You Don't Need A Degree To Be Something

Image: GadgetDude via Flickr

The other day, I was thinking about how I defined myself and how much my education influenced that. I am an engineer because I went to school to learn how to be an engineer, graduated with an engineering degree, and I currently work as an engineer.

And then I thought, that although I was an engineer by education, I was also an author. That came not from education, but from action.

From there I began to think of numerous other professions that don't require more than a bit of learning and the will to break into them. Obviously, we don’t want our doctors and lawyers relying on a few hours in the library, but there are plenty of other career paths that come to mind.

Our CEOs and garage tinkerers. Our race car drivers and butchers. And many others. And with a bit of training and reading, our plumbers and electricians. There are hundreds of professions that rely less on a formal education, and more on a dedication to learning through experience and acquiring relevant skills.

That’s not to say that college and other degree programs aren’t valuable. There are certainly skills that are gained from these years, that will either be very hard or impossible to gain on your own.

But we often limit ourselves on what we think we can do based on what we think is required, and what a piece of paper tells us we should be. "I went to school for accounting, so I can't be a florist."

Really the key is to start, to do. And then from there you can learn, and you can collaborate. You can become what you want to be. If it's your passion, you can practice it to become better.

Even an engineer. As I thought to myself about the skills necessary to do my job, I realized that there wasn’t much that someone couldn’t learn outside of school. It probably wouldn't be enough to get hired at most companies that want a degree to prove your knowledge, but it would be enough to start building something and maybe even start a small company.

 Are you holding yourself back because of a lack of education?

- Ryan