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Formal Education is Overrated!(or not?)

Anything related to matters of the mind

Vairavan

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This old article from Marketwatch says most billionaires are highly educated.

But according to Forbes:

the billionaires who have only high school degrees have come farther, for the most part, than their more highly educated counterparts.

What do you guys think? Is education overrated or not?
 
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ChrisV

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In a time when the median price of a home in Manhattan is just over $1 million, according to real-estate website Trulia, experts say that being a millionaire no longer means that you’re rich.

Lmao, good luck with that. 1 mil? Maybe in Herlem next to a crackhouse.

America’s billionaires tend to also be among its most well-educated, recent research suggests. In “Investigating America’s Elite,” published in the journal Intelligence, Duke University psychologist Jonathan Wai found that billionaires are more likely than CEOs, judges, senators or House members to have attended colleges with the most rigorous admission standards

This is the part people leave out. Billionaires are highly educated; formal or otherwise.

Statistically those with a college education are more likely to be successful even in entrepreneurship. The stuff about 'college doesn't help entrepreneurs' is poppycock. You either need college or need a ton of self-motivation for self-education.

Harvard University has the No. 1 spot among the world’s universities for producing billionaires, according to Wealth-X, which ranked business schools in terms of number of billionaire alumni in a survey last January.
 

Dan_Cardone

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In a time when the median price of a home in Manhattan is just over $1 million, according to real-estate website Trulia, experts say that being a millionaire no longer means that you’re rich.

Lmao, good luck with that. 1 mil? Maybe in Herlem next to a crackhouse.

America’s billionaires tend to also be among its most well-educated, recent research suggests. In “Investigating America’s Elite,” published in the journal Intelligence, Duke University psychologist Jonathan Wai found that billionaires are more likely than CEOs, judges, senators or House members to have attended colleges with the most rigorous admission standards

This is the part people leave out. Billionaires are highly educated; formal or otherwise.

Statistically those with a college education are more likely to be successful even in entrepreneurship. The stuff about 'college doesn't help entrepreneurs' is poppycock. You either need college or need a ton of self-motivation for self-education.

Harvard University has the No. 1 spot among the world’s universities for producing billionaires, according to Wealth-X, which ranked business schools in terms of number of billionaire alumni in a survey last January.
I wonder if the "networking effect" that comes with going to big universities help with that? Im sure it does.
 

broswoodwork

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I'll give an ebook for doubling your sales in Esty. Just 47.9 $.Only three copies left. Act Soon.
So close!

If you cut my sales in half, but doubled my profitability, I'd give you $4790.00. ;)
 
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ChrisV

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I wonder if the "networking effect" that comes with going to big universities help with that? Im sure it does.
Well a big part is how selective Ivy League schools are. Actually this is a well-studied phenomena – the only reason people who attend the Ivies are so successful is due to how selective they are. In other words, the ivies will only choose the best of the best - and those people turn out to be the movers and shakers. People who were accepted to Ivy League schools then went to cheaper universities are actually just as successful as those with went to the top-tier schools.
 

B_Mac

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Statistically those with a college education are more likely to be successful even in entrepreneurship. The stuff about 'college doesn't help entrepreneurs' is poppycock. You either need college or need a ton of self-motivation for self-education.

Harvard University has the No. 1 spot among the world’s universities for producing billionaires, according to Wealth-X, which ranked business schools in terms of number of billionaire alumni in a survey last January.
Are you saying they are successful entrepreneurs because they went to college? And that the more prestigious the college, the more statistically likely they are to be billionaire successful?

Is it possible they had the qualities/traits to be billionaire successful before going to college and the colleges picked them because they have those traits. In that case, the colleges don't really add much to the person, they just manage to pick out those who will be successful.

It seems like you say this later on:
People who were accepted to Ivy League schools then went to cheaper universities are actually just as successful as those with went to the top-tier schools.

So is this REALLY true?
'college doesn't help entrepreneurs' is poppycock

Or do colleges just know how to pick people who would have been successful without the college?
 

Solid Snake

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Are you saying they are successful entrepreneurs because they went to college? And that the more prestigious the college, the more statistically likely they are to be billionaire successful?

Is it possible they had the qualities/traits to be billionaire successful before going to college and the colleges picked them because they have those traits. In that case, the colleges don't really add much to the person, they just manage to pick out those who will be successful.

It seems like you say this later on:


So is this REALLY true?


Or do colleges just know how to pick people who would have been successful without the college?


