Originally Posted by
TransWorld
Bingo. Bill Gates started his own company. Charles Lindbergh did not graduate college.
When someone complains to me about needing to have a 4 year college degree, when they think they do not, I remind them of two points:
1) Major airlines set their hiring rules. Some airlines want pilots to wear hats. There game, their rules. If you want to play their game, play by their rules.
2) When reminded of the rare exceptions, I remind them they are no Charles Lindbergh.
Also an important point... many examples of no-degree success stories are from a different era. In Lindberg's time college was the exception, not the rule. Even 30-40 years ago, there was still a space for success without college (and college wasn't quite as readily available as it is today). Back then the question might have been "how did you manage to go to college?", while today it will be "why did you choose not to go to college?"
By the 1990's college was pretty ubiquitous and readily available, both admission and funding.
IIRC the modern day Bill Gates (Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg, etc) all went to college, and top-tier at that (although some dropped out to pursue their ultimately lucrative visions, so you can give them credit for good SA, just like a top pro ball prospect who bangs out of college as soon as the pros will have him).