Did you graduate?? Did it matter??

[Minnesota97]

I think it would be very hard to make it now with just a high school education. That from a person who only has a high school education. I graduated in 1967, enlisted in the army in 1968 for 3-years. Discharged in 1971. My family owned a custom jewelry store in down town Minneapolis Mn. and wanted me to start working there. (My little sister still has one of the shops in Stillwater Mn) But I Took a public works job in 1971 in the city of Fridley Mn. And joined the Fridley fire department (the city I was raised in). Then I got very lucky. I sat down for lunch with one of the Fridley cops that knows my family and he said he would be retiring in a couple of months and then explained about police work and retiring at 50 years old with a life time pension. Sign me up!!! Only two metro P.D.s were hiring at that time, Fridley and Bloomington and Bloomington sent out the information in a few days. 30-days later I was hired and in March of 1973 I was sitting in a 6-week police officers training course with 25 new rookie cops from all over the state of Minnesota. It was a great career and in 1999 after 26.5 years of service and at the rank of Sgt. I retired at... you guessed it 50 years old. And yes police and fire pensions are very good and I love the V.A. system.

[DucksnBobs]

High school matters as a lot of entry level jobs expect this. Either a hs diploma or a GED. As far as college goes, im on the fence and leaning towards waste of money and time.

I went to lots of college. I am in the medical field and not a single thing I learned in class, or on a dummy, actually works or has helped me in real life. It ABSOLUTELY prepared me for my boards though, but in the real world, waste of time.

I have a buddy who has never stepped foot on a college campus in his life. He went to trade school at 18 yro. Guess who is much better off today? And I dont make chump money by any means, as I do quite well for myself but he is on a whole other level.

The older I get, the more useless college looks in my eyes.

[Amistad Tackle]

Yes, it definitely mattered.

[JTN]

My younger brother and I pretty much had are career paths laid out when dad let us start driving farm equipment in the early 70s. We owned some of are on livestock, and we’re renting a 160 acres of land when we were both still in high school…Yes, we both graduated HS,did it matter, probably not.

[200xp]

I did graduate high school, but no college. The high school diploma did matter. I got in a trade, surveying, and the rest his history. I now own a heavy highway construction company. My wife has two bachelor degrees and a masters. In her profession, the college degrees were a requirement so beneficial to her. The sad thing is, my wife and all four children have a college degree, three of them have a masters degree, none of them will ever come close to my income.

The construction industry here in Ohio is starving for employees. You can start as a laborer, in the union, at $32.72 per hour. You get medical insurance and a pension.

[bilgerat]

I did graduate high school, but no college. The high school diploma did matter. I got in a trade, surveying, and the rest his history. I now own a heavy highway construction company. My wife has two bachelor degrees and a masters. In her profession, the college degrees were a requirement so beneficial to her. The sad thing is, my wife and all four children have a college degree, three of them have a masters degree, none of them will ever come close to my income.

The construction industry here in Ohio is starving for employees. You can start as a laborer, in the union, at $32.72 per hour. You get medical insurance and a pension.

And my employer wonders why they can't get mechanic apprentices to stay longer than 6 months at $20 hour

[JoshKeller]

Graduated high school. Went to college for a year and decided I didn't want to waste time and money chasing a degree (and taking ridiculous classes) So I dropped and went to tech school and work for the state with a pension. I'll be retired at 53.

The wife is currently finishing up her masters and is in management at the local VA hospital. She never would have even been interviewed without her degree.

[DLTJR]

Graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Furniture Manufacturing and Management. I worked in that field for 12 years as an engineer and manager. I then took a job at the local community college teaching that trade. Once the industry folded I got a Masters and EdS. in Education so that I could continue teaching in IT. I retired last year with a 30 year state pension. It was worth it.

[mrlawler1]

High school yes...college no...but most of you already know that about me because I can't be a real Bammer because I didn't go to school there...ok, whatever...anyway, for me no it doesn't matter much..I dont make 6 figures no but I do earn a good living...would I change things, I could certainly tell younger self a few things if it wouldn't change the outcome...now the wife has a college degree in math and works for the govt. Smartest thing I ever did was fool her into marrying me...

[Babe Winkleworm]

It's funny to me the opportunities that arise even without a diploma. The year we moved out to a little rural town I took a job as the maintenance guy at the school and drove the bus. Great job! Never thought I would have liked the kids as much as I did. That same year they lost their shop teacher to retirement. The superintendent called me into his office and asked if I would be interested? I didn't have the heart to tell him I never graduated... No thank you... I am the last person you want influencing children.

[Kramos26]

Yes I graduated high school and college, yes it mattered, Engineer

Go to a school where you can get a lot out of a degree that you are genuinely interested in that doesn't cost much (If a school in your state offers the degree you want and has a good program, go there and pay in state tuition)

---If you want to---

[coolwhip]

how many have graduated college and their degrees have not helped them at all

I would say depends on the degree...if a dude majored in computer engineering most likely said dude benefited job wise from that. I've met quite a few waiters and waitresses with 2 degrees, including a masters, but the major was worthless. A BS/BA in psychology or womens studies will not help you in the real world.

[Crappie Bob]

Never mattered to me, now retired, collect my pension, everything is paid for, living the dream, or nightmare depending on how you see things in this world right now.

It did matter to my Father, broke his heart when I quit going to school and went to work.

[Larrythedane]

I graduated with an associates degree (2.5 yrs) registered nurse. Made great money and worked the ER. Went back for a degree in nursing. That allowed me to move on to middle management, better money with better hours. Went back for a master’s in business, this allowed me to move to senior management. Then I had to get work experience!!!! So I moved numerous times to gain the experience to obtain the executive positions. Education is one thing, experience and on the job training is priceless.

[BMCD]

HS was needed for college, in my case my College degree was needed. opened some doors that otherwise would have been closed.

[APS]

HS yes, had some college. Did it matter? No I've been self employed since 83 doing body and paint work on just about everything, and now boats. I've done better than most my friends with degrees. I've never been the type to suck up to someone wearing a suit. I'd recommend trade schools over college, unless going for medical, tech, or lawyer degree.

[MidwestBoater]

I never cared for academics, I was always a hands on kid. Working on cars, rebuilding engines, transmissions, working on boats. I felt like I was wasting my time at HS, so at 17 I dropped out and got my GED. I quickly got a full time job at a factory, did that for 2 years and then moved to a customer service position in the same company. A year later I decided to use the company's tuition reimbursement to take night classes at a local tech school for computer networking. I've now been in IT for 27 years. I've worked my way up from help desk to a sys admin role and will hopefully retire from where I am now in 13 more years.

While a degree would open more doors for advancement, it really wouldn't have helped me because I'm not a job hopper. I've had 2 IT jobs in 27 years and I'm well compensated for my experience.

[Roosterman]

My wife did not graduate high school. Neither of us went to college. Last year we made together very dam close to 7 digits on income. Education doesn’t determine success. Ambition and work ethic does.