We all hear stories about people who became exceptionally successful without any kind of degree and it’s no wonder that so many of us start thinking: Is it really necessary to graduate if I want to be successful? Maybe I’m just wasting my time while I already should be working toward my goal? Yes, it’s true that sometimes the passion and the vision may be enough to conquer the world. However, most times, it’s luck and many other favourable factors. There’s no guarantee that your talent and determination will be enough. In fact, it’s almost impossible to become an executive in a company if you hadn’t found it in the first place. Most companies still value useful background and will prefer an educated employee over a self-taught person, especially in the world where you can take an online business course while still concentrating on your career. Do you want to become a successful leader that people actually want to follow? You need to think about how a degree can improve your skills and employability.
Why Is Good Leadership Important?
It doesn’t matter if your future team will consist of two or twenty people – it will be your job to bring them together, distribute the tasks, set the goal and motivate them to achieve it. Motivated workers are extremely important for the whole company to succeed so the executives won’t take any chances – they will want a leader with skills who will be able to make decisions. These decisions may often be tough and they may have some serious consequences, so you need to overcome your fear and be sure of what you’re doing. It’s vital to be capable of gathering different opinions and insights from your peers but in the end, you will be decisive. What’s more, you will be the one responsible for solving conflicts between your colleagues and subordinates, even the tensest and the most personal. It will be up to you to clear the air and keep the good atmosphere – this is what will make your team more productive, too.
A Degree Can Help You Get Promoted
Of course, it’s good when you already have the natural talent for leadership but the right degree can give you the proper tools to use it. Which ever is your industry, you will always need some management skills if you want to go higher because, even as a head of IT, you will have an ever-growing group of people under you. And it’s not only about being liked – you will need a very specific set of skills and it may already be too late for you to learn it all as you go. In worse cases, your lousy management techniques may cause some serious damage to the team.
A Degree Can Provide You With Know-How And Experience
A useful degree will give you the much-needed knowledge and insight but also some experience passed on you by your professors and classmates – it will all certainly turn out to be helpful when you encounter your first challenges as a manager or it will give you an opportunity to stand out while you’re still a regular team member. Plus, education may help you to start specializing yourself – most universities and other schools don’t offer only a business degree but you can combine in with your branch of the industry; for example, it’s possible to pursue a degree in the IT management.
What’s more, you will be provided with general business knowledge that may not always be required but is always welcomed by employers and executives. For example, even if you’re not working in finance, you will need some basic knowledge as a leader, as well as you should understand the system so it’s better to be familiar with macro and microeconomics. Apart from that, you are going to need very strong skills in strategic planning and negotiation.
Getting A Degree Costs You Money And Time
Even if you decide on an online degree or evening classes, you will still need some time and effort to graduate and you won’t be able to give 100% of your attention to your work. And if you’re studying full-time you basically decide to postpone starting your career for an average of five years. Many of the things taught in schools you may as well learn in practice.
Plus, it can be costly and a lot of people end up in debts because of their education – it’s not something you would like, especially if you want to become an entrepreneur. So if you have always wanted to start a company and be your own boss, you don’t need to worry whether people choose you or not – you choose yourself for the job.
Degree or no-degree – it may be an extremely hard decision to make. It’s important to think it through very carefully to decide if school education is something that you need on your way to success. In most cases, it certainly won’t do any harm.
