Is college completely necessary?

[marktech101]

I don't like this strategy, because it sounds so defeatist. I know too many people who say something similar about their current sh__ job: "Oh, I'm just doing this to pay the bills." If you want to go to college, sweet. Go. But don't waste your time and money (or your parents' money or the government's money) just to bide your time.

Basically, I'm planning on attending (and graduating) college. If I get a brilliant idea while in college, however, I won't complete my education before pursuing my dream. Hopefully it's a win-win situation: Either I get a college education, or I start a blockbuster company.

However, there's a sizable chance that my first business venture will fail, leaving me with part of a college education and no money. Maybe I'll just wait 'till I graduate.

Now I can't decide! Lol. If I just get the college education, I'll have to get a slowlane job to support myself while I think of an idea for a business. Before I know it, I'll have spend too much of my life making profits for someone else and forsaking my dreams.

But if I just start a business fresh out of high school, I'm likely to fail, in which case I'll be in debt from my first failed business, and have no degree to earn a decent income to pay it back. In that case, I'd have to wait even longer to get back on my feet, and even then I probably wouldn't be able to save enough money to go to college early enough in my life to make the education worth it.

Sorry if I'm boring you. I guess I'll just get a college education and land a slowlane job to fund my fastlane dreams.

I'm off to read some more success stories!

 

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[PEERless]

there's a sizable chance that my first business venture will fail, leaving me with part of a college education and no money.

Statistically, there's a sizable change that your first nine business ventures will fail. My solution? Start 10 first businesses. Good luck on this tough decision, but don't stress it. At least you have the luxury of the option? Many don't.

 

[J_PAL]

Nah I don't think its luck.

Like Donald Trump said: "Everything in life is luck". It's important to understand that luck has nothing to do with coincidence. Coincidence happens when you flip the coin and get your wished result.

Luck is something more. Luck begins from the small seed and if you live in the flow that seed starts to grow. Bill Gates got rich only because he answered the phone from IBM and planted the seed. He went with the flow and ended up billionaire because of that one thing he did right at first.

 

[fanocks2003]

Like Donald Trump said: "Everything in life is luck". It's important to understand that luck has nothing to do with coincidence. Coincidence happens when you flip the coin and get your wished result.

Luck is something more. Luck begins from the small seed and if you live in the flow that seed starts to grow. Bill Gates got rich only because he answered the phone from IBM and planted the seed. He went with the flow and ended up billionaire because of that one thing he did right at first.

Let's say it like this: Go to college (all of you who see that as a viable option for now), but make the effort to plant some marketing seeds for some kind of product or service and make money on that. When the money can sustain your lifestyle, drop out (or finish college).

I don't see why college would make me a bigger success. My brother, for example, is a systems engineer (he went to college and finished his education). But do you know what he is working with now? He is a police guard. Transporting convicts. College degrees has nothing to do with getting a high paying job in the other end. It is a nice illusion though.

The fun thing (at least I find it ironic) is that he does not even want to work with IT at all. Now, he have invested a couple of years of his life in something he does not want to touch at all. And no, he is not making a lot of cash on that guarding job. If he invested the same couple of years learning to build businesses and how to sell them for a nice profit, then he could have been in a position to be doing whatever his heart desired by now.

I think the only real skill worth the time and money is to build an asset and either hold or sell it (so that you have secured your financial base). The rest you can learn on college (I have nothing against colleges if you go there to learn a skill that you could use for fun, not for survival. Maybe you would really much like to learn how to program a computer with C++. Then do, but do it because you actually would find it interesting, not because you needed a well paying job in the end. Do it for the right reason, you owe that to yourself. Have some self respect).

 

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[PEERless]

Like Donald Trump said: "Everything in life is luck". It's important to understand that luck has nothing to do with coincidence. Coincidence happens when you flip the coin and get your wished result.

Luck is something more. Luck begins from the small seed and if you live in the flow that seed starts to grow. Bill Gates got rich only because he answered the phone from IBM and planted the seed. He went with the flow and ended up billionaire because of that one thing he did right at first.

A post after my own heart. PM me if you want to get quoted in my book.

 

[hatterasguy]

I firmly believe you make your own luck.

 

[PEERless]

So do I. That's what the book is about. I'm not trying to teach anyone how to do magic.

