An “Insider Perspective”: Do You Need a University Degree to Succeed?

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No University Degree

I’m turning 25 years old this year and I have no degree or diploma of any sort.

After I finished high school I didn’t go to college or university. Instead, I went into business with my father which at the time was running a giant supermarket in Cape Town, South Africa. We had about 120 employees and were open 365 days a year for 12 hours a day.

Besides the usual groceries, we had 5 ‘fresh’ departments:

  1. Fruit & Veg,
  2. Bakery,
  3. Butchery,
  4. Delicatessen
  5. and Hot Foods (gourmet take-away).

For the fruit and veg section we had bought our own truck and employed a full-time driver and assistant that would go to the farmers market every single day at 4am to buy pallets filled with fresh fruits and vegetables for the lowest prices but highest quality. This turned out very profitable for us and was very pleasing for our customers (of which we had about 2500 every single day).

It wasn’t just a simple supermarket that we had to run and manage. For almost 2 years we made continuous improvements and renovations to the structures and systems used to run daily business. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on structural changes, new fridge systems, a bigger kitchen, a better bakery, new offices and much, much more.

Many business owners are not willing to put more money into their business for a better structure or for better equipment and instead just milk the business dry. We weren’t like that. We put in a whole lot of money to make the business better first, so that it would become much more profitable and we would be able to pay of the loan much faster. It’s kind of like ‘work first, play later’.

Due to various reasons (including problems with our lease agreement and the fact that the supermarket was just ridiculously hard work) we sold the supermarket after about 3 years of running it. Without gloating, I’m proud to say we had turned it into the most profitable supermarket of the chain-type in the entire country.

In those 3 years I learned an incredible amount and gained much ‘life’ experience. I learned how to manage staff, how to deal with customers, how to manage the office and keep track of figures and sales. I worked in the kitchen, the bakery, the butchery and even negotiated for fruits and vegetables on the farmers market.

There were other crazy experiences that you only think happen in movies:

  • We had a bomb-threat, where we had to close the entire shop and have a bomb-squad with sniffer dogs search the building. Nothing was found.
  • There was a random guy who decided to slit his wrists in front of the shop door and he bled all over the tiles. An ambulance had to be called immediately and that guy was taken away.
  • There were multiple cases of stealing and fraud, we’ve been to court in front of judges explaining the CCTV footage of the cashiers stealing, and after multiple visits to the courtroom we just dropped charges because it was not worth the time and effort to get all the evidence needed to sentence the cashiers that stole from us.

Some highlights were meeting famous models and TV celebrities who shopped at our store regularly.

The point that I want to make is that I don’t have a degree or a diploma. I have no official qualifications. According to most people, I probably couldn’t get a high-paying job in an executive firm and I’m doomed to fail at life.

Do you really need to have specialized in something to become successful? Do you really need to have mastered a certain skill or art to be able to provide for you and your family?

I’m good at a lot of things. I’m pretty good at a lot of things, but I’ll be the first to tell you that I’m not an expert in any one single thing. This is as a result of me not having studied, but following a path of learning from whatever comes my way.

The debate of needing a degree to be successful vs. the possibility of being successful by following your passions is one that takes place all around the world on a daily basis. I personally think that there is no absolute answer that will give you a clear direction to follow. I say this because there are hundreds of thousands of people with high qualifications who are not able to get a job, let alone become financially successful. There are also hundreds of examples of people who never studied who built up successful businesses and who achieved vast financial wealth, although those examples are not as many.

What I think is that financial success is not so much dependent on your qualifications (whether you have any or not), but much more dependent on the type of person you are and the drive and ambitions that you have.

If you’re willing to work harder than others (be the first to arrive and the last to leave), if you’re willing to put in time and effort to improve, then there is no doubt that you will succeed whether you have a degree or not.

You may not succeed at first (it may even take you YEARS to achieve success with your own endeavors) but if you never give up and keep learning from your mistakes, you will succeed and achieve what most people only dream of.

However… if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t have much ambition, if you don’t like to take initiative and you only put in the minimum required amount of effort at the things you do…then it’s likely that you will be better off with a degree than without one. If you’re the kind of person who needs to be told what to do, then you’ll probably never start your own business, or build a website that will make you money etc. And even if you do start it, you’ll probably lose focus and never get to experience the success of your actions. If you’re this type of person, a degree (theoretically) will allow you do get a decent job and give your financial security for as long as you’re able to work.

