How College Failed Me

This blog post is not to discourage anyone from going to college, but rather to serve as an aid to those so they don’t make the same mistakes that I did. Let's get into it. 

I want to debunk the myth that "Your degree alone sets you apart for job opportunities". There are so many successful people that don't have degrees. Yes, companies will have certain requirements for job roles but I know so many people who are doing work that has absolutely nothing to do with their degrees. Likewise, via social media, I know a lot of peers who while in school almost flunked out of my university working really good jobs at good companies. Why? BECAUSE your degree doesn’t matter. Not college but a piece of paper itself. Can it help you make more $? Yes.. For certain jobs is it required? Yes. BUT the piece of paper doesn’t guarantee your success.

College isn’t for the piece of paper as much as it is to establish connections. That is the one thing that I did not do while in school, and it ended up biting me in the @$% come graduation. I maintained very few relationships with peers and professors who worked and/or had connections in the profession I want to go into. IF I COULD I would go back in a minute and redo this part of college all over again. I would join more clubs and networked at more events. If you're in college now listen to me TAKE ADVANTAGE of those opportunities. That's what sticks out to jobs, that's what's going to help you land your career. 

Not connecting and networking with peers is why I am currently having to start from the beginning with finding a job in my field. At first, I was really bitter about it. I worked throughout college. Working 2 ( sometimes 3) jobs most of the time. Stealing time from sleep to study and here I was not even getting called back or picked for interviews. While I watched kids, I know for a fact basically drank their way through school, land jobs because their mommy or daddy knew someone or someone who is of their same greek-life organization was their connect. I used to be BITTER.  Instead, now I encourage other people to learn from my mistakes.  

 Go to and join as many things as you can. If you are like me and unfortunately have to work to support yourself through school, don’t be discouraged. Just be more mindful and intentional about the events or groups you join. I would also encourage you to be more mindful of the jobs you work. Work at places you could see a future at post-college if something happens and you can't find  that dream job. Apply for work studies at jobs that still put you on campus and give you the ability to be able to connect with professors and people who work at your college. They could be potential references later.  

Again please take as much as you can from school, avoid making mistakes as I did. The piece of paper will not do much for you by itself, I promise. Be strategic and be intentional. 

I know the new normal is making it exceptionally hard for kids in college right now. Online classes are making it difficult to interact with other people. That all just means students have to work 10x harder than before to reach out to their peers and other resources. Just because it's harder to do, does not mean to not do it. Ask your professors about opportunities. See what options your university is doing for engagements. Reach out to your classmates to have Zoom study hangouts. You still have options. I’m telling you those connections will come in handy in the real world.