Lots of kids who are between high school and college ask me if I think college is worth it. I can understand their concern is a large commitment and a huge price tag.
My college experience
I never did well in any school. School was always very painful to me. I barely graduated high school and while I lived on 3 different college campus’s over 8 years I probably have less then 60 credit hours of college… I have a massive problem with reading comprehension and focusing attention. That and I was a weee bit lazy too…
Classes I did benefit from
If I look at the classes I took in college and what ones I feel benefited me in what I do for a living I would say the business and marketing classes were of by far the biggest benefit to me. Business and marketing tactics are time tested and not much has changed. Everything I learned can be applied to my internet business. It honestly amazes me how basic marketing techniques from the early 1900’s companies I can draw a direct correlation to in what I do for a living. Also most of the professors who taught these business and marketing classes were former CEO’s of companies who have been there and done that. When teaching they often talk about their own businesses and how the topic related to something they did.
I also think there is a lot of value in the fundamental classes (math, history, science, english) but not so sure about at the college level. Obviously I could use more English classes. Its amazing how bad my grammar is when you think about the fact that I grew up in a house with a mother who was a English teacher with masters degree in English. My wife has a minor in English. I dunno it just did not take.
Classes that were a complete waste of time
Every computer related class I took in college was a complete waste of time. But you have to remember I went to college in the mid 90’s to early 2000’s. I am sure a lot has changed. I never took a computer class where I thought the professor knew more then I did. That is a bad start.
All of my computer programing knowledge, which is not that great, but I can understand and hack away at about anything, comes from my own trial an error. I have been scripting for 15+ years.
Personal computers (mainstream wise) have only been around since the early 80’s. Computers and programing languages change so fast its just not possible to keep up in a college. If you want to learn programing in college you should join some club or local user group and be active in that. The education you get there will be cutting edge. Most professors who are teaching programing have no real world experience.
So to answer the question of if college is worth it I would say absolutely. College can teach you a ton. For most people its their first real experience of how the world really works away from their parents. First crazy experiences with money, girls, booze… ahhhh…
Lots of successful online entrepreneurs have MBA’s. Actually if I sit and name off a list of the most successful online people I am friends with I think about 65% have MBA’s. Guess how many have computer programing or MIS related degrees? None… In fact pretty much everyone I know with a programing degree is working for the man. Not that there is anything wrong with that (visions of Seinfeld).
When we interview people we are much more interested in their real world experience then their education. Nobody with a computer science degree has ever worked out with us. Still waiting for someone to prove me wrong.ΓΒ π
I’m not for school at all. Experience. Experience. Experience. Then again, it might get hard to get experience without some school at the bottom. Personally I don’t go to collage. I tried, for a year. Now I put all my effort to make a living online, but I do have to take a couple hours in a day job to make ends meet.
I agree on the experience thing, especially for internet types. On the other hand however, there is something for having a degree and going the corporate route. My sister has been very successful going that way.
Is experience not what you get from college?
I’d have to agree with you, college gave me the opportunity to put my foot in the door with experience. They are always pushing you with projects that ‘involve’ the real world. I’ve had numerous large companies I did work for, including Harley-Davidson headquarters, and SC Johmson Wax (as well as smaller companies and non-profit orgs),
Maybe college isn’t useful if your not going for a business degree, but really they teach you so many fundamentals about the business world and legalities that I couldn’t imagine starting a company without knowing what I got from college. Plus business writing, that was my favorite, it has helped me tremendously!
I did graduate with an MIS degree, but with MIS, unlike Computer Science, I was forced upon the business world. Which I am 100% happy that I chose MIS over CS in that aspect.
I do currently work for the ‘man’, but it is once again, giving me great experience for my side hobby of owning/running successful websites. And who knows, it could give me the knowledge of how a worker thinks (instead of ONLY being a boss). Sure, I could have not found a job coming out of college and focused solely on my web career, but I wanted to experience a 9-5 (8-4 in my case) to see how I felt about it. My passion is still to operate my own business, but I just graduated college and decided to double my yearly income by taking a job.
But I don’t know how you can preach experience and downplay school, that isn’t ‘experiencing’ everything out there. You are still limiting yourself in regards to other experiences.
