The year is 1096, it will be 203 years until the Ottoman empire will begin and start decorating many a living room with comfortable foot stools.

In 334 years, the Aztec empire will be founded and begin sacrificing 20,000 humans a year to keep themselves occupied.

And it will be 487 years, until the British Empire start taking over the world by sticking flags in things and people.

Yet, in this year of 1096, what is today the world's oldest university in the English-speaking world, Oxford University, will teach its very first lesson.

One hundred and thirteen years later, Cambridge University will be founded.

And between them, both these two powerhouses of education, spanning back almost a millennium, have changed the world in more ways than one can count and definitely for the better.

These two research and education establishments are responsible for world-changing inventions and discoveries such as the theory of evolution, IVF, artificial intelligence, heart and lung transplants, stem cell research, gravity, the discovery of electrons and nuclear fission, and last but not least, the Internet.

And those are just a small selection.

So to try and argue that a university education is a waste of time and money would be futile, would it not?

Well, all over the world education has changed dramatically since the days when the inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners Lee, studied at Oxford University.

And it has even changed over the past 15 years, since Mark Zuckerberg learnt how to ruin the World Wide Web with Facebook at Harvard University.

University, or college education as our transatlantic cousins call it, is today less relevant than ever before in history. And for many young people, attending university could be one of the most expensive and biggest mistakes they ever make.

Aside from pre-purchasing "No Man's Sky."

All over the developed world we have it drilled into our heads during our school days that higher education is the path to gold and riches.

Get a college diploma they said, get a university degree they insisted, and you too will be able to afford champagne, hot tubs and unlimited naked women.

We get told that so frequently by our elders because when they attended university that was mostly true.

Thirty years ago if you were lucky enough to study at university you were pretty much guaranteed a job in your field of study.

Engineering graduates would go on to work for a car or aircraft manufacturer; media students could get a job at a broadcasting house and so on.

Provided you got a decent grade your future in a well-paid job was almost guaranteed.

Today things have changed, on average, only half of university and college graduates get a job in the years following graduation.

And I'm not even talking about a job that has anything to do with what they studied.

Statistics show that many of those 50% of employed graduates are working in completely unrelated, menial jobs because today less than 30% of all university graduates go in to work in the field of their degree.

Unless you took The Underwater Basket Weaving Degree; the demand for those things is off the bloody charts.

Yes, that is a genuine course.

The reason behind this has a lot to do with numbers.

In the 50s, 60s and 70s, only the middle classes and affluent families could afford to send their little cretins to university.

Even in the UK, where university tuition fees have only existed since 1998, it didn't matter. Because to support the family, children would have to go off to work at the age of 18 or even younger, higher education was just never an option for most people.

As a result, in 1950 a pitiful 3% of people in the UK attended university.

Today that has risen to 49%.

That's obviously a really good thing, as a society we are all now more driven and more financially able to attend university and educate ourselves in any field we choose.

But the problem is the number of jobs available has hardly risen at all.

With so many hundreds of thousands of graduates each year in the UK and over 4.5 million new graduates each year in the US, the competition for the specialised, high paying jobs is greater than ever before.

And if you graduated in something more general that isn't so specialised, such as media or business studies, then good luck to you my friend because you've a got an extremely tough journey ahead of you.

If you currently are or have been in this situation yourself, you will know just how horrible it feels.

But if not, imagine spending two to six years at university, studying hard, sitting through countless lectures with a hangover probably and living off nothing but the two important student food groups, instant noodles, and whatever you just found in the cupboard, on toast.

But finally, after the seemingly longest and hardest years of your life so far, you have a moment of glory, you graduate.

You throw your cap into the air and you are filled with optimism for the fruitful career that awaits you.

Then six months later you're working in a call centre, still eating your typical student diet.

Now imagine all that but you are also joyfully over £50,000 in debt.

And this exact situation is not just befallen on a fringe group of graduates, the majority of university graduates, over 70% find themselves in a career they never wanted. And almost 100% will be in debt for the next 30 years of their life.

I'm not here to say whether universities should be free or not because, truthfully, there are incredibly strong arguments on both sides of that fence.

On one hand, charging tuition fees makes students value and appreciate the opportunity more strongly; and they tend to put more effort into their work.

Also, without having to rely on government handouts, universities can also offer a higher quality of education and more resources for students.

But conversely, if university fees are completely abolished, a greater diversity of people are given an opportunity to better themselves. And in the long-term, it actually pays off for the government and for society because a generally better educated society are going to contribute more to the country's economy in the future through increased innovation and business.

The shittin' Shake Weight didn't invent itself, you know.

University or college graduates are also statistically far less likely to be involved in crime, reducing policing and prison costs and are less likely to rely on social welfare during their lifetime.

Just think about it, when was the last time you saw a doctor of theoretical physics having a custody battle with their sister on Jeremy Kyle?

Each year millions of young people graduate from universities. But a poll, recently conducted in the UK, shows that one-third of university graduates regret going to university all together.

So what's the issue here?

Do students just regret how much money they spent on instant noodles and booze?

Probably, but that's not the main issue.

Whether you paid for your tuition or not, the problem is what you're actually getting in return for your hard spent time and money.

When polled 49% of graduates said they could have gotten the job they are currently doing without ever attending university or higher education.

The problem isn't just the sheer number of university graduates out there and the huge competition.

Over the years, the true value of a university degree has been eroded away becoming increasingly worthless, just like Windows.

Over recent years, the percentage of university graduates achieving a first or 1:1 has risen sharply.

In the UK, ministers have spoken out about how they believe universities are increasingly making it easier in very sneaky ways for their students to achieve higher marks, so that the establishment looks better on paper. And thus, they can better compete in university league tables.

