We all know of the high school drop out but what future does a college drop out really have?

I all hear stories of Bill Gates which is by far the most famous college drop out in the world as well as the riches man on Earth. The list goes on and on from Famous rapper Kanye west to the Google boys, to the napster dude. They all have one this in common in that the went on to change the world with their ideas and later became very successful people in life.

Now my question is what does the future hold for a Nigerian college drop out? Would he become an area boy or a danfo driver? What does he have to do succeed?

hmm, u can't compare a college drop out in 9eria and da of western world like canada and da u.s, there r more opporunities. In nigeria where threy looking at 1st class etc, who makes u think they would look at sum1 dat didn't go 2 uni. da person might be successful if he/ she gat da money 2 enter business etc den datz da only way or 4rom a rich family. I even think Bill Gate dropped out and came back again. all this rappers, most of dem where not in skool b4 they became rappers so i wouldn't call such people college drop outs but most of them r wiser now so they take summer skools or even home shool themeselves, i advice any one dat gat money 4 education or in uni. already, 2 try and finish considering da world we live in now

As an entrepreneur, your degree is not really important, though it can be advantageous. As an prospective employee, it is everything, unless you are to be employed by someone like me.

I actually disagree that

Seun:

As an entrepreneur, your degree is not really important, though it can be advantageous. As an employee, it is everything!

The companies that I have worked with in Nigeria when recruiting new staff don't take the school credentials too seriously as it is known that the certificate's can be bought at a price. It is unfortunate but true.

I am not trying to demean the seriousnous of good education, the crooks that are in the school system (Lecturers & certification bodies that make a living selling certificates) do not realize what harm they are doing to the serious students they are making a mockery of the education process. Good luck to All Nigerians that are studying.

I don't want abuse for my opinion from students! I am with you! It happens and you know it!

You know that in Nigeria, THERE IS NO FUTURE, its ONE DAY AT A TIME.

Even the college graduate who made the 2:1 thing sef is walking around the streets looking for work. At least, we are sure that after 1 or 2yrs, he or she might get an NYSC call-up letter, and after that, the bleak future begins.

How much more or should i say less, the college drop-out.

Lets just pray that God, Have Mercy.

what hope for the college dropout when the man with a masters degree has no job after 10 yrs!

Just to clarify, the GOOGLE guys were PhD dropouts! (At Stanford, no less.)There's a difference. I don't think they'd be where they are not if not for their education. Anyhow, they got the idea of GOOGLE while doing their dissertation. So even though they never finished the PhD program, if they hadn't begun, they where'd they be now?

Offtopic rant: Formal education is not important because of the "degree". It is important because it educates you. Yes I know we all think now-a-days education is worthless, but besides anything else, your college performance "atleast" tells how sincere you were doing a task which you you knew is important. I don't care what degree someone has when I take interviews, all that matters if they have the needed skills. But if someone has a poor score, it does reflects on how 'sincere' they have been. "Hard work" is a skill in itself. Besides, college/school teaches a lot of soft/social skills which IMHO are more important, and a lot harder to learn elsewhere.

Also, I think most people find it worthless because 'they' are not able to relate how it will help later and NOT because what is taught is useless. If you disagree with me, please ask yourself this question a few years later. Or look back at what you were taught a few years back.

Now back to topic: It all depends on an individual and on what s/he wants in life. Before dropping, a sensible person would have made a plan of what to do next, thinking about it later is sure sign of foolishness. What were the reasons s/he dropped for? lack of interest? more interest in something else? no interest in learning anything? laziness? incompetency? bigger goals? financial contraints? wanted to do something else? or just because he didnt wanted to do that? _file_the_blank_?

Being a college dropout or not is not a good way to classify people. What matters is what a person's goals/aims are. College may or may not fit in the plans. Another thing which matters is how much effort the person wants to put to reach the goals, and how much effort he is actually able to put in.

Just my 2 cents. By the way, our Seun is a dropout. And I can say a 'successful' dropout :-)

For every successful Bill Gate-type college dropout, there are thousands of college dropouts who regret their actions today. The fact that a minute set of pple succeeded without finishing college does not in any way detract from the importance of a college degree. Even for so-called western folks, life without a first degree is not more than a hand-to-mouth existence with people working 3-4 jobs just to eke out enough to pay the bills and eat a meal a day!

Seun is a college dropout ***shuts down, reloads, and reads the page again*** Now, I've heard it all.

Back on topic:

I would never be a college dropout in the WEST & certainly not in America. You won't be able to live above the poverty line etc. I understand, sympathize and judge Nigerian (& African) college drop outs less harshly b/c of the constraints in Nigeria but I usually consider most American college drop outs to be lazy or unfocused. Most, I didn't say ALL.