IMO, college is a great way to see if you can keep yourself motivated and finish an objective. 1 out of 4 people aren’t able to finish college, I see that as a flaw of a persons testament in noy being committed and being lazy.
cool, very well said
like it much. π
I think there is a slight flaw in your logic regarding that statistic. I would venture to guess that a lot of people don’t finish school due to financiances. Which was my primary issue. Rather than take out endless student loans and end up in ridiculous debt before I get a degree, I chose to pay my way myself and have stopped here and there for a year or two to save up more and return. Some of us aren’t lucky enough to return.
Maybe you shouldn’t judge so quickly.
But in regards to the question, I think that college can help with Business degrees in general and it’s always a good idea to take a class in something you might consider doing full time, but they have continuing education classes for that type of thing. I have collectively just under 60 hours and have gone part time off and on for the last 10 or so years, since my son was born.
My web design and development classes taught me HTML and I found political science to be interesting, I could take or leave the rest though really. But I am going back to school in the Spring for more business related classes and web development, there is still quite a bit of web knowledge I need to acquire. π
Great information here thanks Shoe!
Thanks for sharing your experience. You pointed out a lot of great reasons for people to attend college. I’m sure it will inspire others to join college to. If you don’t attend college then it will be hard for you to get a good high-paying job to support your family or yourself.
@MouthyGirl
College really isn’t that expensive. The four-year college by me cost approximately $10k/year. In all reality, that isn’t too expensive if you take out a student loan. Which are low interest and you’re able to pay it off in years.
Think about it this way. After getting my first full-time job after college, I would be able to pay off the loan (approx. $40k) in one year.
That is of course if you save all you money, but that is what is great about a loan, you have years to pay it off with little interest.
But if your going to college for a career where $40k is unrealistic to pay back, maybe you shouldn’t be going to college. Or maybe finding an alternative side job, lol. But in all seriousness, by the time I graduated college, I saved more money than college cost (from my Internet side-job).
But it is my belief, people who drop out of college because it is too expensive either need to switch schools or look at the long term of things, too many of our youth look at the short term here and now aspect of life, which ruins you long term life, imo.
College gives you a slip of paper, but zero real time work/business experience….
Um, when I went to college I actually worked for companies and did projects for them. How is that not work/business experience?
I don’t know if I should agree, but school and college has something to give you. You get more experiences from them, at least.
The difference between college and just experience is that after college you get a certificate as proof that you have learned and being tested on that career, and with just experience all you have is your references as your proof which aren’t always the most reliable source of proving your competence.
Yes it’s still possible to get a job with the experience you have but it’s getting really competitive these days. A lot of jobs are starting to require you to have a Bachelors degree. At least the Information Technology jobs that I’ve been looking at. They require a Bachelor’s degree at a minimum and they don’t even care about how much experience you have unless you have a Bachelors degree, It’s better to not take a risk and go ahead and pursue your education in college.
I’ve been doing web development for four years and I just received my Associates degree last year. I was able to combine past credit w/ the courses that I was taking in subjects that I actually had an interest in. The community college I went to let me combine Graphic Arts / Design courses with general IT (Unix, SQL etc) into a General Studies AAS.
Every job that I’ve held has stated that a Bachelor’s degree was required for the position that I took. I’m not underpaid by any means either. Look past what’s on paper and make them talk to you if you think you can do the job, there is a good chance you will have a shot at it.
Still dude, there is something to be said for the basic fundamentals and the value of education
I have to agree with you… It’s been over 20 years since I graduated from college, I still think it is an experience that everyone should have whether at the 2 or 4 year level…
I think if you want to be a doctor or a lawyer or be a teacher then ya college is cool.
if you want to be either of those, college is required
“if you want to be either of those, college is required”
Exactly.
Yeah, some careers require paperwork as a pre-requisite to entry of an exclusive club….
Its also required for those lol
A lot of jobs today require some sort of degree to work for them
Well it’s not “cool” just for these types of people. College is for EVERYONE. We all need degrees in order to get a good job. It’s proven that dropouts make less than graduates. And even if you make more it’s only temporary, you can’t just rely on online money.
tell that to all the millionaire 17 year olds..all money made online
There’s not as many millionaires as we think there are…
You’re just linkbaiting…or you’re a fool. Either way the majority of the people reading this site (including yourself) don’t agree with you. This is not a blog on how to attend college and succeed in life.
If you want to be a marketer, go to school for a bit at least. The fundamentals they teach you there are tried and tested and its always good to have a solid foundation under you.
SCHOOL ISNT WORTH IT! Use your time better.
Im 16 (the legal age to leave school here in australia) and i have learnt WAY more since i left.
