I’ve Never Regretted Not Going to College

I’ve never regretted not going to college.

Despite having social constructs and every school I’ve attended putting pressure on higher education, I’ve known my heart and how I want to live.

I did almost cave though. At the end of High School I made a last minute decision to study Peace and Conflict Resolution at Goucher College in Maryland but during the summer between my Senior Year and that first semester at College I moved to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico and got a job as a Marine Videographer.

This is where I realized and will ALWAYS reiterate that experience and the will to learn is more important than a formal education.

I had minimal videography experience but I learned more at this job in a week about editing, videography and selling my work to clients than in any class I had ever taken. It was so real that the idea of sitting in a classroom to theoretically talk about doing what I was actually doing felt backwards. Within 30 days after starting my job doing videography I was offered a promotion and I decided to no longer go to college.

My hunger to learn and do good work set me aside in a way that no education could compare to. This same dynamic has rang true in every job that I’ve had prior becoming a full time entrepreneur.

Employers don’t care about your portfolio as much as they care about your willingness to learn and show up consistently with a really great attitude.

A statistic that sticks in my mind that you may have heard before too, is this:
Men apply for jobs they’re only 60% qualified for, whereas women will only apply when they’re 100% qualified.

Confidence and a willingness to simply apply for the jobs you want is the hardest part in breaking through the belief that you still need more education.

If you’re also a self-taught designer, I’d love to hear your story and what design education resources were worth investing in…