Is Education The Key To Wealth?

Canada
November 2, 2008 8:32am CST
Hello mylottians, two days ago i got into an arguement with a close friend, who was so defensive about the fact that education is the key to be wealth... but i strongly disagreed with him and stood firmly on the grounds that education doesnt guarantee wealth, and i did point out some prominent people in the society that are welthy but never completed their college education. I think some people are born with a natural skill while others can be very enterprising also. Please i would appreciate your contributions and responses which should aid me in understanding this better. Thanking you for your anticipated responses.
6 people like this
24 responses
@sankata (236)
• Estonia
2 Nov 08
It all comes up, what do you mean by wealth. Is it that you can allow yourself things you need to live. Or you can buy so many stuff as you like to. Or you have many children, and children are your wealth.. But with some wealthy people it is so , that they have connections. And connections help people to get better places. With education, it's always good to be educated. It doesn't hurt. It opens some doors in front of you, but only education won't bring nothing. You also need your character and ability to communicate with people.
• Canada
3 Nov 08
hello sankata.. thanks for your response its really true one needs good character and ability to communicate with people...
@Margarit (3676)
• Philippines
2 Nov 08
Well i can say it has an advantage if you have education but not totally base on education you can be wealthy. To become wealthy you should possess a right attitudes to wards one another and be goal oriented. Here is some tips to become rich. http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1749978.aspx
3 people like this
• Canada
2 Nov 08
yes its definitely true that education should create opportunities to be wealthy.. thanks also for the site you provided, which should be of great help
3 people like this
@kdhartford (1151)
• United States
2 Nov 08
My opinion is that education alone will not guarantee wealth, but it sure does help. Education alone will not make you rich, but it cna be a key factor. Hard work and the capacity to learn more certainly also contributes to wealth and just a little luck doesn't hurt. But do not count only on luck, because successful people know that they make thier own luck.
@sudalunts (5523)
• United States
2 Nov 08
Education is not always the key to success. I personally know a man who today is a multi millionair. He did not have an education, actually he dropped out of school before he reached high school. school was just not for him. He got involved in a MLM business, and sky rocketed to the top right away. He is still doing very well, and learned the business aspects as he went along without any formal schooling. So yes, it is possible to reach the top without and education.
2 people like this
• Canada
2 Nov 08
Hello sudalant.. thanks for your response to my contribution.. i truly beleive what you said since a formal training in a particular business of your choice can work out fine even without education.. but i didn't understand wat you meant by MLM.. thanks once again
3 people like this
• India
3 Nov 08
MLM is multi level marketing...like amway and all
• Trinidad And Tobago
2 Nov 08
Actually i think that education IS the key to wealth. This is to say not just textbook education which can only get some places in life but common sense, street kowledge (instinct,survival skills), perseverance and character . These are all things that you learn from many different teachers and can be considered education.
@sankata (236)
• Estonia
2 Nov 08
It all comes up, what you mean by wealth. Some people concider many children as wealth. And some of them, when they can buy as many things as they like and what they like and to go where they like. But with some wealthy people it is so , that they have connections. And connections help people to get better jobs(like your politicians) With education, it's always good to be educated. It opens some doors in front of you, but only education won't bring anything. You also need your character and ability to communicate with people.
3 people like this
@derek_a (10874)
3 Nov 08
I would say you need to be educated in the sort of business you are taking up, but regarding academic qualifications, I would say no, unless it is going to be directly related to your career and that career is a profitable one. But with profitable careers there is often a lot of competition and I have known post graduates failing to get employment in their chose fields, and working at something else. There is also the other side of the coin, where there have been people with no education whatsoever become multi-millionaires because they were in the right place at the right time. It's a real mixed bag there. :-)
@ellie26 (4139)
• Malaysia
2 Nov 08
No doubts education is the basis for anyone to achieve their goal in life. However, I think education alone doesn't guarantee wealth. I think a person determination and discipline in life make the difference. Good education but no zest to improve oneself is the same as failure. Many people who are without good education background lead a successful live. So, although education is necessary but is not the key to be wealthy.