– The End…
its worth it for various reasons
That’s the conclusion I’ve come to as well. Can’t wait to finish high-school so I can focus full time on my web projects.
That’s a really strong statement to make. Without school you wouldn’t be an educated person and you wouldn’t be able to perform a lot of things at your job. A lot of employers look at your education too so if you’re a dropout then it’s very likely that you will be earning way less than a college gradate makes.
That’s the one main thing about not having a college qualification, is that you get paid way less than you’re supposed even if you’re brilliant at what you do. No college is a gateway to being exploited by employers.
Agreed, if you mess up anywhere buddy, you’re going to be working at mcdonalds because you don’t have a GED. Think about it..
It’s sketchy, I know some college grads working average jobs…
Vice versa, Not even high school grads making 7-figures, WHO EMPLOY College grads….!
yeah, I was making more money than the average college grad in my first year of being a competitive webmaster…. now I make more than the average lawyer or doctor after about 7 years of doing this… I was getting paid for my education.
Good to see that you’re making that much money. It’s still important to go to college to get your education in whatever career you want to do. Yes you can make money online but there’s still a chance that you will stp earning that much money right? That’s why a degree will serve as a backup. π
Its all about having a plan….or working toward having a plan… if you can get your plan together without college…..then skip it…..
I’ve found that most of the college people who end up in the jobs that didn’t need college are the ones who never developed a plan
I started out online to pay for school and got to the point where I realized I didn’t need College if I could push myself to make more.
The question is, do the majority of college grads work for high school grads or vice versa.
You can’t just pick a few examples to stereotype a whole group of people.
I think college is absolutely worth it. If nothing else, the experiences you have and people you meet help prepare you for the real world. Not to say you can’t be successful without going to college, but if you have the opportunity to go, I say do it!
My opinion as well, I have a law degree and it is only semi-helpful with what I’m doing now, but in genereal college taught me many useful things like structured thinking, how to do research and analysis properly and a few other really handy lessons…although it wasn’t the cheapest way to aquire this knowledge.
I agree college is very use ful for learning different things
it gives you the basics to work at any job
yes, lots of reasons why its worth it. it will no doubt open a lot of doors.
Well said Dina.
I believe the same way.
Yeah, true! If you do get the opportunity to go to college, then do it. But you can still be successful without it if you really don’t have the resources to go to college.
I’ve been through almost the exact same experiences. I think I have about 30 college credit hours, but none of those classes ever helped me in anyway in regards to what I do now.
I am the senior web developer and graphics designer for a company, and I own my own successful website development business on the side.
You’re right when you say the things you’ll learn in college are old school and the most cutting edge stuff are things you can only learn outside of college.
I took a website design class in college and I ended up teaching the class rather than the professor. I was going over new things that she’d never even heard of. ?!?!
The bottom line is, you don’t have to have college to make it in an internet/programming world. I’ve got over 11 years of experience doing what I do, and I started it all in 7th grade.
If you know what you’re doing and you do it well, you should not have any problems with finding a career doing that.
Steve, I think you are the perfect example of what I’ve been saying in my other comments in this thread. If you have a good idea of what you want to do, and you don’t have to have a degree, then college isn’t for you.
Congrats on the biz btw. I love hearing success stories!
Agreed! The vision is important. You need a target to focus on / aspire to…
However, College gives you an opportunity to get the tools to get what you want done. You’re in college and have access to everyone. If you’re young and not in college. You’re seen as just some thug. So head to college get you a piece of paper and take advantage to state’s taxes.
All that and you STILL have time to run a JC copycat blog? You’re gifted.
Negativity Rocks Matt… Common man…. Being Down on
someone else’s work just makes you look bad.
Opinions are great, but not at the expense of others….
(Unless you’re running for president that is)
We all have something to offer…..
Exactly how is my blog a JC copycat? Just because John makes alot of money on his blog, and has made a big name for himself, it doesn’t mean I’m copying him. He was the guy that invented teaching others how to make money with your blog.
My bad… I meant wasn’t the guy.
The danger of not getting a college degree is the same for an aspiring basketball player, if things work out – wonderful. if things don’t, you have no backup. Not everyone is going to make bank in this game, for everyone else, a college degree is something the “real world” respects and demands.
Great comment Jim. My wife knows many other doctors who are only doing it because they have to to pay off their student loans. They have no choice. Very sad to be in that trap.
I also know several doctors who got into it because they
thought it would pay well (and not because they loved it).
