[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]While most of us are slaving away in college, dreaming of our someday-success story, there are some who didn’t finish school but still achieved status we can’t even begin to imagine. Call it luck, being in the right place at the right time or pure genius, these 10 drop-outs did pretty OK for themselves.
1. Jim Carrey
One of the comedic masterminds of our time, tickling our funny bones with the likes of “Dumb and Dumber,” “The Truman Show” and “Liar Liar” to name a few, Carrey didn’t even finish high school. He had to drop out at age 15 in order to take care of his sick mother and provide for his three older siblings. But with hard work and determination, Carrey landed his first gig at 18 years old on “The All-Night Show,” which jumpstarted his career.
 
 
 
2. Tom Hanks
Our beloved Forrest Gump left Sacramento State for an internship with The Great Lakes Theatre Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. After leaving the internship, he went on to play one of the most beloved characters of our time. He also has one of the most recognized voices in the animated film industry, not to mention all of his achievements in producing, directing and writing.
 
 
 
3. F. Scott Fitzgerald
That’s right, every high schooler in the United States has been exposed to the author of The Great Gatsby. He laid the foundation for English classes all over the country, and he didn’t have a degree. Fitzgerald found that drunken nights, outings with friends and chasing girls suited his fancy more than studying, which ultimately put him on academic probation at Princeton University.
4. Brad Pitt
Hollywood hottie Brad Pitt was two weeks away from graduating with a degree in journalism from University of Missouri when he dropped out. Claiming that he was “just done” and knew where he wanted to go from there, he packed up and moved to L.A. where he went on to have a combined net worth of $425 million with his honey Angelina Jolie. Sounds like he knew what he was doing.
5. Lady Gaga
The self-proclaimed Queen of Pop has both captivated and horrified audiences around the world since she burst onto the scene. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given her unapologetic attitude and crazy fashion sense, she dropped out of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts after freshman year to focus on music full time. Her debut album “The Fame” claimed the number two spot on the Billboard 200 and maintained the number one spot on the Dance/Electronic Albums chart for a total of 106 weeks.
 
 
6. Ellen DeGeneres
Pursuing a degree in communications from the University of New Orleans just wasn’t in the cards for comedian Ellen DeGeneres. After one year she called it quits and rose to fame as one of the most beloved talk-show hosts of all time. After making waves by being an openly lesbian comedian in 1997 and having her show cancelled, she came back with “The Ellen Show” in 2001 and has made people everywhere laugh for 12 seasons.
 
 
 
 
7. Mark Zuckerburg
Facebook, that site you waste so much of your current college life on? It was created by Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerburg in his dorm room on Feb. 2, 2004. It revolutionized the way our generation connects with others and also brought Zuckerburg a cool $33.1 billion as of July 2014. Go programming!
8. Oprah
Everyone’s favorite humanitarian and a world-wide icon, Oprah dropped out of Tennessee State University in 1976 to pursue her dreams in the media industry. After enduring a difficult childhood riddled with poverty, Oprah became a millionaire at age 32 when her talk show went national. Since then she has inspired people to pursue their dreams, no matter their circumstances.
9. Steve Jobs
Jobs was brilliant from the get-go, advised to skip two grades on account of his test scores in elementary school (his parents only let him skip one), and he went on to become one of the greatest creators in the digital age. However, Jobs dropped out of Reed College in 1972 after only six months of sporadic attendance and went on to do more important things like, I don’t know, building an empire.
10. Bill Gates
Dubbed “Havard’s Most Successful Dropout” by The Harvard Crimson, Bill Gates has remained one of the richest men in the world for decades. After attending the Ivy League school for a mere two years, Gates thought it would be fun to start a company with his childhood buddy, Paul Allen. Nearly 40 years and a net worth of $72 billion later, Gates is doing just fine without a degree.
 
 
 
 
So I guess what I’m trying to say is that unless you are incredibly lucky, good-looking, hilarious or a genius, degrees are kind of important. These people have more money than you may ever see in your lifetime, but it’s not all about the money, is it? It’s about the journey. Anyway, good luck with finals, jobs, bills, stress, dark winter months, and stay in school, kids!
[email protected]
@ChronyArts[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]