How to Get By Without a College Degree (And When You Need One)

College is getting harder to pay for, and a startling number of people have degrees they don't need for their job, or have jobs unrelated to their major. Whether you're thinking about college, already enrolled, or graduated with a degree you can't use, there are ways to find employment regardless of what the paper says.

In the interest of full disclosure: I'm a college dropout. I went to a tech school for about half of a two-year program studying television production and graphic design. It was the only formal training I have. Today, my job uses some of those skills in a secondary way, but I don't have a certificate saying I can do it, and most of my duties are things I had to learn to do on my own. It can be done. Skipping college (or dropping out) isn't for everyone, and life never has any guarantees, but the exceptions aren't totally limited to Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg.

To be totally clear, we would never say you shouldn't go to college. But if avoiding the experience is an option you're keen on, here's what you'll have to consider.