Academic Progress and its Importance to Thriving in Life
Academic progress is a more eloquent way of saying educational development of a person. One of the ways of ensuring you thrive in life is by completing your studies. Why? Well, let us look at some statistics that back this up.
Studies have shown that nearly half of all wealth inequality stems from a lack of financial literacy; i.e. people are uneducated in Finance and are unable to manage their accounts in a manner that is beneficial to them; which could increase their expenses significantly and reduce their ability to generate additional sources of income and diversifying assets.
Eurostat has also noted how those with at least one year of tertiary education – this is, higher education/University – earn in the European Union 50% higher than those with only their High-School diplomas (which are equivalent to GCSEs and A-Levels) and 70% higher than those without secondary education.
Additionally, in the UK, those who take an apprenticeship earn more than those who only have A-Levels; but those who are graduates earn more than those with an apprenticeship at all levels beyond the age of 24. As such, a degree is always a better option if you want to make more money in the long-run.
There is a clear, noticeable correlation between education and earnings, and it affects a person’s ability to succeed. Of course, there are many without degrees that have become millionaires. There are also many people who won the lottery. Those are the winners, and they are such a small percentage of the population you should not use them as an example or rely on it for your own self. Not everyone can become a millionaire singing, playing football or running a business without any education whatsoever.
Henceforth, it would be advisable, from a sensible point of view, to have a backup plan involving a high-paying job that is skilled and knowledgeable; or at least, ensuring you learn more about finance. If you want to increase your knowledge in finance, why not subscribe to our YouTube channel and Newsletter to get new updates on the new articles and videos and enhance yourself!
Lots of people (typically from lower income backgrounds) argue that practical knowledge is invaluable and usually superior to theoretical knowledge, disregarding the latter completely. A simple question to you would be: would you like to be given life-or-death surgery by a Doctor with only practical experience? Without the theory behind it, an individual cannot successfully advance forward. However, without the practical experience, it would be hard for someone to also get ahead.
Due to this reason, people should understand the need to develop themselves academically alongside professionally.
And what type of routes can you take to achieve this?
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Undergraduate Qualifications: this is the first step into higher education. It can be either a Bachelors Degree (typically of Science or Arts), a Foundation Degree, a Higher National Diploma, a Diploma of Higher Education, or a National Vocational Qualification.
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Postgraduate Qualifications: usually after completing an Undergraduate qualification, a person can go into Postgraduate studies which enhance their theoretical knowledge in-depth.
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Degree Apprenticeships: these are typically reserved to vocational subjects which require advanced levels of theory, such as Engineering.
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Professional Qualifications: these differ from higher education as they are more focused on a specific industry or career path. If you are certain about a career, this can be a great path to take.
Either of these options can be substantially favourable to your career and life opportunities, and consequently to your family and descendants. Besides these academic qualifications, work experience is of course a must. Working part-time, doing summer internships or taking a sandwich degree with work placement is a must if you are looking to maximise income in the long-term.
Nonetheless, not everyone had those chances in life. So many people were born without privilege and messed up early in life. What can you do in such a position? My suggestions are the following:
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Find a passive income source that generates some extra money.
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Run a hobby-focused side business. Everyone has something they enjoy doing heavily in their past-time; why not turn that into a profitable side-business that generates some income whilst having some fun?
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Take management or professional qualifications to progress further in your career.
If you want to be more financially literate too, some of the things you could do to become better off is diversify your assets, own liquid assets (such as cash and government bonds), and keep low amounts of debt relative to your assets.
Hence, if you are not focusing in your academic progress, you should. It can be severely difficult, so here a few tips to help you maintain focus and study harder:
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Keep a studying timetable: by creating a structure surrounding your learning, you will be more focused and be able to accomplish more.
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Studying in an appropriate setting: depending on whether you are a morning bird or a night owl, you might prefer studying when the sun rises or after the sun sets. Having good lighting, plants and a comfortable, clean environment will boost your productivity immensely.
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Take lots of nutrients: such as omega-3 fats and multivitamins.
These are just a few small tips to keep you engaged; but there are many more. You can find thousands of resources online teaching you how to study more in-depth.
I hope this was insightful. Do not forget to subscribe to our membership for access to the premium articles, as this helps support our website and gives you a lot more information on finance!
SOURCES:
Lusardi, Annamaria; Michaud, Pierre-Carl and Mitchell, Olivia S. "Optimal Financial Knowledge and Wealth Inequality." NBER Working Paper 18669, January 2013; http://www.nber.org/papers/w18669.pdf.
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/applying-for-university/choosing-a-course/guide-to-qualifications
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/apprenticeships/degree-apprenticeships
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/postgraduate-study/professional-qualifications
https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/page1-econ/2017/01/03/education-income-and-wealth/