And to make things worse, it's believed that in many universities across the globe, corruption and abuse of funds is rife. If the many reports are to be believed, then it's particularly bad in US higher education.

Surely the 50 thousand plus you borrowed to attend university is put to good use, is it not?

It's spent on hiring the best teachers in the world; purchasing the best facilities for students.

Well... Yes, a lot of it is, but many journalists have uncovered a seedy underbelly in many top universities.

Many higher up staffs, such as university presidents, can earn more than many CEOs of big corporations.

And one really has to think, should they be really earning that much from a nonprofit organization?

Apart from day to day management, the primary role of a university president is fundraising.

This involves horrendously arduous tasks, such as wining and dining international visitors, or even jet setting off for days at a time for "meetings". How hard it must be for them?

And of course, university funds are used to pay for all of these activities.

Universities have long been viewed as nonprofit establishments. But journalists believe that today many large American universities are acting more and more like for-profit corporations.

They are increasingly engaging in patenting and licensing of ideas, concepts and innovations, which only opens up opportunities to profit from an idea and is directly contradictory to providing open education for all.

And this is just scratching the surface, UNESCO released a report called "Corrupt Schools, Corrupt Universities: What Can be Done?" after six years of investigation into schools and universities worldwide.

The report claims that education at all levels is corrupted with embezzlement, illegal registration fees and academic fraud, among other shady practices.

I'm not trying to put anyone off higher education. For so many people, it can absolutely be the right choice; and the best thing they will ever do.

But if you are turning against the idea, then what are your alternatives?

Well, unfortunately, if your dream is to be a doctor, dentist or engineer, I'm afraid you will have to attend university, since they are strictly regulated. After all, would you want to operated on by a surgeon who got their diploma from the University of YouTube?

But those specific careers aside, the only thing stopping you from achieving your dream job is your passion.

The most important thing you can do in your professional life is whatever makes you happy. If you're currently thinking about your future career, you may think that by opting for a well-paid but boring job you will have a happy life. But I promise, you the day will come when you wish you had followed your true passion instead.

And if you're 30 years down the line and you already realized this 20 years ago, then I'm truly sorry my friend.

But I think it's about time for your mid-life crisis, I can just go ahead and give you a list of numbers for Porsche dealerships if you'd like.

Today, with the internet, the opportunities to do what you love are limitless; and literally the only thing stopping you from accomplishing your dreams is your willingness to try.

And if you stick around until the end of this video, I'll tell you a story that will make you want to stop everything you're doing and follow your dreams no matter how big they are.

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So about that story I promised you.

There are hundreds of rags to riches stories; and each one is inspiring in its own way. But there is one entrepreneur who has perhaps suffered more than any other on his journey to success.

Californian John Paul DeJoria is today worth $4 billion, but not so long ago he was homeless.

Let me tell you exactly how that happened.

DeJoria grew up in a very poor household without a father. At nine years old, he started selling newspapers just so his mother and brother could eat.

Eventually, DeJoria was sent to a foster home when his mother could no longer support him and his brother.

In school, his maths teacher once told him that he would never succeed at anything in life; and DeJoria says that ever since that moment he was determined to change his life.

An interesting side note, my maths teacher once told me the exact same thing. Seriously, what is wrong with maths teachers?

Also, if you're watching, "haha!"

But if only things were that simple for DeJoria, because from here on out things only got worse for him.

At 22, DeJoria's wife abandoned him and their two-year-old son, but not before she drained every dime from his bank account and took his only car.

It's not really my place to say, but wow, what a grade A bitch!

DeJoria was subsequently evicted from their flat and forced to live on the streets with his infant son.

He was homeless for some time and resorted to rummaging through bins to find empty bottles.

At that time, you could trade in empty bottles at grocery stores for a couple of cents.

He did this for a while just to make money to buy food for his son.

Eventually, DeJoria got a job as a door to door salesman.

The job requirements must have listed "must make a good stereotype" because he sold encyclopedias.

One day, DeJoria decided to start a hair care company with his friend, Paul Mitchell, who was also broke.

Incredibly, they managed to secure a $500,000 investment from a venture capitalist.

But on the day they were supposed to launch the company the only investor pulled out, leaving them with nothing.

This forced DeJoria to become homeless. Once again, he began living out of his car.

So in one last ditch attempt to make his hair care company a success, he and his business partner Paul Mitchell pooled all their money together. And DeJoria asked his mum for a loan of $300.

All of this added up to just $700.

But it was just enough to produce their first bottles of shampoo; they even had to print the packaging in black and white because they couldn't afford color.

According to DeJoria, during the first two years they nearly went bankrupt almost every single day.

But, eventually, they managed to slowly build up the business through hard, hard graft and their customer base of salons increased.

After two years, they were able to finally pay their bills and focus on growing their business.

Their brand John Paul Mitchell Systems became a global success, selling in 150,000 salons all over the globe.

John Paul DeJoria had everything taken from him twice and became homeless twice. Today the man is worth $4 billion.

Off the back of his success in hair care, he also started a premium Tequila company called Patron Spirits, which he just recently sold to Bacardi for $5.1 billion.

Now, if DeJoria's story doesn't give you the motivation to stick to and pursue your dreams no matter what, then nothing will.

At the end of the day, whether you're university educated or not, there's only one person that can make you successful—you.

And it won't be your college or university diploma that is responsible, it will be your determination to make it happen.

Thanks for watching.

If you enjoyed this video, then consider clicking here to support me on Patreon. It really helps out the channel.

And I'd like to thank Skillshare, once again, for supporting this video. Don't forget to check out the promo link in the description, before it's too late, because you won't regret it.