Is education directly related to wealth?

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The society that we were raised in has the belief that the only recipe for a bright future is good education. But what is actually happening in life seem to refute this as a mere fallacy. There are educated people who are very rich and some who are broke. This draws us back to the question – is education directly related to wealth?

It is wrong, if not catastrophic, to conclude that education is the one way ticket to wealth. There are two questions we need to ask ourselves before we let our emotions force us to make false conclusions.

What is education?

Allow me to borrow from my former high school head’s vocabulary – education is what is left in your brains after leaving school. In other words, education is what you can use from what you have studied. It is something that change the way you perceive about life. Education broadens your thinking capacity.

Furthermore, education is achieved in two ways. You can earn education through experience. As you get more experience, you will perfect your skills by learning from your mistakes . This form of education is the most effective but probably the most challenging because failure is a ruthless teacher who have no respect for anyone.

When people talk about education they normally refer to learning a skill then apply it. That means getting a qualification and then work to get experience later. This form of education has a low success rate in the sense that you are being taught to fight the battles you do not have any clue about. It is the easiest form of attaining education but the most inefficient way to pursue greatness. There is too much dependency on other people to succeed – you need a job to make use of what you learn from the university. If the economy shuts you off then you may be condemned to wallow in poverty.

What is poverty?

Poverty is defined as a condition in which a person is lacking financial resources to sustain his/her needs. When you are in debt, can we say you have enough to sustain yourself?

In my own perspective which is subject to debate, poverty is a state in which a person’s assets are less than his/her liabilities. As long as what you are paying out exceeds what you are earning, then you are in poverty.

Likewise, you can still be poor even though you may be driving a posh car or living in a beautiful house, that is if you are not owning any of those things.

Why are most educated people in poverty?

Many are slaves to money

The first answer to this question is the most trivial one – majority of educated people are trained to work for money. The main reason why people go on strikes or jump from one job to the other is because they seek more money. Their lives are controlled by money. So if they can not get a pay rise, they enroll for another degree not because they want to broaden their thinking ability.

A large portion of educated people see money as a trophy – the ultimate goal. That is why many people demand more money because they have a master’s degree. Money should be an appreciation of a job well done. There is a difference. Money should never be the goal but a reward for achieving your goals.

Moreover, because many folks are looking for money to validate their previous hard work at school, they live a fake life. Their education can allow them to take more debt, so they will pile up debt by buying liabilities thinking that they are accumulating wealth. At the end, they pay out more than what they are earning from their salaries which leads to poverty.

Maybe they know nothing about money

We all agree that being a brain surgeon does not make you a pilot. A person can be highly skilled on something but at the same time being ignorant about other things. Financial literacy is not taught at school. Therefore having multiple degrees do not provide a cushion against poor financial decisions.

Moreover, only a few are fortunate enough to learn from their mistakes. The most surprising fact is that even graduates from finance related courses find themselves broke. So it is not in the qualifications they have but money has its own rules.

In order to attain financial freedom, one has to master the way in which money works. Failure to understand this will give money the power to control you. Knowing about money will help you to be conscious about your financial decisions.

Many see their qualifications as assets

Very few educated people are aware that the value of their education is not in the certificates on their walls. One person once told me that people should not have to see your diplomas to believe that you are educated. Your decisions and actions should be sufficient to prove that you are educated.

Additionally, because most people rely on their certificates to provide food on the table, they lack the understanding that skills are changing rapidly. Technological advancement has made other qualifications useless. For people who do not keep their value in the certificates, they can adapt by learning new things. This ensures that they keep being relevant in the community.

In conclusion, is education directly related to wealth? Being educated has nothing to do with being poor. Money has its principles that needs to be followed. Failure to follow this does not respect your level of education. It is therefore of great importance to learn about managing money and to develop good habits of saving and investing money.