I have been told I would not amount to anything nor have a good job without a degree. I have been told that a degree is the only way to success. A degree will ensure a comfortable senior life. A degree will, after a good job, guarantee a good pension. I was also told that it is the people with degrees that have made the finer things that have been invented. I say, not necessarily so.

               The Great Pyramids were created by people that were versed in the construction of such things. The labor, as in many things before that and since then, was done by slaves and common people. Some may have been versed on the subject, but the overall majority were not, maybe none. Those structures still stand after thousands of years yet today we have structures that fail after a few years of wear.

               I am going to tell a story of facts that happened to me while I was in the military. I only have a high school education because, at the time, I did not have the money to attend college and the draft was looming. When I became the kennelmaster at a base in Germany, I had my own budget to care for the kennels. My budget was separate from the squadron’s budget. The squadron’s budget was maintained by a sergeant that was college educated in finance and an officer. My budget was a few hundreds of thousands of dollars and the squadrons was, of course, much more than that. The yearly money was broken into four quarters, yet each quarter they came to me to borrow from my budget. I maintained a well-balanced budget for a few years and the squadron decided to replace me by putting me in another section of the squadron and putting a college educated sergeant in my place. From what I heard; the kennels was never the same. There were always problems, and both the squadron and kennels were always in trouble with the money.

               It does not take a degree to do everything. Look at the British military. In the United States Military, a person must have a college degree to even be considered to become an aircraft pilot. In England a Warrant Officer, who is not a full officer, can fly. I have met a few. If that is not enough, look at the pilots that are in high school and can fly.

               One last example about education. Back in the day, the days of slavery in the United States, just about everything was done by the slave. Without the slave, America would not have been built. The slave worked hard and to make his labors easier, the slave invented ways to ease the situation. Since the slave was denied applying for or having a patient the slave owner acquired the patient for himself. Everyone knows the slave was not educated and, in most cases, neither was the slave owner.

               These were just a few cases that say a higher education is not needed for success nor to get anything of value done. All that is needed is a good brain, volition, and wherewithal for any endeavor. Never say never nor that something is impossible to do. Just say, no one beats a failure but someone that never tries. Higher education is great, but it is not everything.