Now, before you judge or crucify me, hear me out. I’m not against education; I’m against wasting time and money on an outdated system that won’t give you the life you desire.
The truth is, our universities (especially in Africa) are not designed to make you rich or successful. They train you to memorize, graduate, and wait for someone else to employ you. But if you want real financial freedom, there’s a better way.
Here are the key reasons why university alone won’t guarantee your success and what to do instead:
- University Doesn’t Provide the Right Kind of Education
Real education is about developing your mind, solving problems and creating opportunities. Unfortunately, most graduates can’t do anything on their own unless they’re employed. If your degree leaves you restless and jobless for years, is that true education?
Instead, focus on self-education. Read books, attend seminars, learn high-income skills and build expertise in a field that actually pays.
- Higher Education Creates More Unemployment
Every year, thousands of graduates flood the job market, but only a small fraction create their own opportunities. This makes unemployment worse. Meanwhile, a young person who learns a trade or digital skill often starts earning within months, without waiting for a “connection.”
I explained more about this in my ebook Achieving your Greatest Dreams and you can read it here
- University Wastes Your Most Precious Time
By the time many people finish university, they’re 25–30 years old still jobless, still searching. But your teens and early twenties are your most valuable years to develop your purpose and skills.
Instead of spending four years chasing a certificate, imagine spending those same years mastering a skill, starting a business, or building a career that generates income and independence.
- School Can’t Teach You How to Succeed in Business
University prepares you to be an employee not an entrepreneur. It won’t teach you resilience, risk-taking or how to build a profitable business. That’s why many graduates struggle to create opportunities for themselves.
If your dream is financial freedom, then practical knowledge, self-development and entrepreneurship will take you further than endless degrees.
- But There Are Exceptions
Yes, some careers require formal education doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers. But for most of us who want to build wealth through entrepreneurship, leadership, or innovation, university is not the answer.
So What Should You Do Instead?
Discover your purpose early.
Read widely in your field of interest (I personally read over 270 books after leaving university).
Invest in skills that can make you money now, digital marketing, tech, content creation, entrepreneurship.
Surround yourself with mentors and communities that push you forward.
If you do this, you’ll gain more real-world value than most degree holders.
University can give you knowledge, but it won’t automatically give you financial freedom. True success comes from self-education, skill-building and purpose-driven living.
I share more practical strategies for achieving financial freedom in my book, Achieving Your Greatest Dreams. In fact, I dedicated a full chapter (Chapter 11) to this exact subject.
If you’re serious about breaking free and living the life you desire, grab your copy here:
techpreneuracademy.com/achieving-your-greatest-dreams/
Don’t waste your precious years chasing degrees that won’t serve you. Instead, take control of your education and design the life you really want.
No. While university can help certain professionals like doctors or engineers, success and financial freedom mostly come from self-education, skill development and entrepreneurship. Many millionaires and innovators built wealth by focusing on practical skills rather than degrees.
Most universities teach theory and memorization not how to build wealth, solve problems or create opportunities. Graduates often finish school without employable or income-generating skills, while self-taught entrepreneurs and digital professionals start earning much earlier.
Instead of relying solely on university, focus on learning high-income skills such as digital marketing, tech, content creation, or entrepreneurship. Read books, take online courses, find mentors, and join growth communities. These steps can help you create your own opportunities and financial independence faster.
Absolutely. Many successful entrepreneurs, investors and creators achieved financial freedom without formal education by mastering one profitable skill and scaling it. In Achieving Your Greatest Dreams, Chapter 11 outlines practical steps to turn skills into consistent income even without a degree.
Traditional education focuses on memorizing information for exams, while self-education emphasizes personal growth, real-world problem solving and skill mastery. Self-education allows you to learn directly from experience, books, mentors and online resources giving you an edge in today’s fast-changing economy.
David Asaana is a Digital Marketer, Author and Entrepreneur with over five years of experience. He has worked with 4,000+ clients across Ghana, the USA, the UK, and beyond, and his YouTube channel where he shares step-by-step tutorials on digital marketing and business growth has reached more than 1.9 million views.
