Should you have dropped out of school?

Until circa three decades ago, the concept of going to school to obtain a formal education was still celebrated and highly encouraged. The advice was invariably, “go to school, get an education and you will be employable and succeed in life". Many people benefited from this advice because it simply worked regardless of the profession they were pursuing.

The world has evolved rapidly and in a complex way since then. The unemployment statistics of university graduates is appalling. Some people, who have taken a completely different route, have become some of the wealthiest people in the world. An advice that used to work doesn't necessarily work for everyone any more. Consequently, people are increasingly becoming ambivalent towards formal education.
 
The big question now is; "is going to school to get formal education still a guarantee for success?" Undeniably, some of the most successful and wealthiest people in the world dropped out of school to pursue an idea. Amongst these icons are the likes of Steve Jobs (RIP), Bill Gates, Sir Richard Branson and Mark Zuckerberg just to name a few. The ambivalence towards school and the subsequent pursued of a professional career has also been exacerbated by more broadly, people whom our societies have labelled "celebrities". Be it television icons, radio personalities, musicians and so on. Some American rappers such as Kanye West have openly berated and mocked the concept of school. The critics of formal education usually make example of these icons as an overarching argument.

With all honesty, the success and subsequent wealth that these icons who dropped out of school have achieved is very rare. The failure rates of individuals who have dropped out of school to pursue an idea have however not been documented. A more plausible reason for this could be that, there are just too many cases to document individually. Several researches have cited sometimes up to 90 per cent failure rates of start-up companies in their first three years of existence in the technology sector in America and the United Kingdom. These numbers are inclusive of anyone who took the step of faith into starting a venture, whether they never went to school, dropped out of school or completed a formal qualification. The caveat is then; dropping out of school to pursue an idea does not necessarily mean it will be successful. More often than not, these ideas fail. The statistics of the successful dropouts and the unsuccessful do not commensurate, with the latter being far greater than the former.

It is not uncommon in our generation today to prefer being a rapper or a DJ as opposed to pursuing a formal profession. The partiality is; we are not exposed to those countless rappers and DJs who are barely making a living. The focus is only on the few successful ones, which has perpetrated a distorted picture of the reality. Sadly, this distorted picture is pervasive in our young people today, and has engendered some kind of antagonism towards formal education.

Another important point to consider is; most of the billionaires who made it to the Forbes billionaire list actually did complete some formal education. Whether their formal education did contribute to their success and accumulation of wealth is a completely different argument, which requires investigation and inquiry. The fundamental lesson here is; anyone can pursue a business idea or a venture of some sort and create massive wealth in the process regardless of their academic or social standing and background. Being a successful entrepreneur and having a formal education are not mutually exclusive. Conversely, not having a formal qualification and being a successful entrepreneur are also not mutually exclusive.

An ecumenical sentiment is that, the education system worldwide has a large room for improvement in order for it to foster the relevant qualities that the societies need to effectively address the challenges that are prevalent in the world. Education and the concept of going to school is by no way a thing of the past. I believe education, whether formal or informal and the acquisition and subsequent leverage of that knowledge is a lynchpin of a successful career.

Should you have dropped out of school? Please feel free to leave a comment.