Do You Need a College Degree In Order to be Successful?

I have a confession. I don't have a college degree and I've never wanted one. I don't subscribe to the theory that having a post secondary degree will make you more successful then someone who doesn't have a degree, but what do I know (remember, I don't have a degree).

It is my assumption that people obtain degrees to get better jobs. Better jobs lead to more money and in America the more money you have the more successful you are.

So the facts (so they say), according to the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Between 1980 and 2004, earnings increased with education for all young adults ages 25-34 who worked full-time throughout the year. Young adults with at least a bachelor's degree consistently had higher median earnings than those with less education. Moreover, for the entire population and, in general, for each subgroup, the difference between the earnings of those with at least a bachelor's degree and their peers with less education grew during this period. For example, in 1980, males with a bachelor's or higher degree earned 19 percent more than male high school completers, while in 2004 they earned 67 percent more."

So there you have it, those with college degrees go on to make mucho dinero, but no where in this survey did they mention the thousands of college graduates who don't find success in their chosen profession, regardless of having a degree. They didn't mention the college graduates who find themselves in massive, paralyzing debt due to all the student loans they've taken out over the course of 4 to 8 years. Nor do they mention the people who didn't go to college that were successful in their chosen field despite not having a degree.