1 person likes this
@gracie04 (4549)
• Philippines
3 Nov 08
having the diploma and all is an advantage but it is not really the key to success.. you can still be successful even if you didn't finish college as long as you have the right skill and perseverance.. just believe in yourself and everything else follows.. you know, i have friends who have diplomas but some of them don't have high paying jobs..
• Sri Lanka
3 Nov 08
Hi, I think education is one of the major keys to become wealth,but not necessarily the only one.There are people who drop out of school early so they can earn,these people learn by experience and they still can be wealth without education.I think its all in a approach and determination of that individual.Then there's the luck point,some people win a lottery and woohoo..wealthy. And there's the natural skill also,as you said.
@ninaluv (338)
• Nigeria
3 Nov 08
I agree with your friend. Education is the key to wealth. if you are not learned, you can harly compete in any thing social. but a learned person acquires skills through education,which with his own immagination, he can turn into wealth.
• United States
2 Nov 08
I agree with you 100%. Education does not cause wealth in all cases. I think that if one chooses their career in their field of study then there is a possibility. The chances are 90% because the knowledge that one has about a specific subject could lead to financial stability opposed to wealth. Onthe other hand talent and skills are what gets the wealth now a days. Look at all of the pro ball player, singers, actors and so on... some of them went to school for this but overall it came natural for some.
1 person likes this
@nankum (48)
• Sri Lanka
3 Nov 08
I don't totally agree with you.But I also don't agree that education is the key to the wealth.My opinion is that education is one of key factors to wealth.But only through education you can't get rich.You need to have courage,temptation to be rich,interpersonal abilities,and etc...You have to work hard to be an owner of big wealth.You may get a phd even.But how can you earn if you don't work.How much hard you work and how much you are skilled and how much you are educated will determine how much wealth you can earn and within how much time. I have seen many people who have gain to the highest positions in education has but doesn't own any big money.And also educated persons does own big money.As well as uneducated persons who does own big wealth.Imagine how much will those uneducated not born rich persons(but who has become rich by now) will earn if they had educated.
@stiener (735)
• Singapore
3 Nov 08
In my opinion, the key to wealth includes the following but definitely not being restricted to; 1) Networking (people skill) 2) Good financial management skills 3) Luck 4) Determination You will have to define wealth (rich) in the first place of arguement (e.g. Good health is a wealth). In many situation, education is a qualification (academic achievement). It marks your minimum worth when you work in an organization. From a perspective of Entrepreneurship, it doesn't guarantee success (wealth). In fact some people with barely made it to college but are far more wealthier than any PHD holders in the world. Although some "snobbish" social groups have "barriers to entry" if you do not meet the group's class. So sometimes education may be part of the requirement. Instead of education, I would think networking is far more essential. It is the number of people who know you that counts. A whiz who is good in books and shuts himself from the world is definitely not going to get rich. A person who meets many people in a day and engage in quality conversation may benefit more than a person who reads the textbook everyday. If you want to get rich, you people to pay you regardless of the amount. People only pays you when you satisfy their needs at the moment that they pay you. What comes after is a different story. Companies that yield high revenue are those who meet large quantity of "people needs". I have met people who earns a lot more than I is a lot poorer than I am. Why is that so. In most cases, I attribute it to poor financial management if no external burdens are in effect. They usually spend more than they earn (credit cards) leaving bad debts with rolling interest. Some spend a lot to maintain relationship in social circle. I always advise them that if your friends leave you because you do not treat them to food and entertainment, you'll probably do better without them. The determination factor refers to motivation to initiate an action. In social psychology, a person makes the move when; 1) He has a vision (thought) 2) External support for his action (family,friends,money etc) 3) A reward for his action (achieving his goal or...) The determination is ongoing as some people has what it takes to get rich but failed many times. It is sometimes luck (the situation or environment) that causes the failure. So as time changes, so are the external factors so you will need determination to go for the goal. I have met people who had the