Why I Stopped Believing a Degree Could Save My Future, And My Children’s

Would You Start a Business for Your Children Because There Will Be Fewer Jobs for Them?

 

I used to believe education would make me rich.

Not just “open doors” rich,but change my life rich.

 

When I got my high‑school results, I was so proud. Those grades were my passport to the best schools, the best teachers, the best future. At 18, I thought I had won the lottery. So I kept going. Six more years of school. Six more years of believing that if I just learned enough, life would reward me.

 

And every time I struggled to find a job that made me feel valued, I repeated the same mantra:

Maybe one more training program. One more certificate. One more chance to prove myself.

 

I wasn’t lazy. I wasn’t unmotivated.

I was a good student. I genuinely love learning.

 

But loving learning doesn’t magically create job openings.

 

The day I realized something was wrong was the day I met 4,000 other students with the exact same degree, all fighting for the same ten job openings every month.

 

Were we all losers?

Or did the degree simply stop being the key to a decent life?

 

If a diploma no longer guarantees a stable job or a stable salary, why are we still spending six years learning skills we may never use to earn a living?

 

Is knowledge becoming cheaper?

 

Anyone who has used AI can feel the shift. And this is only the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution. Imagine the job market in 2036.

 

Where will you be?

 

If you’re a student, or the parent of one, would you still invest ten years in learning something that might be obsolete before you even graduate?

 

But then… what’s the alternative?

 

The truth is uncomfortable:

In ten years, many people will struggle to choose between working to live and living to work.

 

For decades, the boomer generation celebrated education and “intellectual jobs.” They believed moving away from manual labor meant progress. But thirty years later, computers and robots are taking over the very jobs they once thought were safe.

 

For millennials and Gen Z, the future looks even more fragile.

Having a stable job today doesn’t guarantee your family’s stability tomorrow.

 

Entrepreneurship is becoming the new degree, except you can’t earn it in a classroom. The only place you can earn it is in the market.

 

So if you’re building your personal brand today, and you’re frustrated because you don’t see immediate results, try to see it differently. Think of it as planting seeds your future self, or even your children, will one day rely on.

 

It might be the most valuable investment you ever make.