There are a big misconception and inconsistency about formal education in today’s world. One is that formal education is a waste of time. Hours and hours spent on outdated material, learning topics which are irrelevant since 1972! Second, is that if you concentrate on working from a young age it will secure your spot in the business hall of fame. Unfortunately, experience, however very valuable is not the only thing that matters.

It’s not the lack of interest and attitude towards formal education the biggest problem it today’s job market. It’s actually the attitude toward education as a way of growth. It’s a problem with people that don’t want to grow and learn new skills, with people that don’t want to admit that they are weak in something to be better in it later. It takes humility to admit that we don’t know something and want to learn new skills. It’s easy to blame it on school:

“The university failed me.”

“I haven’t succeeded because of the university.”

But it’s actually only up to you. No institution will take responsibility for your lack of growth. You can be a top-class salesman, marketer, businessman without formal education and on the contrary, you can be worth nothing after a university. None of those ways guarantees success. If you don’t want to learn you will not get better with, or without formal education. On the other hand, if you skip university or education and you spent time strategizing, contemplating and pondering about your life without actually growing you will fail as well. It’s the mindset of growth, not the way you achieve it. It’s not a matter of choosing the right or the wrong one. None of them will work without you putting in the work.

The responsibility of your skill set and level of expertise is always on your side, not the university/school nor on the skip-education-more-time-to-grow-my-business way. In today’s world, everyone has the same access to knowledge. Use it and grow, no matter what is your background.