It's Madness I Say

A college degree. A giant gateway to employment. In today's day and age, it is a must to even be considered. College can give you the access to a wide array of subjects and the experience gained on a college campus can be transformative. I for one, made sure my daughter had a degree. Worked and paid as she attended each semester. Made sure she did not have college debt and also succeeded in myself being debt free when she walked the stage and received her degree. I know the importance of having a BA on a resume and that it is necessary to what ever career she might choose, and to give her a better standard of living.


Saying all that, here is the question. Are those without a college degree necessarily less driven, talented or intelligent than those with degrees? It has been argued that the skills of entrepreneurs are not learned by splaying across that extra long twin size bed studying for a multiple-choice exam.


When talent, competence and character are equated by credentials, I believe you will overlook a plethora of superstars who are desperately needed in this country today. Some of the best and brightest of our day do not have this important college credential on their resume. Just to name a few, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Anna Wintour of Vouge, John Mackey of Whole Foods, Ralph Lauren and the list goes on. Maya Angelou has received many honorary doctorates but has never attended college and is in good company with Mark Twain, Robert Frost, and Harper Lee and many more. The drive and stamina of Oprah Winfrey, Ellen De Generes, Jimmy Kimmel along with George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks proves a point. I think they are all an important part of who this country is today. It tells me that this kind of self motivation and creativity is a bold part of each and every working environment.


I wonder about what the mix will look like across each company if we decide that only those with a BA or higher degree can be part of our culture. I'm a believer of the degree but I am not a believer in that being the only criteria to hire. We need the self starters, innovative thinkers that come with doing it on their own. The experience of self taught and banging it out is a lesson that can't be taught in a multiple-choice exam. I will argue that the drive and simple fact of loving what you do, is the best combination. The names that I have mentioned are proof in the pudding.

I hired an employee once that I didn't know was a high school drop out. I had worked with him at a prior employer and he was always my go-to person when I needed the extra attention to detail. Fast forward to my newest job and responsibilities...I needed a person who did what he does. I went after him and begged him to come to work with me. He would be the person who made it all work. He finally agreed to leave his employer and come to work with me. He saved thousands of dollars and was the key to the workflow success that allowed us to  reduce costs and streamline the process. He loved what he did! Lived and breathed it and he was the passion that stirred the rest and lead the drive to our department being better and doing what we were told we could not do. I think about him often now and wonder where are more like him? Why are they not in the pool of potential hires?


Steve Jobs said the secret to success is having the courage to follow your heart and intuition. And that he did his entire career and that passion according to him, made all the difference. He explained that "Passions are those ideas that don't leave you alone. They are hopes, dreams and possibilities that consume your thoughts. Follow them despite the skeptics and the naysayers who do not have the courage to follow their own dreams".


I now think often about where I myself would be without Steve Jobs. I'm writing this on a Mac, which is set up with Cloud so that all my pictures, emails and such are all set as one between my IPhone, IPad, Apple TV and my Mac. I have it down to a science. I can start my day on my IPad at the breakfast bar, go to my living room and finish watching on my TV. I can record video from my IPhone and load to my TV and share with the crowd. I thank my lucky stars for the Steve Jobs of this world.


Perseverance has become my first name. I apply, network, rewrite resumes, cold call and work into all conversations that I would love to be part of a team. First question they ask..."Where did you go to school?" Not, "How long have you been doing what you do" or "Tell me about some of your experiences". I would like them to ask me what I'm all about and how the heck have you succeeded to where you are today". Yes, I am unemployed due to the down-turn in the magazine and advertising business. I was not in the first round of layoffs, nor second or third, but I knew it would come. I had worked my way up and through each and every new tech change and evolvement of the process.  I bought the 3000 sqft. home and furnished and decorated it to the nines. I could afford to take my family on a grand vacation each year and I sent my daughter to college and paid as I went, saved for a rainy day and kept myself debt free just in case the rug would be pulled out from under me. How did I do it? I love photography, computers, a good story and the arts. I can tell the difference between offset printing and gravure just by the smell of it. I live and breath a good idea and a grand story. I have the knowledge and  experience to tell you the best way to proceed and save money while doing it. I can style a photo and know exactly what the camera will see and love the process all the way through to print. I just need one special person to open the door and let me in.


Jo Ann