<p>For all you thinking "oh, if I don't go to Ivy school Y or LAC X or Top 40 University Z, then I won't get any money or prestige," there is hope. My parents have proven that your degree, or lack thereof, does not matter.</p>
<p>Dad:</p>
<p>Coming out of high school my dad was clearly driven in college choice by football. With recruiting from big D-I schools like Clemson, he had chances that most HS athletes dream of. Instead, by force from his parents, he ended up going to Taylor University, a D-II school. After two years there playing football and majoring in education, he dropped out, and then went to community college, before quitting college altogether, one semester short of a degree.</p>
<p>Mom:</p>
<p>My mom was the more academically driven of the two throughout high school, ranked 9th in her class. Going into college at the University of Dayton, she wasn't sure what she was going to do with her life. She was into theatre and singing, and had just recently place top ten at Miss Ohio, but was afraid any degree in some arts field like that would place her at a financial disadvantage. Her dad recommended physiology as he was a science teacher, and that's what she graduated with.</p>
<p>Where they are now:</p>
<p>After meeting right out of college and getting married, both my parents started working for my dad's parents homebuilding company. My mom had originally worked in a local lab, but she hated it so became a sales representative at my grandparent's company. Later they both started working for an upstart homebuilding company for a few years, before moving onto starting their own company. That went on for a few years before it started tanking before they moved back to the upstart company, which moved us (I was 12 by this time) to Indiana. Then after discovering that where we lived in Indiana was not exciting in no way, shape, or form, both my parents found jobs in Florida. My mom has worked her way up that company ladder, moving us to the beach and allowing my dad to quit his job at another homebuilding company and go into real estate.</p>
<p>Not once during my 18 year existence (the length of their stay in homebuilding/sales/marketing/real estate market) have we ever been financially disabled. We are very well off right now. As you can see my parents picked up a completely different area of work than what they had been expecting, and one that only my dad had previous experience in because of his parents. My mom still wishes that she had majored in marketing, communications, or some sales-related, but they have both been happy since entering this job field. They have both found their niche with my mom in sales/marketing and my dad in construction, and they both plan to stay there for awhile.</p>
<p>I just wanted to point out that people without college degrees (or one in their respective field) can still earn ~$250k per year, meaning that people with degrees from state universities and other local schools can earn the same amount, if not more. My parents have had several different jobs each, exploring their interets, and not once incurring extreme financial burden. They have even had their own company, my dad's being a construction company and my mom's being interior design. And at a time when people are being laid off right and left in the homebuilding industry with sales tanking, both my parents have gained job security at their respective jobs. </p>
<p>If you had asked us 15, 10 or even 5 years ago where we would be and what we would be doing, we would have said something insanely different than where we are and what we are doing now.</p>