I stopped going to community college after my first year; I had the choice between signing up for another semester or working full-time at a new job that I just received an offer for. It was a small hosting company that paid enough for me to live comfortably with my barista girlfriend. It also allowed me to move out of my parents' house, which was kind of a big deal when I was 19.
Now I'm 24 and I've since moved out to silicon valley (when I was 23). I now have 6 years in this industry (plus another 5 or so doing odd IT jobs here and there before I got a "real" job). I'm very happy that I didn't stay back in Michigan to finish college. I have many friends who are just now graduating (and a few still in school) with tons of debt and not many good jobs to hope for.
One of my friends actually hitch-hiked out to San Francisco. She's currently in her last semester of a well-known design school and she can't find any work.
I get offers all the time to interview at Fortune 500s for positions like "senior dev/ops", "cloud architect", etc.
I currently work at a Fortune top 1000 company, and I was previously a linux sysadmin at an INC 5000 company.
I regret nothing and I don't see how college could have possibly made my situation any better. I wouldn't describe myself as a "go getter" or particularly motivated; I simply rejected the notion that college is necessary and found employers who were willing to look at my skills rather than pieces of paper which anyone with enough cash can now attain.
>> I regret nothing and I don't see how college could have possibly made my situation any better.
Yes that was your situation then and that doesn't apply to others.
>> I simply rejected the notion that college is necessary and found employers who were willing to look at my skills rather than pieces of paper which anyone with enough cash can now attain.
Can you say the same to accountants, doctors, etc.?
I was in a very similar situation during the late 90s. I am still doing well, even without a college degree (I have never had a propspective emmployer even ask). However, I really wish I had just finished it while I was younger and had less obligations.
Here is the TLDR as I see it: If you insist of hiring over-qualified people, they are more likely to jump-ship as soon as something better comes along - staff turnover is a major issue.
People with degrees will expect to be paid more and will generally be less satisfied with a job for which they are overqualified. This will push morale down and create lots of turnover.
One possible answer is a degree is not indicative of whether or not a person can perform a job well. Unless its a legally obligated position (practicing law or medicine for example), this could alienate talent that might otherwise do well.