 

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[milligan740]

I can provide a unique perspective on this question because I elected not to go to college.

During the end of my junior year of high school, I was approached by a major player in the retirement community industry and asked to co-develop and run a video production and marketing company to support his development firm. I accepted his offer to create and partially own the company and approached my best friend and long-time business partner and asked him to come onboard.

Long story short, the company was successful and by the end of my senior year, it became clear to me that college was not in my immediate plans. My business partner, also in his senior year at a different school, came to the same conclusion. We decided to wait a year before going to college to allow ourselves more time to develop our business. That year ended and we began another, and recently, another.

In the mean time, we have expanded into non-retirement fields and provide creative online video content for some of the most exciting companies in the Columbus, Ohio area, including healthcare facilities, real estate developers, a Lamborghini dealership, and many more. We have very exciting plans for 2009.

Outside of business, we have also successfully run a political campaign and my business partner was the youngest person ever to be elected to Delaware City Council (Delaware, Ohio) at age 19. We remain active in local and regional political affairs.

Back to the point of college, I think that is necessary and expected for most people in today's skilled economy. However, do not fall for the illusion that having a degree equals getting a good job. Especially with the recent lay-offs, I think it is clear that having a degree doesn't always mean the job security you might imagine it would.

My last point on this topic (for now!) is that if you are in college or about to go, I recommend that you begin serious networking ASAP. Do not limit your contacts to your school; talk to area business-owners, go to events, etc. The adage "It's not what you know, it's who you know" proves to be fairly accurate in some cases. Consider using business networking site LinkedIn (similar to Facebook, but more serious) and get involved in the "real world."

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I can provide a unique perspective on this question because I elected not to go to college.

During the end of my junior year of high school, I was approached by a major player in the retirement community industry and asked to co-develop and run a video production and marketing company to support his development firm. I accepted his offer to create and partially own the company and approached my best friend and long-time business partner and asked him to come onboard.

Long story short, the company was successful and by the end of my senior year, it became clear to me that college was not in my immediate plans. My business partner, also in his senior year at a different school, came to the same conclusion. We decided to wait a year before going to college to allow ourselves more time to develop our business. That year ended and we began another, and recently, another.

In the mean time, we have expanded into non-retirement fields and provide creative online video content for some of the most exciting companies in the Columbus, Ohio area, including healthcare facilities, real estate developers, a Lamborghini dealership, and many more. We have very exciting plans for 2009.

Outside of business, we have also successfully run a political campaign and my business partner was the youngest person ever to be elected to Delaware City Council (Delaware, Ohio) at age 19. We remain active in local and regional political affairs.

Back to the point of college, I think that is necessary and expected for most people in today's skilled economy. However, do not fall for the illusion that having a degree equals getting a good job. Especially with the recent lay-offs, I think it is clear that having a degree doesn't always mean the job security you might imagine it would.

My last point on this topic (for now!) is that if you are in college or about to go, I recommend that you begin networking with others ASAP. Do not limit your contacts to your school, talk to area companies, entreprenuers, go to events, etc. The adage "It's not what you know, it's who you know" proves to be fairly accurate in some cases.

Great first post, welcome (Paul right?) and speed+

 

[milligan740]

Thanks Michael! Glad to be part of the discussion.

 

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[djs13]

Right now I'm enrolling into a state community college this January. I have good enough grades to get into a four year school, but by going to community college I'm saving money and I'm able to graduate six months early from high school (literally in the coming weeks.)

I think I'm going in right now with multiple different perspectives. First, I'm definitely getting a start up off the ground. I don't care if I lose out on $3k and go bankrupt, taking action is more valued. If my start-up at CC were to grow I would drop out without a question. But my main plan (assuming my start-up fails, or just isn't that profitable) is to transfer to a four year school and finish my business degree. Then after that who knows.

 

[lobster]

great thread, very helpful. keep those stories comming. im decideing on what to do in my future.

 

[Andrew]

Something to watch out for: Student loans turn into crushing burden for unwary borrowers - Los Angeles Times

 

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[hatterasguy]

Oh cry me a river, more morons coming out of schools. If you can't figure out that they are charging you 30% on a loan application, or that taking out $140k in loans is a ton of money that is going to be real hard to pay back with a fairly useless degree, well than your an idiot.

Time to buck up and pay them back.