Over the past 10-15 years, the world of professions has been changing rapidly: what seemed stable and mandatory for a successful career is gradually giving way to new opportunities. Professions that no one had heard of until recently are emerging, and traditional professions are losing popularity. This is normal: technology is developing, the labor market is being restructured, and with it, the attitude towards education is changing. Therefore, the question of the need for higher education is heard more and more often, especially among high school students and their parents.
When can you do without a diploma?
There are areas where the main thing is skills and experience, not a crust. This is especially noticeable in IT, design, marketing, trade and creative professions. The ability to work with your hands and head is valued here, and not the number of hours spent on lectures. Many successful professionals have built a career without a university degree and do not experience any restrictions because of this.
But there is a downside. In certain areas - for example, in medicine, law or engineering specialties - higher education is still mandatory, without a specialized diploma it will not be possible to get a license or a job in a serious company. Therefore, it all depends on the chosen field and understanding what exactly is required for a successful start.
Pros and Cons of Higher Education
It is difficult to argue with the fact that higher education provides systemic knowledge and teaches you to work with a large amount of information. The university helps to develop analytical skills, critical thinking, and most importantly, provides an opportunity to make useful professional connections. Although it sometimes seems not so significant from the outside, in fact, dating and networking often open career doors.
However, classical education also has noticeable disadvantages. Many programs seriously lag behind the real needs of the market: four to six years at the university can be spent on gaining practical experience, internships, or developing your own projects. In addition, studying at a university is not cheap, and no one gives guarantees of a well-paid job after receiving a diploma.
Why does a diploma depreciate?
In recent years, the value of formal education has been declining, and there are objective reasons for this. One of the main ones is the discrepancy between what is taught in universities and what employers need. Courses taught by teachers with no hands-on experience in today's commercial environment do not always reflect the real demands of the market. Plus, the mass availability of higher education has led to the fact that the diploma itself has ceased to be a competitive advantage.
At the same time, access to knowledge has become easier for everyone. For example, online courses, learning platforms, and libraries allow you to get up-to-date information in a convenient format and are much cheaper than university programs. Employers are increasingly paying attention to portfolios, cases, and practical skills, rather than the number of diplomas.
Large company or startup: what to choose to start?
- The choice between a large company and a small startup always depends on personal goals. In large organizations, you can gain systematic experience, build career connections, and learn how to work according to well-established processes. True, there is usually less freedom here.
- Startups, on the other hand, offer more opportunities for rapid growth and learning about the business from the inside. But instability, uncertainty and high responsibility come with it.
The decision should be made based on your own priorities. If you want a structured start and confidence, it is better to start in a large company. If you want to grow quickly and not be afraid of change, a startup will be a good option.
What to do if the dream profession does not yet bring money
Not all interesting professions are distinguished by a high salary at the start, this is a well-known fact. But there are always ways to increase profitability without giving up what you love! For example, you can study related areas such as marketing, project management, or working with social networks — this will help monetize your hobby and expand your professional opportunities.
At the initial stage, it is useful to combine your main job with part-time jobs in other areas or look for more profitable niches within your profession. Many people use modern technologies to make money online, or try themselves in related fields.
To avoid financial difficulties, it is worth estimating in advance what level of income is necessary for a comfortable life. Planning is everything!
Popular profession: is it worth going into a competitive niche?
In-demand professions have their advantages: high demand for specialists, a large number of vacancies, transparent career prospects and a developed studying system. But there are also disadvantages: the competition here is higher, it is more difficult to stand out among many candidates, you have to constantly improve your skills and fight professional burnout. Competition, of course, motivates, but it is important to understand in advance whether there is a willingness to constantly fight for a place in the sun. Sometimes it is worth looking towards related niches: the demand there may be no less, and the competition is noticeably lower. The main thing is to choose what is really interesting, only in this case there will be a desire to develop and move forward, despite the difficulties.
Professions without compulsory higher education
There are many areas where higher education is not compulsory, although it can be useful.
- First of all, this is IT: programmers, testers, web designers and system administrators successfully build a career, relying on practical skills and portfolios, a higher education diploma is rarely asked here.
- The same applies to creative professions: photographers, videographers, designers, copywriters have long been working without diplomas, relying on talent, experience and demand for their work.
- In business and trade, the result is also valued, and not the presence of higher education - sales managers, entrepreneurs, realtors and insurance agents do well without university degrees.
- Working professions such as auto mechanics, electricians, cooks or plumbers are always in demand: the ability to work with their hands and responsibility are more important than the number of diplomas on the shelf.
How to dispose of the summer for a schoolchild
Summer holidays are a good time not only to relax, but also to try yourself in new things. Someone chooses a part-time job or an internship to get their first experience and earn their own money, someone goes to courses to pump up their skills and understand what is really interesting, and someone prefers to relax 100%, which, by the way, is also important to regain strength before the new school year.
The ideal option is to find your balance between leisure, work and study. The main thing is not to waste this time, because sometimes even a couple of weeks of internship or participation in a project can give more understanding about the profession than a whole academic year.
