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Does success in school = success in life

Do high grades = success in life or does one just need ambition and motivation?

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Not always although it helps
Not necessarily
I'd say having good connections in the industry you want to go into and a reasonably big amount of good luck definitely give you a leg up on just motivated/driven and academically successful.
Reply 4
Original post by brian.griffin
Do high grades = success in life or does one just need ambition and motivation?


The hard reality many students will face that after 18 years of education and getting a string of A grades and 2.1 degree that they are less employable than some of their counterparts who got b/c grades didn't go to university but worked after leaving schools and now are more desirable to employers
Original post by brian.griffin
Do high grades = success in life or does one just need ambition and motivation?


What does success in life mean?

Good grades help, but it's not the be all and end all.
The same as

Being rich = Being happy?
You can never underestimate the importance of experience. Practical application of theoretical knowledge is so integral to so many jobs now.
Reply 8
You need the grades, and usually motivation helps you to achieve that.

It's highly unlikely you'll have a high earning career without good GCSEs, A-levels and a degree.

If you say that you can still have high earnings, then you surely can't have the same definition of 'high' as a lawyer, consultant, doctor or someone part of any big corporation in the UK.
Good grades definitely help but fundamentally work experience and soft skills such as networking and communication skills are also needed to create the full 'perfect' package.
There is a correlation.
Absolute nonsense. Getting an education and going university is a lifestyle choice in this country, pandering to the middle-class population of this country. You can look at the working-class population, and see many people who own big homes and cars, and have never attended university, instead they became carpenters, taxi drivers, electricians, etc. Now, that doesn't mean education is success in life over the other options?

A middle-class person saying education = success, is like a middle-class person claiming rugby is the most entertaining sport.
Original post by Pigster
There is a correlation.

But that doesn't imply causation though, no? Or at least that was what I remember learning like once in a GCSE maths lesson that stuck with me for other reasons. :biggrin:

I'm not saying you're wrong though. I do think that your chances of succeeding in the job market are definitely increased with a successful academic track record.
Original post by Tolgarda
But that doesn't imply causation though, no?

The exact point of my carefully chosen wording.
Good grades at school (secondary) can help provide a jump start in life, but without drive and motivation to succeed you wouldn't get very far. Similarly without good grades, but with drive and motivation you may just have to take a different starting route. This is subjective of course to how you define success, for some it's amassing a small fortune, while another may find success in having four walls, a roof and a family with a job that pays enough to cover their bills.

As for an education, that's a different matter entirely.
Reply 15
The C students run the businesses. The B students manage the A students that do all the work.

Is a favourite quote of mine, not entirely true but more often than not. Grades help you get jobs but aren't the be all and end all.
Original post by Pigster
There is a correlation.


This, it does not mean high grades = success but a lot of people who have been successful like scientists etc..have good grades. It's a pattern but that does not mean you need high grades to "succeed" in life. My definition of being successful in life is just being happy with your life, however it may be. If you are earning crazy money but are still not happy in life, have you really "succeeded"?
they sure do help but it isn't the end of the world if you underachieve, there will always be something out there for you (:
No.
Although I don't have statistics to back this, it is probably more likely but not definitive.

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