Do you even need a degree?

This is the first question, and it's the one most people end up skipping, because it's a lot easier to jump straight into "what should I study" than it is to actually sit with whether you should be studying at all.

So slow down for a second.

I'm not here to tell you college is a scam, and I'm not here to tell you everyone needs to go either. The honest answer is, it depends, and most people who give you a confident answer on this one are probably selling you something. It depends on what you want to do, what you can afford, what kind of person you are, and what the world actually rewards in the season of life you happen to find yourself in.

But before we get into any of that, there's one path I want you to think through honestly, because a lot of young guys seem to lean into it as a way out.

The online business thing.

Maybe you've watched a few too many videos of guys in rented Lamborghinis telling you that college is for losers, and that the real money is in dropshipping, or crypto, or whatever the algorithm happens to be pushing this week. And maybe part of you wants to believe it, because it lets you skip the harder decision in front of you, and that's a really tempting thing to do when you're 18 and the next move feels enormous.

I really don't want to be the guy who crushes that for you. But the chance of you becoming the next online millionaire is small. It isn't zero, but it is small enough that you probably shouldn't be planning your life around it. And if you're being honest with yourself, you probably already know that.

That doesn't mean working for yourself is off the table though. There's a different version of self-employment that's actually really realistic, and honestly, it's a great option for a lot of people. I'm talking about starting a real business that does real work. Landscaping, plumbing, a trade, some kind of service that's in demand in your town, that someone in your community actually needs done.

That's a real path, and a humble one, and it probably won't get you a Lamborghini, but it might get you a stable income, a decent life, and the strange kind of peace that comes with knowing you built something with your hands.

If that's the kind of thing you're drawn to, then you might not need a degree at all, and trade school or an apprenticeship could honestly serve you better than four years and a pile of debt would.

But if you're not built for that, or if something else is pulling at you, then the question changes. And that's really what the rest of this course is going to try to walk through with you. What you actually want out of life. What you can realistically afford. What might be worth going into debt for, and what definitely isn't.

For now though, just sit with this one question for a second.

Do you actually need a degree, or are you just doing it because you're supposed to?

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Reflect: Why do you think you need a degree? Try to sit with that one honestly for a second, because it's not a question most people actually stop to ask themselves. Is it because you've genuinely thought it through, or is it because it's just what the people around you have always assumed you'd do?