SO…Do you need a degree in order to succeed in life?

My answer is NO, you don’t need a college or university degree in order to achieve financial success in life, and you definitely don’t need one in order to live a happy life.

Getting a degree is a safer bet for financial security for your future, but also not a guarantee.

Following your own passions and business ideas is a lot riskier, but at the same time if you know that you’re going to give it everything you’ve got (and more) in terms of effort, time and money, then the chances of you succeeding are pretty high. And with your own business, the rewards are often higher than you would get from a job.

Just keep in mind that different people want different things. You may not have a desire to be independent, and may prefer to have a job and work for a boss. There’s nothing wrong with that. (You could even choose to do a part time degree while you’re working for yourself, a site like University of Phoenix Online).

There’s also nothing wrong with following your own path and pursue your passions and business ideas. Just be absolutely certain that you won’t regret your decision, even if you don’t achieve the success you want to achieve.

What is your opinion on this subject? Did you study? Do you think that you needed to? Are you doing what you studied to become?

Please leave your answer in the comments section below, I’d love to hear from you!


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  • http://www.lifestylecopilote.com/ Neal Adler

    Hey Diggy, I am one of your biggest fans since i saw your blog… It is just too easy to read you and feel the message. Personally I owe a lot of changes in my life to Upgradereality.com
    But allow me to tell you that I think that for someones the college degree ain’t a mean of making money, but it is more a challenge, and a form of social belonging…
    Also, and I’m sure of that, people respect you knowing your diploma without getting to know you :)
    Yours sincerely…

  • Diggy

    Hi Neal,
    Wow, thanks for the kind words. You have no idea how nice it is to hear that all my articles have such an impact on others:)
    I will keep doing my best to publish the best content I can!

    You are right with what you say about the social aspect of College. That is a whole different debate, and I wrote this article only from the point of view whether you need a degree to be successful or not.

    There is no doubt that going to college or university for a few years can be some of the best years of your life. You can make great friends for life, meet the girl (or guy) of your dreams and possibly even come up with some of the most successful ideas of all time because of the study you are doing or the people you are surrounded by. (But in that case you’re already an entrepreneur and college was the path that lead you there).

    I’m not saying college or getting a degree is bad at all. I’m just encouraging people on both sides of the medallion. Those who want to study, but also those who want to follow their own path.

    I think that it comes down to what you want from life, and what you want in your heart. Don’t chase money or some financial future. Enjoy, have fun, do something you’re really interested in.

    Thanks again for leaving this cool comment Neal!
    Have an awesome day!
    D

  • http://www.harleyschreiber.com Harley

    You make some interesting points. I can say I’ve already gone through and gotten the degree, but there are definitely better experiences out there. I got a B.S. in Music and am not using it at all. I’m also in a Master’s program now, but as time goes on I continue to wonder ‘why in the world am I doing this?’ For me, school is a backup plan, and a very expensive one at that, but I’m working on setting up my own business so I can quit school. Times have changed, and having a college degree isn’t what it used to be.

  • Diggy

    Hi Harley,
    Welcome to Upgradereality!

    I guess for most people school is a ‘backup’ plan, but like I say, some people need it while others don’t. If you’re a highly driven and ambitious person, you might achieve far more in those 4-6 years of study time working for a company, building your own business or becoming ‘self-made’. But if you’re not very disciplined or ambitious, having a degree might be far more of a guarantee for financial stability in your future.

    Good luck with your own business, the fact that you want to become independent is a very good motivator for success.
    Let me know if I can help out in some way:)
    Cheers!
    Diggy

  • http://edenturescost.com An

    This is a very contoversial topic :) . Personally, I don’t even think of college as a backup plan :) . Better not to have a plan B and that is what Will Smith said, too. As crazy as that might sound to most people, I actually agree with him, as that is the most efficient way to achieve something.

    I don’t advocate anything, but that is how my mind has been working these past 5-6 months.

  • Diggy

    Hi An!
    Cool avatar:)

    Yeah I also share that vision with Will Smith. If you have a backup plan, you’re likely not to give your current plan your full 100%, because you think “oh well, if this doesn’t work out I’ll go back to being a lawyer/accountant etc.”

