Is It Worth It? by Chadi

Is It Worth It? by Chadi - April 2020 Scholarship Essay

Chad Ellaham
4 April 2020
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A college degree is like a pen to an author or a sword to a knight. An inexperienced author cant write a Harry Potter level book no matter how expensive the pen is, and an inexperienced knight cant defend a queen if he doesn’t know how to use a sword. The same concept applies to a college degree. Many people believe that a college degree is a key that has the ability to open many doors and lead an individual to a life of lavishes and affluence. Though this may be the case for some people, for many others a college degree is absolutely worthless. A college degree is worth the time and money depending on if an individual knows what they’re going to do with the degree and skills they learn in college.
Many successful people have decided to not attend college, or drop out. The most notable fo these people include the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates. Gates believed that college was not for him, because he had an idea and a plan that he believed would be successful. After, talking it over with his parents, he decided to formally drop out of Harvard University. The young entrepreneur started out with a small tech company in 1975, but after about 9 years of restless nights and hard work, Microsoft soon became the most valuable company on the planet. The same can be said about another massive tech company, Apple inc. The founder Steve Jobs decided to drop out of Reed college in 1976 in order to begin his company. He went from working in a small garage with his business partner to creating the world’s most popular phone.
Both of these entrepreneurs started at a young age and had a plan which they followed in order to reach their goals. They both endured restless nights and times of doubt, but in the end, they kept working and managed to create the world’s two biggest tech companies all without a college degree.
Although there are many people who succeed without a college degree there are many who succeed with a college degree. Unlike the founder, apple CEO Tim cook decided to attend college and study science in industrial engineering. Another great mind in the technical field that went to college is the vice president of Intel, Eamonn Sinnott. Both of these great minds wanted to pursue something big in life. Through hard work and dedication in college the two of them were able to go on and work for one of the biggest tech companies in the world. The college degree is the reason as to why they were able to begin their careers by meeting the requirements for an interview. The degree essentially opened a door for both of them to a job. They then utilized the opportunity that the degree created for them and made something big out of it.
The necessity of a college degree all comes down to the person. If the individual has an idea that they believe will be successful and will waste their time in college when they could be learning skills that could help their business. At the same time, an individual who doesn’t have an idea or the skills to run a business may need to attend college. At the end of the day a college degree is valuable depending solely on the person and their skill and desire.