No College Degree? No Problem!

August 24th 2009 — 8:18 amPassionThoughts (5)19 Views

“When you go to college..”

This phrase is something my mother consistently hammered into my brain from the first time I stepped foot into pre-kindergarten. All my life I thought I had to earn a college degree in order to land a great creative career. Well friends, today I am here to tell you that I now know better than to believe such nonsense. If you were unable to attend college or didn’t finish your college degree and feel there is no hope in starting a career in web programming, web design, writing, or other creative field, this blog entry is a must-read for you.

Creative Companies Are Hiring Highly-Skilled People Without College Degrees Left and Right

As a kid, I was a big dreamer with a free-flowing imagination — always brainstorming and doing creative things such as writing short stories, poetry, and songs. But as I grew older, my grades began to slip due to an overly-enthusiastic interest in these extracurricular activities and complete lack of interest in finishing (okay, not even starting) my homework. Regardless of my not-so-great GPA, I still enrolled at a state university and embarked on my collegiate journey upon finishing high school because, well, I thought I had to. However, I dropped out of college soon after and took a year to gather my thoughts and figure out exactly what I wanted to do. During my absence from college I exercised my imagination and creative mind by reading and writing. I even dabbled in web design and started writing copy for my friends’ websites, as well as my own dot com.

After a year of self-discovery, I returned to college, gave it my all, and graduated Cum Laude with a degree in English a few years later. Even though I earned my degree, I often thought college to be a waste of my time — and money. I felt that in order to become a great writer, I just needed to write. I also felt I had learned more about myself as a writer during just one year off from school than I had during the time it took for me to complete a college degree program.

Last year, I realized the validity of my ill feelings toward college when I first met Madi, the man behind the Egolabel name. Madi was the first person to show me that one can be self-taught and hugely successful in the creative industry as long as he/she has the ambition and drive to make it happen. Since starting my career at Egolabel, I have met even more people in creative fields who are self-taught. Some of these people are freelancers, others have started their own businesses, and a few work for the biggest creative agencies in the world. Though the aforementioned professionals work in various creative areas, they all share one key quality:

A strong drive fueled by a passion for what they do.

If you are one of the many people wishing they could just leave an uninspiring job but don’t think you can because you didn’t finish (or even start) college — think again. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying anyone can land a fabulous career in the creative industry. First, you need to have some sort of talent (and of course, passion) in the field you wish to pursue. Second, you must have the drive to teach yourself everything about your field of choice. And third, you must be willing to be a life-long learner; you should want to be an expert in your field especially if you are competing with those who do have college degrees.

Now, here’s some good news for those of you lacking a college education. Over the years, the creative industry has evolved. Creative companies are hiring highly-skilled people without college degrees left and right. With tuition costs rising every year, more and more people are choosing to educate themselves at home. And, many companies know this. Egolabel knows this. At times, we find more talent and skill in someone who is self-taught than we do in the guy holding a piece of paper that says he knows his stuff. Granted, there are still certain companies out there who solely hire people with college degrees and to be quite honest — I feel very sorry for them. Take a look at this quick scenario: A web company is looking to hire on a new designer. John and Joe both decide to apply for said job. Because John has a degree and Joe doesn’t, the company chooses to interview John without noticing that Joe has more talent, passion, and experience than John could ever dream of having himself. Needless to say, the web company decides to hire John. This is why there are still creative companies out there who put out, well, let’s face it — garbage end-products.

Egolabel gives everyone a chance to show us what they’ve got. If you have a passion and drive to excel in the creative industry, by all means — send us your portfolio. We carefully review every last one of ’em. No joke.

What do you think? Would you/do you solely interview applicants with college degrees and scrap the others? Or would you/do you give everyone an equal opportunity?

Thoughts

• Mike Sawicki

  August 24th 2009 — 9:45 am

  I'm 100% self taught in web design. I did go to college for graphic design but didn't finish. Just like you, I learned more in one year out of school on my own than I had in 4 years of college. We work in an industry that Educational Institutions just can't keep up with. I firmly believe that you can learn more from others with a simple google search than a professor. Three years after I left college, I am going back this year to finish my last 3 classes. Not because I need to, but because it's important to me to finish what you start. Great Post!

• Ryan

  August 24th 2009 — 10:37 am

  Agreed. Curiosity + passion are the prerequisites for success today -- more so than formal education or a huge IQ. Curiosity to discover and passion to learn. Thomas Friedman reduced it to a formula that looks a little like this: C + P > IQ - meaning

• Jem

  August 24th 2009 — 10:50 am

  Amen!! I can't wait for the rest of the world to catch up with your thinking. Another factor to consider is that the higher education system isn't designed for everyone. I'll never forget the day my technical writing professor gave us a learning style quiz. He was shocked that there was someone in his class with the "Common Sense" learning style because we "aren't cut out for college." Sad, but true. My learning style needs to just do it to learn. We are great at teaching ourselves. We gain little and don't perform well in a lecture hall. Now, still degreeless, I'm working for a newspaper. Take that, Dr Nelson!

• Reggie

  October 30th 2009 — 9:44 am

  While I agree that passion and drive can overcome any obstacle, I think you're discounting the value of an education. An education can provide you with tools that can make your efforts more fruitful. In the creative world you may have opportunities to hone your skills and enhance your gifts in an environment that will allow you to explore safely. But also, this same environment may challenge your ideas, and force you to grow in ways you could not imagine otherwise. Learning in isolation provides no measuring stick, no external challenges. For me, an education has provided me with the skills to make decisions and support them based on reason. Like the author, I returned to school later in life, and my career accelerated after graduation. The quality of my work,and my technical capabilities did not grow that much, but my ability to communicate professionally with my peers and management improved greatly. This seems to be the great differentiator. To excel in your field without a formal education is the exception more than the rule.

• Sam Hammons

  January 19th 2010 — 5:23 pm

  Could not agree with this post more, I am also a self taught designer/entrepreneur and I think the whole education system is changing dramatically with the ever rising costs of a piece of paper. I am glad I stumbled upon this post today. While college is great it is not a necessity to become successful.

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