Not sure if you heard of Naval Ravikant,

but he says frequently that college is useless when it comes to building business.

Even Peter Thiel has said that college at this point is a scam. A lot of folks in silicon valley, or at least a certain segment of it, have been saying this.
 

PizzaOnTheRoof

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Are you saying they are successful entrepreneurs because they went to college? And that the more prestigious the college, the more statistically likely they are to be billionaire successful?

Is it possible they had the qualities/traits to be billionaire successful before going to college and the colleges picked them because they have those traits. In that case, the colleges don't really add much to the person, they just manage to pick out those who will be successful.

It seems like you say this later on:


So is this REALLY true?


Or do colleges just know how to pick people who would have been successful without the college?
Correlation not causation
 
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ChrisV

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Or do colleges just know how to pick people who would have been successful without the college?
This is complex but they essentially pick people who are good raw material; so yes they would have likely been successful without that particular college BUT theres a caveat. Education allows you to act effectively in a position. You're not going to be a good heart surgeon without proper training. The research seems to indicate that those people would do well regardless of which medical school they choose; but at the same time you need some type of training to do heart surgery. So that's how education matters.
 

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ChrisV

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Formal education is an overated piece of shit!
I’m not a big fan of the amount of hate that formal ed receives around here sometimes.

Most of the top successful Fastlaners are university educated.

Sure you can self-educate yourself, but a lot of people self-educate and then come out believing in The Secret Law of Attraction or that Vaccines cause autism.

The problem with self-education is that there’s no quality control. People just read some alternative medicine blog or Conspiracy theory website and think it's true. You really need a good way of separating the truth from the bullshit, and that's a skill that's really emphasized in universities.

The information presented in legit universities have been thoroughly vetted and fact-checked and are based on research.

Sure universities aren’t perfect, but they’re really great places to learn.
 
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broswoodwork

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I’m not a big fan of the amount of hate that formal ed receives around here sometimes.

Most of the top successful Fastlaners are university educated.

Sure you can self-educate yourself, but a lot of people self-educate and then come out believing in The Secret Law of Attraction or that Vaccines cause autism.

The problem with self-education is that there’s no quality control. People just read some alternative medicine blog or Conspiracy theory website and think it's true. You really need a good way of separating the truth from the bullshit, and that's a skill that's really emphasized in universities.

The information presented in legit universities have been thoroughly vetted and fact-checked and are based on research.

Sure universities aren’t perfect, but they’re really great places to learn.
I know 2 pharm d's that believe vaccines are a contributing factor to asd, so even amongst highly educated and board certified professionals, there's dissenting opinion. I don't have a well formed opinion myself, despite a somewhat sturdy life sciences background, so I leave that debate to art students and hillbillies on facebook to hammer out. :D
 

Ismail941

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@Vairavan

I think don't let the experts say about it

@ChrisV did share about billionaire based on statics in this forum

You Should look on that!
 
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AgainstAllOdds

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So close!

If you cut my sales in half, but doubled my profitability, I'd give you $4790.00. ;)

I'm in.

Ebook #1

1. Get a line of credit for $100k from the bank.
2. Identify which products are selling the most.
3. Calculate out all the "variations" that exist.
4. 80/20 those variations down.
5. Once you've identified the top variations, fly out to Poland, Indonesia, South America or somewhere where there's wood craftsmen that can make what you need.
6. Pay them to make your stock inventory.
7. Import it at probably 1/4th of what it costs you in personal labor to make.
8. Pay me my 50% commission as a thank you.
9. Pocket the 2x profit.



Ebook #2

1. Identify where your leads are coming from.
2. Scale out your lead funnel so you 10x your leads.
3. Create a great video of yourself doing badass woodwork.
4. Maybe change the name to badass woodwork.
5. Quadruple your prices since you're now branded as badass woodwork.
6. Pay me my 50% commission as a thank you.
7. Pocket the 2x profit.


That's two ebooks right there. By my calculations... $4,790 per ebook * 2 ebooks = $9,580 for the ebooks.

Thanks!
 

broswoodwork

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I'm in.

Ebook #1

1. Get a line of credit for $100k from the bank.
2. Identify which products are selling the most.
3. Calculate out all the "variations" that exist.
4. 80/20 those variations down.
5. Once you've identified the top variations, fly out to Poland, Indonesia, South America or somewhere where there's wood craftsmen that can make what you need.
6. Pay them to make your stock inventory.
7. Import it at probably 1/4th of what it costs you in personal labor to make.
8. Pay me my 50% commission as a thank you.
9. Pocket the 2x profit.



