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For as long as I can remember, millions of students around the world have worked crappy jobs, lived in debt, and studied long and hard to chase their dream of a career in their chosen profession.
Meanwhile, many less educated people have been building healthy careers and gaining valuable work experience in the sales profession, while at the same time getting paid and supporting the economy.
Apart from a couple of part-time evening classes, I never went into further education myself.
I never really had a clear picture of what I wanted to be, and thus had no idea of what to study. I suppose the fact I was already earning before I left school had an impact on my decision too.
I’d been working part-time on weekends as a post-room clerk for several months, and the lure of the full-time job and pay-packet that was waiting for me was hard to resist.
When I was younger, I never quite understood the concept of further education.
I just couldn’t quite figure out why people would put in so much extra time, work, and money into something that offered no guarantee of employment or financial benefits upon completion.
As a 16-year-old, I was living the dream.
I was earning money, living at home with my parents, had no commitments, and spent my weekends shopping in Manchester with my friends, buying new clothes, DVDs, and computer games.
By the time I started working in sales, I was earning even more, had my own car, and was out on the town three to four days per week enjoying the good life.
Aside from the rough learning curve that followed, I can honestly say that sales has been an amazingly rewarding career.
It has, and still does open many doors for me, and essentially acted as a catapult to get me to where I am today.
Many people underestimate the critical business experience you gain when working in business-to-business sales.
Learning how to sell yourself and your ideas are arguably the most important skill you can have in today’s business world, especially if you have ambitions to be an entrepreneur.