Dear Harry, You ask me whether you should spend the next three years at university,or get a job.I will give you three different answers. _  Answer A.You are ambitious.Your sights are set on going to the top,in business or the government.In today's high-tech times,big companies cannot be managed by uneducated amateurs.Even the middle managers are at a disadvantage unless they get a university degree and an MBA.Same thing in government. Anyway,you are too young to decide what you want to do for the rest of your life.If you spend the next few years at university,you will get to know the world--and yourself--before the time comes to choose your career. Answer B.Stop wasting your time on academia .Stop subjecting yourself to the boredom of textbooks and classrooms.Stop cramming for exams before you acquire a strong love for reading. The lack of a college degree will only be a slight influence on your career.In Britain,you can still get to the top without a degree.What industry and the government need at the top is not experts but leaders.The character traits which make people scholars in their youth are not the traits which make them leaders in later life.You put up with education for 12 boring years. Answer C.Don't judge the value of higher education in terms of careemanship.Judge it for what it is--a priceless opportunity to furnish your mind and enrich the quality of your life.My father was a failure in business,but he read Horace in the washroom until he died,poor but happy. If you enjoy being a scholar,and like the company of scholars,go to a university.Who knows,you may end your days as a Regius Professor.And bear in mind that British universities are still the best in the world.You have a first-class mind.Stretch it.If you have the opportunity to go to a university,don't pass it up.You would never forgive yourself. Tons of love, David What did the author think play a key part in high-tech times?
Ambition in careers. Academic degrees. Experience in business. Experience in the government.