Is university always the best option for getting a good job?

Always? “No”. It depends on the individual, the job and the employer.

The individual: There are “quite a few” drop-outs who did well – e.g. Bill Gates! And individuals with drive and ambition can generally achieve success in whatever field they choose. Such individuals may go on to build vast companies, or simply remain a successful “sole trader” in their field, from painter-decorator to children’s author to politician to actor etc. etc.

Putting sole traders aside let’s look at the typical job – working for a company, small or large.

The job: Of course many jobs require specialised education – medicine, nuclear physics for example – and without a recognised qualification even an entry level job is unavailable.

But otherwise the most important thing is getting a foot on the ladder. Once an individual has their first job it is up to them to show their employer what they can do.

The employer: this to me is the sticking point. Leaving aside jobs that NEED special education, employers should be looking for motivated, intelligent candidates with the correct NATURAL APTITUDE for the job. Sadly in many cases it is assumed that having a degree demonstrates these qualities, and therefore “degree necessary”. But we all know people with degrees who do not have these qualities, and people without degrees who have all.

My career in IT was made possible because my first company was looking for school leavers. I was bright enough to attend university but family circumstances did not allow it. It turned out that I have a natural aptitude for logical thinking, and my first employer tested for that. There is no need for special education to become a programmer or analyst or system designer… instead a logical mind is the requirement. During my career I met many with good degrees who were useless in IT – they didn’t have the correct wiring in the brain and were in the wrong job. On the other hand, I met many with no formal qualifications at all who were brilliant.

Conversely many excellent people in IT would be useless at creative writing, or selling, or Human Relations. I am sure that in non-specialised fields the same holds true – on-the-job training and experience combined with a natural aptitude for the type of job is much more important than academic paper.

Therefore employers should target their selection process to find motivated, intelligent individuals who, most importantly, have the NATURAL APTITUDE for the job.