Sadly, many students enroll every year in colleges and universities around the world without a clear professional goal of what they hope to achieve…
After working with numerous students who have completed degrees and can’t find a job in their chosen field due to minimal employment opportunities, or others who quit halfway through, I believe all potential students should ask themselves these questions prior to enrolling in a course:
- “Will this course of study help me progress in my career (Eg – Pay rise, Promotion)?”
- “What will I achieve from completing this degree (Eg – Is it crucial to getting a job I want)?”
- “Are there significant employment opportunities in this field after completing my degree?”
- “What are my reasons for studying (Eg – Influence from peers, family, am I genuinely interested in this field)?”
As you can tell, I am pretty passionate about seeing people not waste their time and money on things that won’t benefit them.
This is also why I reached out to and interviewed the incredible Patrick Bet-David on my show, the Career Breakthrough Series. He shared some amazing insight from his personal experiences and the thoughts that went into his book, “Drop Out and Get Schooled: The Case of Thinking Twice About College”.
Patrick fled Iran with his father during the Iranian revolution. They spent 2 years in a German refugee camp prior to settling in the United States. After a career in the US Army in the 101st Airborne division, Patrick started a career in the financial services industry, which inspired him to start his own insurance sales, marketing, and distribution company called PHP Agency or “People Helping People”.
Fast forward through Patrick’s journey, and he is now a highly successful author. He’s written 4 books and is one of the world’s top influencers who regularly shares amazing content on wealth creation, entrepreneurship, sales, and interviews with other influential leaders.
I thought I would share some of the biggest takeaways from our interview:
Getting Bombed On 167 Times A Day In Iran
After being bombed on 167 times a day while living in Iran, Patrick states that, while this completely shook him up, it made him think, “If we can survive that, there has got to be something bigger to life”. Patrick also stated that his experiences in a German refugee camp for 2 years taught him a vital skill: taking the time to get to know people and not making judgements about others at face value. Patrick states that misconceptions and personal assumptions are the cause of many issues in the world today.
Why 70% of College Students Should Drop Out
Patrick says, “The first thing we need to identify is that Colleges/Universities are a business”. They are no longer a training institution.
Patrick stated some shocking facts: “In 1990, an average 4-year college tuition in the US cost $33k, today that cost is $93K. So, to put it into perspective, the average income in the US in 1990 was $53k, while today the average income is only $55k.”
Listen to my interview with Patrick at 13:00 to hear our discussion on this matter.
We discussed how 80% of the subjects taught at school and college things that you are never going to use. He said that he would rather real-world subjects be taught to students. For example, 7-8 people come into class and debate why their career is the way to go, and kids can make their own informed decisions based on real-world examples from real people.
Some other subjects he said he would love taught are how to handle friction by experiencing it and managing it, as well as someone educating them on marriage and parenting in reality. This would deliver more of a real-world perspective which, actively engages students to experience what they will likely face in the world.
My interview with Patrick really opened my eyes to a variety of new ideas and perspectives and delivered an incredible insight into the mental roadblocks and obstacles he has overcome to get where he currently is.
Check out Patrick’s Videos and Content and his amazing Books.
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