--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A four-year degree shouldn't be the only…" description: "\"A four-year degree shouldn't be the only path to a good-paying job.\" — Hillary Clinton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5eb/hillary-clinton-51_degree_a-four-year-degree-shouldn-t-be-the-only_2297126.jpg" --- # A four-year degree shouldn't be the only path to a… ![“A four-year degree shouldn't be the only path to a good-paying job.” quote by Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5eb/hillary-clinton-51_degree_a-four-year-degree-shouldn-t-be-the-only_2297126.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5eb/hillary-clinton-51_degree_a-four-year-degree-shouldn-t-be-the-only_2297126.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5eb/hillary-clinton-51_degree_a-four-year-degree-shouldn-t-be-the-only_2297126.jpg) > “A four-year degree shouldn't be the only path to a good-paying job.” [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Education should offer multiple routes to well-paying careers, not just a four‑year college degree. **In simple terms:** College isn’t the only way to earn good money. Key Takeaway Explore alternative education paths. Themes education career equity Mood optimistic determined Type advisory inspirational When to use this quote - job training - apprenticeships - online certifications - career counseling Key Concepts human capital social mobility Questions to Reflect On - What alternative pathways can you pursue? - How can employers value skills over diplomas? A Different Perspective Not all jobs value a degree; experience matters too. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degree/) [Degree Shouldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degree-shouldn-5419032/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Four years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four-years/) [Good Paying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-paying-592913/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Paying Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paying-job-776762/) [Year Degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/year-degree-419019/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [More effective than giving away half my fortune before I die is finding a way to help people have a good-paying job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-conway-jr/more-effective-than-giving-away-half-my-fortune-before-i-die-is/) [William E. Conway, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-conway-jr/) > [Most green-collar jobs are middle-skill jobs. That means they require more education that a high-school diploma, but less than a four-year degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/most-green-collar-jobs-are-middle-skill-jobs-that-means-they-require/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [All the kids that I grew up with, in an almost idyllic environment - I've got to tell you, it was so wonderful -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sessions/all-the-kids-that-i-grew-up-with-in-an-almost-idyllic-environment-i/) [Jeff Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sessions/) > [The obsessive focus on a college degree has served neither taxpayers nor students well. Only 35 percent of students starting a four-year degree program…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-tabarrok/the-obsessive-focus-on-a-college-degree-has-served-neither-taxpayers/) [Alex Tabarrok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-tabarrok/) > [I was a partner at Pricewaterhouse before I got my four year degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-tillis/i-was-a-partner-at-pricewaterhouse-before-i-got-my-four-year-degree/) [Thom Tillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-tillis/) > [If you're low-income in the United States, you have a higher chance of going to jail than you do of getting a four-year degree.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/if-you-re-low-income-in-the-united-states-you-have-a-higher-chance-of/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I wanted to stay in New York to pursue acting, but my dad urged me to get a four-year degree. Reading about the film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-miller/i-wanted-to-stay-in-new-york-to-pursue-acting-but-my-dad-urged-me-to/) [Lauren Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-miller/) > [It's time we recognize that going into the trades is just as impressive, and in fact can be just as lucrative, as a 4-year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-scott/it-s-time-we-recognize-that-going-into-the-trades-is-just-as/) [Phil Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-scott/) > [I wouldn't wish any specific thing for any specific person - it's none of my business. But the idea that a four-year degree is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/i-wouldn-t-wish-any-specific-thing-for-any-specific-person-it-s-none/) [Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/) > [It took me 10 years to get a four-year degree, but I graduated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sixto-rodriguez/it-took-me-10-years-to-get-a-four-year-degree-but-i-graduated/) [Sixto Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sixto-rodriguez/) > [In a very general way, our society has fallen out of love with the skilled trades. Part of the problem is a myriad of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/in-a-very-general-way-our-society-has-fallen-out-of-love-with-the/) [Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/) > [Employers have decided that having the breadth of knowledge that's associated with a four-year degree is often something they want to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/employers-have-decided-that-having-the-breadth-of-knowledge-that-s/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Now, let me say this about education. I've said it till I'm blue-green. Not everybody is cut out for the traditional pathway of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-justice/now-let-me-say-this-about-education-i-ve-said-it-till-i-m-blue-green/) [Jim Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-justice/) > [I did a four-year degree in five years. I have awesome support from my team and my professors. Everyone's super on board and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-bottcher/i-did-a-four-year-degree-in-five-years-i-have-awesome-support-from-my/) [Brendan Bottcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-bottcher/) > [I want to feel good about paying taxes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-green/i-want-to-feel-good-about-paying-taxes/) [Hank Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-green/) ## More by Hillary Clinton > [When it comes to bullying small businesses, Donald Trump is the poster boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/when-it-comes-to-bullying-small-businesses-donald-trump-is-the-poster/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I'm going to do everything I can to get myself elected, but that's not enough. I'm going to try to help move the Senate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-m-going-to-do-everything-i-can-to-get-myself-elected-but-that-s-not/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I think we have to take a look at corporate law. We have to take a look at the incentives that we can perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-think-we-have-to-take-a-look-at-corporate-law-we-have-to-take-a/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I am somewhat influenced by the years that I've spent trying to actually get things done, whether it was reforming education in Arkansas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-somewhat-influenced-by-the-years-that-i-ve-spent-trying-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We know in New York we have several million at any one time who are in New York illegally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-know-in-new-york-we-have-several-million-at-any-one-time-who-are/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I have always believed that women are not victims, we are agents of change, we are drivers of progress, we are makers of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-always-believed-that-women-are-not-victims-we-are-agents-of/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I have clearly said we faced terrorist enemies who use Islam to justify slaughtering innocent people and we have to stop them