How to Earn Money Quickly and Avoid a Large Debt Load

I know, I know...the title sounds like a "get-rich-quick" scheme. Trust me. It's not. It's just simply my opinion about how to make money at a younger age and avoid debt. So here's my opinion:

I believe that living in Canada, we are taught many things: proper manners, how much maple syrup to put on pancakes, and how to withstand the blistering winds of Northern Ontario, in which temperatures drop below 20 degrees Celsius...without even having to wear a jacket.

However, I also believe that we are told some things that aren't necessarily beneficial to us: in order to get a job anywhere, in order to get ahead in this world, or in order to prove your abilities, you must have a university degree.

Now, I'm not trying to discount the almighty degree, here. I mean, I have one, so I understand the feeling of completion and relief when you finally graduate. What I take issue with, however, is that, almost from the time we say our first words, we are told that we need to go to university and obtain a degree. End of story. Well, speaking as a university grad who had a fair bit of trouble landing a career in my chosen field after graduation, I beg to differ with the status quo!

I have done a fair bit of research on the matter in the past week or so, even commenting on some other blogs of university graduates who are having/have had trouble finding a job upon graduation. One blog that I read was written by a graduate student who had just completed his PhD in Sociology and still could not find a suitable job. By now I'm sure that you're thinking, "Well, yeah...because he majored in Sociology. Of course he would have trouble finding a job. What can you do with a degree like that??"

Well, unfortunately, the same can be true for many other areas of discipline. For those of you who have a degree, how many of you landed the ideal job the moment you graduated? And, when you did finally gain employment in your field, were you making as much money as you thought you deserved? And what of your student loan debt? How long did it take to pay it off?

All I ask of you now is to cast aside your educational beliefs that have held you captive for so long and take a moment to consider another avenue. I think it's absolutely important for one to have an education, all I'm saying here is that a university degree is not the "be all, end all". I believe that there are many other roads you may take when choosing your educational career, and considering a college or a career college may actually be a better option for you.

If you choose to go to a college, you can complete your hands-on education in 2 years of less, usually. A career college can have you out working in your chosen field in a year or less, sometimes! You won't get rich quick, but you'll certainly begin earning money at a younger age and avoid being haunted by ever-growing OSAP loans (or whatever kind of student loan you may have had to use).

It's just something to think about...