20 Celebrities who never finished high school

[GA Russell]

A number of these people are pretty impressive. It must be nice to know what you want to do with your life when you are fifteen.

I may be wrong, but I think that Canadians Celine Dion and Wayne Gretsky didn't graduate either.

http://magazine.foxnews.com/celebrity/20-celebrities-who-never-finished-high-school?intcmp=HPBucket

[JSngry]

I'm willing to wager that more people finished school high than didn't finish high school.

[patricia]

The thing I find most interesting about those who are amazed that many very successful people didn't finish highschool is their assumption that doing so is a passport to success.

Intelligence and ingenuity cannot be measured soley by how many years one spends pursuing a diploma, whether it's from a highschool, college or university.

It's true that most highschool drop-outs are hobbled out of the gate. This is, IMO, because few prospective employers will give them even an initial interview.

But, in the arts, creativity and talent are the measure.

Commercially exploitable ideas are also valued much more than a piece of paper that tells us, really, not much more than that the person spent the time, not that they learned anything.

The examples are, for sure, exceptions, but they certainly contradict the rule that without a diploma one is doomed to failure.

Without intelligence, tenacity and a goal there is no success for anyone, regardless of how many years they spent in the educational system.

None of the people on the list [You forgot Michael J. Fox, who dropped out of tenth grade, years later getting his GED] actually stopped reading, learning and paying attention to current affairs.

Edited September 22, 2013 by patricia

[A Lark Ascending]

Talent will often out regardless of education. I've taught kids who either revolt against the system or just play lip service to it and go on to success regardless.

The trouble is that most kids do benefit from working through the system and getting qualified.

But they also like the idea that all they have to do is dream for the stars and celebrity will be there - a concept pushed by TV talent shows. I've seen too many who don't have that exceptional talent or independence come to grief by believing that getting those qualifications doesn't really matter because they know someone who failed all his/her exam but is now a millionaire.

If you think you've got that talent/flair, no harm in getting an insurance policy from the orthodox qualifications.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I know you're right, Bev, but I prefer to be wrong.

As a grumpy old man, I feel one of the big problems is that no one seems able to do a job nowadays. This is partly because employers have deskilled the concept of a job and relegated it to a series of tasks; not the same thing at all. But I reckon they've done this because they're getting by on qualifications, rather than talent.

Now, I don't want an unqualified dentist filling my teeth, but I don't want to do business with a business with an untalented manager who is 'qualified'.

MG

[A Lark Ascending]

Qualifications only get you so far.

When I'm short listing I assume a level of qualification - it's the letter of application that has most influence (of course I check back to ensure they are qualified). If I have 6 or 7 very good letters I go back to the degree and sometimes A Levels as a way of differentiating - though references (when they come in, often while interviewing after badgering referees!) have a big sway.

In the area I work in I'd say the quality of those who make the final field is far superior to 30 years ago; even 15 years ago. Might be different elsewhere. I don't hold with the idea that everything is poorer than in the good old days. In the good old days only 10 - 15% went to university.

Some of the best teachers I've been involved with appointing have had indifferent A Levels and have gone to what are considered second division universities. The qualities needed for teaching are not necessarily those which make a good academic.

But however good you are, you are going to be ruled out of court in a profession with entry requirements. Quite different if you are setting up your own business.

[BillF]

Would Branson have got anywhere at all without his very privileged background? Just read the Early Life section in his Wikipedia entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Branson

[Jazzmoose]

I notice most of those on the lists are in non-traditional jobs, like acting. Hardly examples for most of us to follow. Those who aren't, like Branson, were born with advantages most of us don't have, as Bill points out. You can dress it up anyway you want, but when an employer sees that you couldn't even be bothered to finish high school, it really does tell him something. It has nothing to do with intelligence, it has to do with the ability to finish a job.

[GA Russell]

Thanks Moose! I was waiting for someone to say what I think.

To me, sticking around to earn a diploma is a matter of finishing what you started. I think people like to see that in others.

[BillF]

In the good old days only 10 - 15% went to university.

6.5% when I went. But then I am very old.