My brother never studied hard. Only GCE O level niah. Last time this was called School Certificate, but you will need to Google to find out what that is, if you are still a youngster, as many edmwers are.
And he drives a Jaguar, owns three private properties, lives in one, rents out two, and is a multimillionaire.
Studying prepares a person to work for people. My brother does not work for people. He is the boss of a company and people who studied very hard (got NUS degrees) work for him.
If a person has brains, he will have a way *up*. This is Singapore and the opportunities are all there. In another country, this may not be the case.
But if a person is not smart (or should I call spade a spade, and say daft?) then no matter how hard he studies, his grades are going to be poor. And th only ways for him to become rich is either to rob, cheat, or strike a TOTO. Do business? I think he'd better off doing low level jobs. And many of them are doing precisely that...and working under FTs and working alongside FWs. They get bullied...and they whine at forums...or their fathers whine on their behalf, that 30%.