Education does not guarantee success in one’s life

“To have a good life, you must have a good education.” How many times, has this sentence been ingrained into our minds, by our parents, our teachers, even our older siblings? How true is this statement? In my opinion, it is largely true; however, not everyone who has a good life is educated. Following the same argument, not everyone who is educated leads a good life.

What is deemed by an education? An education, as defined by the Merriam-Webster is the action or process of educating or of being educated. It does not restrict an education to being a wholly academic process. This means that a person educated in music, sports or sewing counts towards having an education.

Another question we must ask ourselves is what success really means. Is success measured in monetary terms, or in how wide your smile is when you get out of bed? Can someone really be happy living in a one-room flat occupied by 13 people and eating only one meagre meal per day? Merriam-Webster defines success as a favourable or desired outcome. Whatever you desired, if you attained it, you are successful. If a road sweeper desires to have enough to eat every day and to have a loyal wife and a son, and he attains all that, he would be successful.

Does education guarantee that you attain everything you desire?

The answer is no.

If what you desire is to be a millionaire, and the economy is in a slump, no matter how qualified you are, you may still not achieve your dreams of becoming that rich. What can be said, though, is that an education will take you further towards achieving your dreams. An educated person is more likely to be successful than an uneducated person.

A university graduate, for example, is more likely to land a job as a highly paid officer but an uneducated person who takes a job waiting tables will have to depend on a meagre salary and occasional tips. If both had the same dream of becoming a millionaire, the university graduate’s education took him further along the path towards reaching his goal than the uneducated waiter would perhaps never reach.

An education gives you much more than just credentials. An education broadens your mind to new possibilities and develops your thinking skills. It hones your brain cells to function at a higher level than an uneducated person. Learning makes the wheels in your mind turn and pushes your intellect to reach a new mark. People, who have been through an education, walk away with a lot more than just the knowledge of, for example, cooking, or how to prepare ammonium sulphate. They walk away with subtle skills that divide the educated and the uneducated. Education instils morals and character building. These are all skills that will help guarantee you success. In the working world, the reason why educated people are sought after and given the better jobs are because they have the intellectual skills and capacity to carry out the job given to them. Schools instil discipline and teach students right from wrong. These characteristics are valued in a worker. In this way, yes, an education does guarantee success.

However, an education in whatever field you choose is still just that, an education. If you do nothing with it, and choose to let it waste away, then you will still not be successful. If a PhD. holder were to visit the pub every night after getting his degree and spend the night drinking his health away, it is very unlikely that he will be deemed successful. An education cannot guarantee you success unless you take the first step to guarantee yourself success.

While I believe that an education is not all that is needed for success, I have to admit that success is far from easily attainable without a proper education. Even Cinderella was taught by her father who read her many books, and not many of us will end up marrying Prince Charming. A healthy mix of education, self-determination, willpower and always, a prevalent dream of what success means to you is the right step to success throughout your life.