and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-clearly-said-we-faced-terrorist-enemies-who-use-islam-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [If I had lost the popular vote but won the electoral college and in my first day as president the intelligence community came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/if-i-had-lost-the-popular-vote-but-won-the-electoral-college-and-in/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We now have power under the Dodd-Frank legislation to break up banks. And I've said I will use that power if they pose a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-now-have-power-under-the-dodd-frank-legislation-to-break-up-banks/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I am not going to make promises I can't keep. I am not going to talk about big ideas like single-payer and then not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-not-going-to-make-promises-i-can-t-keep-i-am-not-going-to-talk/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [It's important to recognize that expanding the circle of opportunity and increasing the democratic potential of our own society, as well as those across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/it-s-important-to-recognize-that-expanding-the-circle-of-opportunity/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We're living in a technological world. You cannot tell me we can't do a better job getting that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-re-living-in-a-technological-world-you-cannot-tell-me-we-can-t-do/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I do not think homosexuality is immoral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-do-not-think-homosexuality-is-immoral/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We need to have more second chance programs. I'm glad that we're ending private prisons in the federal system; I want to see them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-need-to-have-more-second-chance-programs-i-m-glad-that-we-re/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [A nuclear-weapons armed Iran is not in anyone's human-rights interests. That is a direct threat to the lives and the livelihoods and the stability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/a-nuclear-weapons-armed-iran-is-not-in-anyone-s-human-rights/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) [Explore all 1,911 Hillary Clinton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## More Degree quotes > [“If I could blush, I'd be a third degree sunburn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-g-browne/if-i-could-blush-i-d-be-a-third-degree-sunburn/) [S.G. Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-g-browne/) > [Going to university is, and should be, so much more than a mechanical process of grinding out a degree qualification for a pre-determined career…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcdonnell/going-to-university-is-and-should-be-so-much-more-than-a-mechanical/) [John McDonnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcdonnell/) > [But I think you have to - whatever the environment looks like, it does enter into people's art work one way or another; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-judd/but-i-think-you-have-to-whatever-the-environment-looks-like-it-does/) [Donald Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-judd/) > [I wasn't going to be an actor. I was going to be a lawyer. I came from a family just above working class, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-butler/i-wasn-t-going-to-be-an-actor-i-was-going-to-be-a-lawyer-i-came-from/) [Gerard Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-butler/) > [When I was younger, I took everything seriously, and I still do to some degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-baldwin/when-i-was-younger-i-took-everything-seriously-and-i-still-do-to-some/) [Doug Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-baldwin/) > [You're Dominican only if you do this, this, and that. And if you do this and that, you'll be accepted to a certain degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-re-dominican-only-if-you-do-this-this-and-that-and-if-you-do-this/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Unfortunately, 'climate' has become a dirty word - obviously in politics, but even to some degree in my world, in venture capital. People hesitate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-williams/unfortunately-climate-has-become-a-dirty-word-obviously-in-politics/) [Evan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-williams/) > [One out of every eight Pennsylvanians and one in every 720 people in the United States, as well as one out of every 50…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-sherwood/one-out-of-every-eight-pennsylvanians-and-one-in-every-720-people-in/) [Don Sherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-sherwood/) > [His knowledge of books had in some degree diminished his knowledge of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/his-knowledge-of-books-had-in-some-degree-diminished-his-knowledge-of/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [Manchester Youth theater, then the National Student Theater Company, and later, my degree course, all helped form my love of telling stories and directing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-chadwick/manchester-youth-theater-then-the-national-student-theater-company/) [Justin Chadwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-chadwick/) > [I did do ballet seriously and considered being professional and all of that, and I went to Tisch and got a dance degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-barbaro/i-did-do-ballet-seriously-and-considered-being-professional-and-all/) [Monica Barbaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-barbaro/) > [I like horror movies that have a degree of coziness to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-forge/i-like-horror-movies-that-have-a-degree-of-coziness-to-them/) [Tobias Forge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-forge/) > [I don't know what I'm going to do with my law degree. Hopefully I'll get the law degree - that's the first step.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-schlossberg/i-don-t-know-what-i-m-going-to-do-with-my-law-degree-hopefully-i-ll/) [Jack Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-schlossberg/) > [Getting that degree is something that is very important to me and my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khris-middleton/getting-that-degree-is-something-that-is-very-important-to-me-and-my/) [Khris Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khris-middleton/) > [I think malware is a significant threat because the mitigation, like antivirus software, hasn't evolved to a point to really mitigate the risk to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/i-think-malware-is-a-significant-threat-because-the-mitigation-like/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) [Browse all 552 Degree quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degree/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A four-year degree shouldn't be the only path to a good-paying job.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hillary Clinton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/a-four-year-degree-shouldn-t-be-the-only-path-to-a-good-paying-job/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Degree" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/a-four-year-degree-shouldn-t-be-the-only-path-to-a-good-paying-job/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5eb/hillary-clinton-51_degree_a-four-year-degree-shouldn-t-be-the-only_2297126.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5eb/hillary-clinton-51_degree_a-four-year-degree-shouldn-t-be-the-only_2297126.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5eb/hillary-clinton-51_degree_a-four-year-degree-shouldn-t-be-the-only_2297126.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A four-year degree shouldn't be the only path to a good-paying job.” — Hillary Clinton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hillary Clinton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A four-year degree shouldn't be the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/a-four-year-degree-shouldn-t-be-the-only-path-to-a-good-paying-job/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/a-four-year-degree-shouldn-t-be-the-only-path-to-a-good-paying-job/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```