The tech industry gets all the attention when we talk about unconventional paths to success. But the pattern I’m describing isn’t unique to engineering. It’s everywhere. And once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
Let me take you outside the world of code.
The Apprentice Becomes the Master
There’s a plumber in my city who’s been in business for thirty years. Trained three generations of apprentices. Never went to a trade school. Never got a credential in plumbing. Started as a kid shadowing his uncle, learned by doing, and became one of the most sought-after professionals in the area.
His knowledge isn’t theoretical. It’s earned through thousands of hours of real pipes, real problems, real consequences. He knows what will work because he’s seen it fail a hundred times and learned why.
The trades have always known this. That’s why they use apprenticeships. Learning by doing, under someone who knows, with real consequences for mistakes. But even the trades are being pushed toward credentialization.
The Salesperson Who Never Took a Course
Sales is interesting because results are undeniable. You either close deals or you don’t.
I know salespeople who became top performers without any formal training. No MBA, no sales certification. They learned by making calls, getting rejected, understanding why, iterating.
Every rejection taught them something about how people actually think. After a year of that real-world feedback, they knew more about sales than someone who’d completed every certification course.
The Creator Without a Degree
Look at content creation. YouTubers, podcasters, writers, designers. Most of the most successful ones never went to school for what they do. They taught themselves, iterated publicly, got feedback from their audience, and improved.
A YouTube creator doesn’t need a degree in filmmaking. They need to understand what keeps people watching. A writer doesn’t need a degree in literature. They need to write something people want to read.
The most successful creators got there despite formal training, not because of it. They had to unlearn what they were taught and learn what actually works.
The Entrepreneur Who Built Without Permission
Entrepreneurship doesn’t wait for credentials. Some of the most successful founders never finished college. Not because they’re rebels, but because the real education was happening in building the business, not sitting in a classroom.
An MBA teaches you business theory. Building an actual business teaches you how business actually works. These are not the same thing.
The Pattern Is Universal
Whether it’s trades, sales, creative work, or entrepreneurship, the pattern is consistent: practical experience beats credentials. Learning by doing beats learning by listening. Real feedback from real consequences beats grades on a transcript.
Yet we keep trying to credentialize everything. We want to measure and standardize and gate-keep with credentials.
And it works for a while. It creates a filter. But it also creates waste. It filters out talented people who didn’t take the approved path. It slows down people who could learn faster by doing.
The Access Problem
Here’s what bothers me: credentials create gatekeeping. And gatekeeping creates inequality.
If you need a credential to get your foot in the door, you need money or access to get the credential. Not everyone has that. So you’re filtering out based on privilege, not capability.
The system that was supposed to make things fair is actually making things less fair. It’s creating barriers for people without access to formal education.
What This Reveals
Everywhere you look, practical skills matter more than credentials. Experience matters more than certificates. Real results matter more than grades.
Tomorrow, we’re going to get specific. What are the skills that actually matter? The ones that schools don’t teach, that credentials don’t measure, but that every job requires.
