Is a 4 year college degree still worth it?

The simple answer is yes, a college degree is still worth the time and investment. Especially advanced degrees. If you research any billionaire or financially successful person who was a drop out or says to skip college - its highly likely that their executive team is stocked with MBA’s. It’s not that they are lying. I just think this advice is more of a PR gimmick.

However, there are more paths today for people seeking education than there were 20 years ago. When I was considering college in 1998, there were really only two options - a 4 year degree school or a 2-year trade program. People can find a lot of success in either of these options in todays market - working for a company or in business for themselves.

Today, there are 3, 6, and 12 month certification programs that can launch a persons career. There are coaches that a person can study under whether its 1on1 or a lengthy engaged program to master a specific field like real estate, investing, or technology.

Of course, in terms of 4 year degrees, the top 20 schools are going to be extremely expensive - anywhere from $200K to $400K plus in dept after receiving your degree. That’s ok. There are many other options that are still affordable today that will provide an income to payoff your student loans in a reasonable amount of time.

At 23, I graduated from the top school in North Dakota - the University of North Dakota. I’m very proud of the education I received there. It helped shape my career. My first semester of college was $2,200. Today, I think tuition is just over $10,000 per semester, but this is still rather affordable in todays market. My MBA at Georgia Tech (Top 20 Program) from 2019 was $85K for an 18 month program, and it was also worth every penny.

The most important part is to understand where you want to take your career before you launch yourself into one of the largest financial decisions you will make in your life. This involves spending time on career discovery, mapping your path, understanding all of the options - then choosing the ideal program(s) for you to apply yourself.

And at the young age of 18 or in your 20’s, you just don’t know what you don’t know. These are important life decisions where you want to leverage people with wisdom, knowledge, and experience in these areas before taking the leap.

This is where a seasoned career coach, whose also had a lengthy career, can provide guidance and counsel on these important factors and decisions that will shape the next decade or more of your career. If you’d like to learn more about your career options before you make this big decision, you can schedule your first 1:1 career coaching session here.