vision to obtain wealth but gets relectant when something like this struck his mind "I think it is not that easy" or "if it is possible then someone else might have worked on it sometime ago or at present". These are mental blocks that prevents people from even try. I don't think Bill Gates would have succeeded if he only day-dreams but never put it into action. Even, if only intend to sell the idea, you do have to put in some effort in meeting (pitching) people. The arguement is never ending as with or without education, there are people who get rich and richer on a daily basis. In the points that I have highlighted, I am trying to put across a point that education can be formal or informal. If your friend has used this as his arguement, then it is rather convincing as both path allows people to gain knowledge and the return (wealth) is how you consolidate and use the knowledge gain. Happy Mylotting
@Celanith (2327)
• United States
3 Nov 08
No it is not. If it were my husband and I should be quite well off by now, as it is we have no retirement and age 60 and little savings and hubby is working at minimum wage only part time and he has a bachlors degree, work is not easy to find after age 40 and up. I have sons who have college educations and cannot find work in their field at all so work for Goodwill at a lot less pay and struggle to pay the bills. I do have one son who is finally and slowly after graduating from law school finally getting into a better law firm though I think as a junior partner and the pay is not all that great. He could not even find a firm to take him on as an attorney the first few years and did some cases on his own but not a lot came his way. He and his wife both struggle to work and pay the bills and feed the children. So I don't think education is going to make you wealthy at all. I know people who have excellent jobs making 70 to 100,000 and have an 8th grade education. It is not what you know or a degree so much as your experince and most of all who you know.
@katkat (2378)
• Philippines
3 Nov 08
Education is a stepping stone to wealth but not the key. There's so much aspect in becoming rich and one of them is acquiring education. Most companies today prefer employee with higher education. Like you said, education does not guarantee our future but it does give you a better chance of being successful in life.
• China
3 Nov 08
Hello cestkemi. Education is not the key to success, of course. See Bill Gates is the richest person in the world(now he is not, because he donated all his money, right?) but he never finished his college. On the opposite, my boyfriend graduated from a top university as a postgraduate, but he is not rich:( It all depends. Some people can do very vell in what they are interested and maybe that can lead to wealth if he finds a good way and commercial. If you are ambitious to accumulate wealth and with eduation you can success quicker, I think so. Education can help you enjoy life better.
• India
3 Nov 08
what I can say is education is not the only key to earn wealth. There are many ways people become rich without much education, You can even become champions playing games, using your brain and developing any business, We have many such people around the world who are rich and millionaires without much education, but for some, education is only the source to wealth. For me, education is the only means to earn money, but for some others it might not be the same. Many people sell things, play games, win lotteries etc etc, there are many ways in this world by which one can become really wealthy.
@Roseo8 (2947)
• India
3 Nov 08
Well this is an interesting discussion.....Education can open the doors to new avenues of entrepreneurship and help us to maintain and develop exisiting enterprise and does play a key role in making and retaining wealth. Except for the blessed few who are born with a natural skill to make wealth and who has the power to make everything they touch turn to gold,most others can make good and neat money only by getting good education ,and then finding the right job or enterprise that is suited to one's taste and skill.Also for furthering your business or reinvesting the money wisley,education does help to a great extent... Even the less educated hire professionals to manage their business .So the importance of education cannot be belittled in making and maintaining your wealth.....
@anujs007 (98)
• India
3 Nov 08
There are both sides to this one.Some educated people are making good money and doing reputable jobs.On the other hand,as you said,most big players today are school dropouts! I personally think education is important,but not the bookish knowledge we learn in textbooks.The education should mean all the social engineering skills,and general knowlegde about areas that interest us..That can surely help in making it big in terms of wealth. And nobody was a born enterprenuer,they all learn as they grow up...though yes,some might get better and suitable(business minded) environment at homes and all. Let me know what you think cestkemi007. thanks:)