Ebook #2

1. Identify where your leads are coming from.
2. Scale out your lead funnel so you 10x your leads.
3. Create a great video of yourself doing badass woodwork.
4. Maybe change the name to badass woodwork.
5. Quadruple your prices since you're now branded as badass woodwork.
6. Pay me my 50% commission as a thank you.
7. Pocket the 2x profit.


That's two ebooks right there. By my calculations... $4,790 per ebook * 2 ebooks = $9,580 for the ebooks.

Thanks!
Wait a minute... that sounds like actual work! I'm out.

Just playing. I am actually doing ebook 1, in essence. A few of the details are flipped. Namely, instead of importing, I'm going to change the method and materials of the most time consuming portion of the product. It will cost less to build, be buildable in minutes instead of days, and I can produce substantially better versions (the ones competitors are selling the most and for more) that'll allow me to double my retail price and enter the wholesale with a super competitive offer.

I still feel oddly honor bound to cut you a check though...
 

ADayattheRoxbury

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Not sure if you heard of Naval Ravikant,

but he says frequently that college is useless when it comes to building business.

Even Peter Thiel has said that college at this point is a scam. A lot of folks in silicon valley, or at least a certain segment of it, have been saying this.

I feel like this is the common fad thing to say nowadays. College isn’t necessary! Pass on it! Yet the CEO’s of most major tech companies have both an MS in Computer Science and an MBA. But screw that school thing man! Bill Gates dropped out of college! (After going to Lakeside Prep, a school with a cirriculum similar to most Ivy League schools.) hehe
 
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Vairavan

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Last edited:
D

Deleted50669

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In a time when the median price of a home in Manhattan is just over $1 million, according to real-estate website Trulia, experts say that being a millionaire no longer means that you’re rich.

Lmao, good luck with that. 1 mil? Maybe in Herlem next to a crackhouse.

America’s billionaires tend to also be among its most well-educated, recent research suggests. In “Investigating America’s Elite,” published in the journal Intelligence, Duke University psychologist Jonathan Wai found that billionaires are more likely than CEOs, judges, senators or House members to have attended colleges with the most rigorous admission standards

This is the part people leave out. Billionaires are highly educated; formal or otherwise.

Statistically those with a college education are more likely to be successful even in entrepreneurship. The stuff about 'college doesn't help entrepreneurs' is poppycock. You either need college or need a ton of self-motivation for self-education.

Harvard University has the No. 1 spot among the world’s universities for producing billionaires, according to Wealth-X, which ranked business schools in terms of number of billionaire alumni in a survey last January.
Harvard produces billionaires because of family inheritance and social systems that automatically induct graduates into the best paying wall-street seats and lobbying firms. I would argue college made me a critical thinker, but the stuff that ended up making me money I taught myself out of books / youtube.
 

Vairavan

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I would argue college made me a critical thinker, but the stuff that ended up making me money I taught myself out of books / youtube.


I thought formal education is what kills critical thinking and also creativity.:)
 
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Solid Snake

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I feel like this is the common fad thing to say nowadays. College isn’t necessary! Pass on it! Yet the CEO’s of most major tech companies have both an MS in Computer Science and an MBA. But screw that school thing man! Bill Gates dropped out of college! (After going to Lakeside Prep, a school with a cirriculum similar to most Ivy League schools.) hehe

I feel like another fad is to cite degrees that CEO’s have, as if that’s a good reason.

you need sales skills to start a successful company, not a diploma.
 

MitchM

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I’m not a big fan of the amount of hate that formal ed receives around here sometimes.

Most of the top successful Fastlaners are university educated.

Sure you can self-educate yourself, but a lot of people self-educate and then come out believing in The Secret Law of Attraction or that Vaccines cause autism.

The problem with self-education is that there’s no quality control. People just read some alternative medicine blog or Conspiracy theory website and think it's true. You really need a good way of separating the truth from the bullshit, and that's a skill that's really emphasized in universities.

The information presented in legit universities have been thoroughly vetted and fact-checked and are based on research.

Sure universities aren’t perfect, but they’re really great places to learn.
This is actually a double edged sword.
Because of the “vetting,” people become too sure of the information they are receiving.

They tend to be in an echo chamber where many things aren’t questioned.

This is especially true when it comes to politics, where far left nonsense seems to reign.
 

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