Are you better off flipping burgers or going to college?

The answer is maybe. It depends on what you major in and your job prospects after graduating.

Conventional wisdom from older generations led millions of students to believe that you won't have a chance in life without getting an undergraduate degree.

However, a quick youtube search can find several videos about students that majored in debt.
Kids that had no guidance, no plan, no ambition, and majored in something that was overpriced with barely any job opportunities.

I'm sure everyone has heard a few stories about students racking up $60,000 of student loans. Maybe even up to $200,000 in debt.

Without any reasonable way to pay off those debts, these kids would have been better off just skipping college.

So, what could a person expect to make of himself forgoing college and working a minimum wage job? Lets find out.

Where I live, minimum wage is almost $7.50 an hour.

At the age of 18, a kid fresh out of high school could easily find work at a fast food restaurant or a grocery store.

If he has the ambition to work 40 hours each week (may require getting at least two jobs), his annual earnings would equal $15,600 (7.50*40*52).

As of tax year 2013, his standard deduction and personal exemption would equal $10000. His taxable income is only $5,600. His tax bracket would be roughly 15% so the taxes owed would be roughly $840 (5600*.15).

The total money he would take home for the year would be $14,760 (10000 + 5600 - 840).

Over four years, his total take home pay would equal $59,040.

Now, lets subtract out expenses.

When I got my first job, I lived at home with my parents and I was able to keep my expenses down to $640 a month. Total expenses equaled $7680 a year.

Assuming this kid kept up my expenses, his expenses over the course of 4 years would total  $30,720.

If he saved the rest of his money he would have a total of $28,320 by the time he was 22 and his friends were graduating college.


When I started my first job, my work site was 15 miles from my house which made a car, gas, and car insurance necessary. If I had a job that I could walk or bike to, my monthly expenses would have been significantly less. I paid an average of $160 on car insurance and $140 on gas each month.

Without those two large expenses, my monthly expenses would have totaled $340.

If this kid, fresh out of high school could walk or bike to work, he could reasonably keep his expenses down to $340 a month. This totals out to $4080 a year.

Over 4 years, his total expenses would have been $16,320.

With his total take home pay at $59,040, subtract his four year expenses of $16,320, and his total savings over 4 years equal $42,720.

A kid at the age of 22 could have $42,720 saved up in his bank.

This can be done over the course of working full time for just 4 years.

Of course, this kid could be even more ambitious.

He could drop out of high school at the age of 16 to start working 2 years earlier. If he wanted to, he could work 50 hours a week instead of 40.

If a man is willing to work hard and plan ahead, he can accumulate wealth with or without formal education.