A college degree is simply a certification. In basic terms, a degree is simply a piece of paper certifying you met a certain level of scholastic achievement. But what happens in the class room doesn’t always translate into the real world.
You need an education
An education is different from a degree. An education can be formal, informal, self-directed, on the job training,
professional licenses and certifications, or any other form of education.
1-Educate Yourself Online
There are endless useful resources online that can help you acquire the information you need. It’s quite easy as everything is available on the web now, and you don’t need any professor to guide you if you know what you are after. Become your own teacher and make the most out of open access journals, e-book websites and free online classes.
2- Get Certified
You don’t need a formal 4 year education to learn a thing or two. Many certificate programs and crash courses can be all that you need to jump start your career or to get started in a new field. Getting a professional certificate might be a good alternative to studying for a 3 or 4-year degree. This is because the certificate requires less time and money and it is more occupation-driven which means it can be directly relevant to your job.
One of the best steps to take if you’re aiming for a great career without college is to to get vocational or other specialized training at a trade school, through a training program, or perhaps at your local community college.
Consider a specialized curriculum that offers certification that will help you gain find a
flexible, entry-level job in the field you’ve chosen.
3- Become an Apprentice
As an apprentice, you have the opportunity to develop job-specific skills that are in demand for certain specialised occupations through an on-the-job training program while getting paid. Although apprenticeships can last up to 4 years, it might be a good alternative for you if you believe studying at a college is not your thing.
4- Start your own business.
If you get the entrepreneurial bug at an early age don’t hesitate to pursue it. Don’t let anyone force you to go to college. What’s the point of delaying your life goals to study something that doesn’t interest you? I really don’t think that college is for everyone. Some are natural-born leaders and are better suited to running the show from the start.
5- Know your career aptitude.
Just because you don’t have a college degree doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a clear understanding of the kind of work for which you may have an aptitude, and a firm grasp of any transferable skills that may help you find just the right job.
FlexJobs offers it members access to more than 170 skills tests designed to help gauge professional strengths and guide job seekers to opportunities that are a good fit.
6- Look for on-the-job training.
If you’re venturing into new career territory, consider searching for a flexible job might help you learn new in-demand skills, or sharpen existing ones.
Starting with an entry-level job is one of the best ways to position yourself to “learn as you go” in your career, and forge a fantastic career without college.
7-Exercise Your Brain Focus
Make a list of all the jobs you find interesting. Even if you ultimately want to be a business owner rather than an employee, be open-minded. If you want to own a fleet of plumbing trucks one day, start off as a plumber. In fact, you should look at it in reverse. Just because you might start off as a plumber doesn’t mean you can’t own a fleet of plumbing trucks one day.
Good jobs without going to college for 4 years might lead to a great business opportunity!
Also, you can learn a trade now and go to college down the road if you so choose- just make sure that you don’t spend money you don’t have to when you get your degree. The point is, nothing you do now is irrevocable.
8-Start a blog
If you approach it correctly, a blog is a brilliant way to create a position for yourself in your field.
The benefits are most obvious for writers: blog about what you want to write about professionally to show potential clients or employers your skills. For non-writing careers, a blog can help you establish expertise, find clients, connect with industry experts and back up the claims in your resume.
There are countless bloggers that make enough money to do it full-time. You probably have something that interests you. Collect micro-machines? Know all the secret restaurants in your town? Why not start writing about them? If you gain an audience there is almost always money to be made (some people make millions of dollars doing this, but it does take some marketing and work).
9- Others Include the following
Handyman – People always need stuff fix, and rarely have time or know someone they can trust. If you’re pretty good at working on stuff, this is a job that is always in demand.
Usability Expert – It will take a little research to understand the fundamentals of usability, but once you get the gist, it’s pretty easy to run usability sessions, where you record someone using a product, and survey their pain points.
Event Planner – This requires organizational and interpersonal skills, but if you have both there is quite a lot of money to be made in planning all sorts of events from weddings to conferences.
Recruiter – If you’ve got a huge network of contacts, you might want to consider putting them to use. Recruiters can make tens of thousands of dollars on a single hire.
Crafter – All it takes is one look at
Etsy.com to see millions of people making money doing something they enjoy. This is another job that you can start part time and build on.
Buyer/Seller – The principal of most markets is that someone buys something at a low rate and sells it at a higher rate. If you are good at seeing a deal, why not go around to your local yard sales, craigslist, the dump, etc… and find items that people consider worthless and sell them for more.
A simple example: people throw out old, working cell phones all the time. I’ve sold BROKEN cell phones (the buyer knew they were broken) for $50. There are huge markets at scale for taking items people consider worthless and selling them.
Tutor – Are you particularly good at Math? Did you ace the SATs? Kids are always in need of tutors.
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