    If you have no plan B, you NEED to make your plan A work, or else you have a problem. Keep in mind that if you’re hard-working and creative, you’ll always be able to get a job that will pay for rent and food.

    Trust in yourself and believe in your dreams.

    How has it been working out for you the last few months?

  • http://www.journeytopeak.com Jia Jun

    I got your back Diggy. I never agree that Degree or Master is the key to success.
    But guess what, that almost means everything to my parents, no degree, no job.
    It’s sometimes frustrating to argue with them that degree is not that important and it is just a “paper”~ ya, paper and not much use out of it.
    Since when we get into real society, much of the knowledge we learn back in school or even in our universities won’t be used and apply anyway/anymore.
    And in real society, we learn all new things on how to survive, how to achieve higher success thanks to our own desire, ambitious, and determination; and not thanks to that university degree.
    Be open mind and see far beyond the front, and we could reach a higher sky; instead of stuck ourself in the mindset that: no degree, no future.

  • http://www.betterthangettingby.com John Michaels

    Hey Diggy!

    I’m a new reader, just found your site through your comment on Pat Flynn’s blog…You’ve got some great stuff here, keep up the good work man!

    I’m actually really encouraged to hear you talking about this, because it’s something I’m a firm believer in. In fact, I just wrote a post about how ineffective the modern education system (ESPECIALLY the college system) is, and how you can get a much better education from reading blogs and watching videos on the internet. I just graduated a few days ago, and I have absolutely no intention of getting a ‘real’ job…I plan on making a living by building internet businesses.

    I think you’re absolutely right to say that you do NOT need a degree to succeed, and I think it’s funny how people put so much worth in that piece of paper.

    I do have a question for you though: It sounds like you had a lot of support from your dad, since he already had a successful business running…a lot of people, like me, are pretty much starting from scratch. What would you suggest for people like me, who don’t have much of a jumping off point?

    Thanks Diggy!
    -John

  • Diggy

    Hey John,
    Awesome, thanks for stopping by:)

    My story is more that my dad has had multiple successful businesses in his life and he felt that you learn way more from real life than from theoretical teachings of a general degree (unless it’s something highly specialized like becoming a surgeon) so he in fact bought the supermarket for me and my sister when I finished high school so that we could run it and learn how to do business. And it was a pretty good experience, but really hard work if I must say.

    I’m also following the online business idea, and I can tell you a few things:
    1 – There is an overload of information and countless distractions, so you need to find one good method and stick with it.
    2 – Just like with everything, the majority of people who attempt to succeed in something will fail, so persist until you succeed because it’s possible.
    3 – I’d suggest either going into affiliate marketing with niche sites or using paid traffic to build an email list in a niche until you get so big that you can do JV’s with others and eventually have a list of 20k+ who you can sell your own products to.

    But count on at least a year before you see any real results:)
    The warriorforum.com has some great information for free, and it costs $37 once off to join the war room, which contains even more info

    I hope that helps so far, but feel free to email me: diggy@upgradereality.com and I’ll be happy to give you some more info!
    Cheers John!

  • Diggy

    Hi Jia,
    How are you doing man? I hope you’re good!

    It’s a difficult debate, and for many people going to college will offer them a better future than if they start working at McDonalds for example. There are far less entrepreneurs compared to employees so unless you’re really driven and dedicated, it will be hard to succeed if you follow your own path.

    Networking plays a huge part in how successful you are, so it’s good to be social and develop as many relationships with people as possible.

  • http://www.journeytopeak.com Jia Jun

    Great Diggy. :D
    I can see that you’re going really well with your blog too. Congrat on that. :D
    Indeed it’s difficult debate, so what we can do is just follow our path instead of everyday arguing which is right or better, it won’t lead to a better life anyway.
    Some people really will be more excel in working, and some suits more to run their own business. So it vary and there’s no right or wrong.
    Yup, networking is really really important. I like the latest post Dragos write too, about competition versus connection.
    In work, competition is more when each other fighting to get a raise of position and salary, while running on our own biz including blogging, we can choose connection over competition.

