College and University Degrees - Are They Worth the Cost and Do They Guarantee Success?

Achieving professional certification such as a degree requires tumultuous investments in terms of time and money. It roughly takes sixteen years for one to acquire degree certification. Reports on respective financial responsibilities indicate that in many parts of the world, students graduate with debts as high as $25,000. The role of education in successful professional practice is not insignificant. However, its emphasis, through certification, on success in professional practice is overemphasized. In order to clarify this conception, an in-depth discussion is significant, through consideration of successful professionals with and without certification, to show the relevance of a degree in successful professional practice.

Human resource managers argue that the results of employee performance evaluation is not reflective of the academic degree a professional holds, but rather the resultant output based on workplace performance. In many incidences, employees with lower educational backgrounds achieve higher performance results as compared to those of higher certifications, in similar professional tasks such as sales and marketing. Academic degrees are certifications for satisfactory performance in education, which do not indicate the same in professional endeavors. Therefore, for one to be successful in a professional field, performance is crucial.

Montonya argues that the certifications from college do not show numerous aspects of a professional, which are considered vital to organizational interests. These include skill, competence, character, and purpose. In some cases, individuals without academic certification have thrived in professional fields. For instance, renowned world businessmen such as Bill Gates, Zuckerberg, and Walt Disney never achieved college certification. In contrast, their successes in starting and managing global business entities such as Microsoft, Facebook and Disney Land respectively are admirable within educational institutions. In other cases such as sport, art, music poetry and even writing, skill and talent are more emphasized than certification. A degree is indeterminate of being a successful singer or sportsperson. Tiger woods, Lionel Messi, and Beyonce do not hold respective degrees despite their global recognitions in sports and music careers respectively. Plumbers, welders, and other technical professionals do not require degree certification to be successful. In this regard, professional success arises from innate qualities such as aptitude, enthusiasm, competence, and diligence and not college or university certification.

On the other hand, college certification is a prerequisite for professional practice and thus, success in professional careers. For instance, successful doctors, lawyers, and teachers must hold college degrees for recognition and achievement of practice rights. Without one, an individual can not practice in these careers and thus attaining successful professional practice will remain evasive. Flourishing managers and other professional too must first hold a degree in order to get hired and promoted. In the absence of employment made possible by certification in these professions, one can not become a successful professional. In these cases, a degree is a must for professional success.

From the discussion, it is evident that divergent views hold for professional achievement and college certification. Given that a degree is an indication of achievement in studies, it does not mean the same in professional practice, where performance determines the level and rate of success. Some professional practices do not require degree certification such as sports, art, music and technical skills such as plumbing and welding. Even without college certification, world corporate entities’ leaders such Bill Gates, Disney, and Zuckerberg have thrived professionally. However, other practices such as law, medicine, teaching and accounting among others require a professional certification for recognition into practice. Without this requirement, one can not achieve professional practice and thus, success.

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