Not much

davidylan:

what hope for the college dropout when the man with a masters degree has no job after 10 years!

true that!
@chinani : girl, you're funny.

I'm not a "normal" college dropout. My GPA at the end of the second session was 4.71 or so. However, I have been written off like a normal college drop-out, which makes me feel vindicated now that I actually make money.

Some drop outs have good reasons to,
My dad was made redundent at the steel works (he was a metalurgist) and my mum was half way toward becoming a chemical engineer and she dropped out to marry my dad,
There is an example of a non lazy drop out

Thank god she did else there would be no me

how many drop-out presidents have we had in Nigerian history?

my mum was half way toward becoming a chemical engineer and she dropped out to marry my dad,

Just curious: Why did your mom drop out of college just to get married? Was your father in a different place than where she was going to school? If so, could she not continue her studies elsewhere?

Don't get all offensive on me, I'm just curious

And of course, we are glad that you came out of it all

I think the most important thing in the world is a great idea.
If i had a fantastic idea when i was in school and i could have pursued it with my lfe i think i would have dropped if school was going to be a hinderance. Bill gates had an idea and so sis the google boys. Its the ultimate risk in life and many have failed at it. But then again its made some of the richest people in the world.
Wealth doesn't come to graduates, because most graduates earn salaries. wealth comes to men who think before everyone else and you don't have to be a graduate to do that. I think what you need might just be a basic formal education.

Of the top 15 richest people in the world i think iread sommewhere that only 5% of them finished college.

There are wealthy people even in Nigeria who didnt got o school. e.g igbenedion, it's extremely difficult here cuz there are less opportunities here and less financial backing from banks to start up great ideas. But with God's favour and tenacity anything can happen

Posted by: schngrg
Also, I think most people find it worthless because 'they' are not able to relate how it will help later and NOT because what is taught is useless. If you disagree with me, please ask yourself this question a few years later. Or look back at what you were taught a few years back.

I agree totally with this.

Seun,why did you drop out?Do you have a certificate to prove your GPA?

in my opinon, A college drop out is a college drop out because of the way we think, by our own standards. in his mind he did the right thing. that is the best thing that could happen to him. he knows what skills he has and wants to develop it and he also knows that sitting in a class room 7days a week, will not help. so he goes out to develop his skill and we say he "dropped out of college" although economy might be a big challenge like in Nigeria but with God's help, he'll be fine.

who are you talking about Rolly?

Nice one Rolly. I'm clapping for you.

@ spike, what do u mean?. i'm just saying what i think.

@skidoc, thanks

i understand what you were saying but i dont know who you were talking about.Was it Seun?

oh no! not at all. not seun.

ok,i had to re-read.I realise you're talking about college drop outs in general.When you kept using 'he',i thought you were talking about Seun.I was going to ask you if you are his wife.LOL.See?everyone makes mistakes.

Yup. true dat!!!

you see, when i came to america i realized that they give excuses for most actions. like when some one kills people randomly, they say he was starved for affection as a kid or he just loves to do it and sees no harm in it. so they begin to form theories and do all those stuff. but i have learnt that we say something is bad because we believe its bad, according to our own standardsand principle which are different from someone else's own. i dont now how to explain it but thats part of it.

and no, i'm not seun's wife.

You're not Seun's wife? , am dissapointed!

dont be!

nightrider:

Of the top 15 richest people in the world i think iread sommewhere that only 5% of them finished college.

That only 5% of the 15 (or more) richest ppl went to college is not to say that they survived by a great idea, work ethic & faith alone! [i]MOST BILLIONAIRES INHERIT THEIR MONEY. [/i]Look at that Forbes list again my friend. And how did they (fore) fathers get it? Well most of their (fore) fathers got rich before the days where college (graduates) were pervasive and/or by stealing or circumventing the laws.

I think being an entrepreneur is admirable but not when most of them are little more than crooks in Italian suits.

chinani:

I think being an entrepreneur is admirable but not when most of them are little more than crooks in Italian suits.

Chinani, so when someone is a college dropout, that equals to being a crook or a little more than a crook in your books. ??

@ skidoc

If that is what you read, then you weren't reading my post. I was saying that whether or not the 15 richest ppl in the world went to college has no bearing on the majority of ppl in the world (the other 6 Billion of us) b/c they gather wealth in a dramatically different way. I then digressed to how their fathers gathered wealth which had almost NOTHING to go w/ college at all. So, NO being a college drop out does not make a person a crook; but, you knew that already.