give her more money. she gets little money but we're not struggling, same as mathew we spend on things we need not want. so i'd say she's successful that she got this even after leaving school without nothing.

my dad also has little qualifications but gets paid a ridiculous amount of money for cleaning rooms on the oilrigs ;l a lot more than my mum anyway.

idk if times are changing or what but up here it's so easy to get in to college/uni it's almost an easy way out, people place education higher in england than here probably because you have to pay. i only excell in english (wouldn't think it) and i'm average in everything else but i'm confident enough to think i can get a better job than most people no matter their qualifications... (prob cause my english skills make me great at persuasion (H))

Hitman
04-07-2010, 10:42 AM
I think that academic qualifications definately provide some kind of assistance to your future. Obviously, other factors like experience could play a part in sucess but that does not totaly rule out academic qualifications which I believe are still quite important! Obviously the importance will vary with the kind of job you are going for :)
*REMOVED*

I have -2 qualifications, don't ask how, but I own a company worth £10,0. and live in Sandesigado 1 month of the year. It matter son skills. If you have good skills, you can get far in the field thast needs those skill.s

Edited by Oli (Forum Manager): Please do not target other members

Rapidshare
04-07-2010, 06:34 PM
I know people who havent done exams in there life but yet have more money than people who have grades?

Want to hide these adverts? Register an account for free!