    Have a blast Diggy, =D

  • http://betterthangettingby.com John Michaels

    Diggy,

    That’s definitely a good differentiation to make, I have a friend who just graduated from college too and she’s looking at about 8 years of school and internships so she can become a doctor…if you’re really passionate about medicine it then all that schooling makes sense I suppose. But I think your dad’s approach is much, much better for business. Have you read Rich Dad Poor Dad? It’s the book that got me in to entrepreneurship and it’s right in line with how your dad taught you.

    What do you mean exactly by paid traffic and JVs? I’m actually doing the niche site coaching thing with Pat and Tyrone Shum right now so I’ve got a niche site in progress…I’m trying to learn back linking now so I can rank in Google…if you have any advice on that I’d gladly take it haha

    I’ve heard of the Warrior Forum, it sounds great! I’ll definitely look into that soon.

    Thanks a ton for the info man!
    John

  • http://www.onlinebusinessblogger.com Brian

    Hey Diggy…. Fucking great blog post… A lot of people have a hard time grasping the concept that people like us growing up in the family business learn a work ethic that no amount of money thrown at a college education can teach…

    Personally I say Fuck College Degrees…. That’s what I say. They’re not a safer bet at all, at least not here in the U.S. or in Uruguay.

    Our housekeeper in Uruguay was college educated and fluent in English, we paid her about U$S 3 an hour.

    In the U.S. at a dinner table of parents you might hear a conversation that goes similar to….

    George: “Did you hear Kristy just graduated from 4 years with her bachelors degree? It was only $40,000 a year, but she the job market is pretty rough right now, so she’s backpacking through Europe for the next 6 months….”

    Bob: “Yeah, Billy is really lucky… He changed majors and ended up doing 6 years before graduating… but he landed a great entry level positing making $28,000 per year… and if he rides this position out, he could be in middle management making $60,000 a year within 5-7 years…”

    George: “Wow, what a lucky guy your boy is… cheers to Billy…”

    Unfortunately, I don’t believe this conversation is limited to U.S. dinner tables. The people I know in life who have been most successful financially (myself included) are people who went to the college of life and didn’t pay for it with cash. Without a college degree I’ve ran 2 multi million dollar companies VERY successfully… because of what I learned about business growing up, not theory from a professor.

    I believe college sets people up to get jobs in the corporate machine… and I’m just not down to be controlled like that… That’s why I believe the closest to free you’ll ever be (as far as jobs go) is if you’re a business owner…

    BTW, I’m high as fuck right now… I’ve got some bomb ass herb I would love to smoke you out with if you were out here in Big Bear….

    Peace,

    -B-

  • Diggy

    Hey Brian,
    How are you doing man? Thanks for the awesome comment as always and LOL at the fact that you are totally high. Not a good example for other readers ;)
    Btw I have no problem with people getting high as long as it’s legal. Is it legal in Uruguay?

    Society is pretty messed up. I think the truth is plain and simple: not everyone can be rich, and not everyone can be successful. Wait, let me rephrase that…
    Anyone can be rich and successful, but not everyone will.

    There are definitely degrees that will allow you to make super big salaries and huge bonuses. I know of a few people who make way in excess of $100k per year due to their degree (radiology, phd in economics, Chartered accountant etc) but keep in mind that those are all studies of 6-10 years and probably cost a fortune, so by the time that money is repaid you’ll be somewhere in the mid 30′s if you’re lucky.

    Congrats for being so successful and running 2 huge companies. It’s always inspiring to hear. Like I said, I think anyone can do it, but it takes serious effort, dedication and persistence (and a lil luck by finding a good mentor always helps too).

    One thing that amazes me though is the huge contrast of money standards throughout the world. An average yearly salary in the US might be around $30,000, but in Romania for example, the average yearly salary is around $5000. And people live from that (rent, food etc). And then there are top dogs who make literally milllions of dollars per year. I remember reading that the CEO of Yahoo had a salary of $49 million dollars in one year. WTF…that’s retarded don’t you think?

    Anyways…that’s enough of a rant. I’ll be happy with one million $ in the bank and an income of $10k per month ;)
    I’ll get there before I’m 30, that’s my goal. hehe

  • http://www.upgradereality.com Diggy

    Hey! Thanks I think :)

    What kind of business do you want to start and do you want it to be an online or offline business?

  • http://www.upgradereality.com Diggy

    Hey Mark,
    Thanks for the lengthy comment, it’s awesome!