<p>Wowza.</p>
<p>/endthread</p>
<p>Not exactly. But sometimes it means that you’ll have a harder life.</p>
<p>But if you work as hard as possible to be an intelligent and determined person, you’ll be successful later on in life. But then again, you’ll have to be a “self-made” person because I don’t think very many businesses would want to hire a person without a degree. </p>
<p>Some people like Simon Cowell or David Geffen, used their connections to get started. Then worked like hell to get promoted (both men started out as mail room clerks.)</p>
<p>And your definition of success is what matters here. If success = $$$ for you, then in some circumstances, no. </p>
<p>For example:</p>
<p>Meg Whitman (retired CEO of eBay)- Got a BA in Economics from Princeton and an MBA from Harvard.</p>
<p>yet </p>
<p>Bill Gates- no degree. However he attended Harvard</p>
<p>If your definition of success is intellectual growth and/or being recognized in your field of work. Then most of the time yes. I’d say 85%+ of Nobel laureates from the USA went to a well-known and prestigious university.</p>
<p>pretty much it guarantees non-success, in terms of money at least. there are a few careers that pay well that do not require college such as a film grip electric (my brother does this and makes 100k a year- which is a typical salary). however, the opportunities are not good so in most cases not going to college results in permenant minimum wage or near minimum wage status. I cant believe this is even a question. Its like saying, if i smoke crack will something bad happen?</p>
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<p>No kidding. It’s just an absurd question.</p>
<p>If you have an idea that can make an impact (or just make you a lot of money) then you don’t need college to make that happen. College opens a lot of doors for you, but if you already know what you want and how you will get where you want to be, you can be successful without it.</p>
<p>One example is Gurbaksh Chahal. He dropped out of school when he was 16 and was a multimillionaire within 2 years. All because he had a vision, a goal and means of achieving it. He didn’t need college to create any opportunities for himself because he had the one he needed and used it. If you’re not like these kinds of people (ie Bill Gates) then you are probably better off going to college. Even if you are, there’s still a huge risk involved.</p>