Throughout most people’s lives they consider multiple careers. I wanted to be a mermaid when I was little, but then I realized I would have to get my hair wet every day, and five-year-old me was not ok with that. 

Eventually, when I got serious about needing to choose a career I bounced around between joining the Navy, becoming a pilot, being a veterinarian, and being an orthopedic surgeon. 

Now that I have to settle down and apply for colleges, I chose physical therapy, but it got me thinking: Why do I have to go to college?

I understand that there are certain careers that need a college education because they are in charge of people’s health and safety. When we were little and asked why we had to go to college, the answer was always: you need to go to college to get a good education, to get a good job, to make money.

Even though college can get you a good job, you don’t need to go to college to get one. Joining the Navy and becoming a pilot would have been two perfectly good career choices, and I wouldn’t have needed to go to college at all.

Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are two very famous, very successful examples of people who didn’t attend college. Rachel Ray and Ralph Lauren are two other less known, successful figures who never obtained a college degree.

Net worth is the calculation of the total value of what you own, money in your bank account plus the value of your material possessions, minus what you owe.

As of August 2026, Bill Gates’ net worth is $110 billion according to Forbes, Mark Zuckerberg’s is $198.5 billion, Rachel Ray’s is $100 million, and Ralph Lauren has a net worth of $14.9 billion, and they got all of that money without going to college.

According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, the average net worth of a household headed by a college graduate is $2,003,400, and the mean net worth of those households is $464,400.

Obtaining a net worth of over a billion dollars cannot be expected for every person who does not go to college. According to Lexington Law the average net worth of someone who has only completed a high school degree is $413,300. However most successful people who did not go to college at least completed some other post-secondary education, like trade school or apprenticeships. 

After spending around $153,080 for a four year bachelor’s degree an accountant who is fresh out of college will make around $55,000 a year at an entry level position.

A plumber would take about a year in trade school and spend less than $15,000. In their first year they would make around $45,000 while completing more on-job training as an apprentice.

While this difference leans in favor of trade school, it is important to note that salaries go up as you continue in the workforce, so jobs you get from obtaining a college degree will typically end up paying you more as time goes on.

An accountant can make a wage up to $144,090 a year. And a plumber is paid based on how many hours they work, and they would usually make up to $118,000 a year after having eight or more years of experience.

There are of course many other occupations that you go to college for that will make much less or much more than an accountant. For example, pediatric surgeons make an average of $559,030 a year. Meanwhile, local and state legislators only make an average of $25,630 a year.

There are also other trades and jobs you don’t need to go to college for that make much less and much more than a plumber. An airline pilot makes an average of $232,140 a year, and a private in the Army would only make an average of $28,886.40 a year.

From the time we are in kindergarten, we are told we can be whatever we want, but then we are told that we need to get good grades to get into a good college. Adults in kids’ lives need to realize that college isn’t the only option, nor is it the best option for everyone. 

You can go to trade school, culinary school, join the military, take a gap year, or find some other form of education.

So when you are thinking about your future career keep in mind that there are many viable, different options for you to explore. When a little kid asks you why you need to go to college, be open minded and let them know that you don’t, and that learning after high school is a good idea, but college isn’t the only way you can do that.