Those are the people that are miserable now. I did the
whole Dr. thing because I love it. I think the most important
thing to weigh in the college decision process is, “Are you
building toward something that you’ll love for the next 40
years?” If not, don’t waste your money! Hard work can get
you to almost anywhere you want to go without organized
ed…… (well unless you want to be a Dr. or Lawyer)..
Doctors and healers, doctors and healers. If you go into medicine with money being your prime motive force you’re already looking for trouble. The calling to be a healer is another thing altogether, and your success will ultimately not be measured in monetary terms only.
A friend of mine, who was an apprentice mechanic at the time, once engaged a young doctor in an argument. After being told off as a lesser being for not being in a “respectable” industry his reply was simply….
“At least I don’t bury my mistakes….”
Please, no offence aimed at you Dr Ben!
That’s sad! A lot of us who are reading this and can afford college should be really thankful that we are able to pay for our education and learn. It’s important to go to college and learn instead of wasting your time. At the end it will really pay you off and you won’t regret it.
Yup Shoe agree, it’s terrible being trapped in something you don’t enjoy. Life shouldn’t be like that, we should all persue what we enjoy to be able to be productive in our jobs.
not true – in this day in age there are tons of careers you can do without having school. IMO – real world experience and common sense are worth far more than book smarts.
Didn’t I just say that???
You sure did!
None take Jacques….. Its the truth….. There is no room
for mistakes when your a doctor. I also don’t think that
its ever a good idea to get it in your head that you’re
“above” your patient base. The only difference is
skill-sets. Thanks for the comments!
Dr. Ben
http://www.drbenadkins.com
People don’t go to college just to get book smart. They go there to get actual experience, learn how to be responsible, and improve their knowledge. Yes there are careers that you can get without going to school but those types of careers pay people a whole lot less than a person who got a degree from college.
When I was in college, mid 90’s as well, I ended up teaching a few of my classes because the teach knew only what was in the books, not what was going on in the real world. I only took 2 computer classes, after that I no longer trusted the teachers and decided to try something else!
I think its a generation thing, the tech classes now are much better I would think..
A few courses in writing, marketing, and computers (programming and design) can’t hurt. Colleges make you take so much fluff BS though ( wish I could get every hour of finance, psychology, management classes back).
Sometimes, I feel that school isn’t worth it. But then, there is so much to be learnt from school and college which gives you real life experience. Definitely worth it. π
P.S. I’m 14 now. I can’t wait to get into college once I’m 17. π
I also never completed school…and honestly I can’t say I learned anything valuable from the college I took. You must have had some decent teachers in your business classes, because mine were about what Pepsi did in 1985 or something…not really relevant to online small business.
Interestingly enough, I wish I took more computer classes. I know my way around website design etc. but wish I knew more about PHP and java stuff. Unfortunately running multiple online businesses doesn’t leave a lot of time to sit down with a programming book and mess around.
Overall though, I would probably not recommend college unless your specific field requires it.
Its funny you mention this Shoe I’m actually going through the process of getting a degree in marketing and applying the information towards my own side business. However, with the growing trend of e-marketing schools just don’t know how to adapt their curriculum to match the ever changing social media status….that and the professors don’t know much about it.
If you think about it some successful online entrepreneur could do lectures at schools and get paid big bucks due to no one else having that experience. *cough*hint hint*cough*
[…] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptEverything I learned can be applied to my internet business. It honestly amazes me how basic marketing techniques from the early 1900Γ’β¬β’s companies I can draw a direct correlation to in what I do for a living. Also most of the professors … […]
Yeah, I agree 100%. I went to college and got a business degree, worked for the man and then went on to work for myself. While I agree that it’s very tough to look back at school and justify if I recouped the money I spent (and income lost), it’s hard to really know how much you picked up in school. Plus, when you’re 18 you have no clue what you want to do with your life. Sure, if you run a successful business NOW and you didn’t go to school, you’d say it was a good decision. But there are also about 99% of the people that don’t go to college and they are working in a wal-mart. I bet they wished they could’ve gone back.
I always think it’s a good idea to go to school personally. You take business classes and you’ll at least learn basic marketing, finance, and accounting. Trust me, that will aide you even if you run your own business. It’s definitely easier to go to school at 18 then when you get older, bills to pay, etc. I just think do it now. It definitely can’t hurt and you can limit the expense of college.
As a college graduate I can attest that real world experience in the SEO field outweighs what can be learned at college. I did find that my college degree opened the door for me in the corporate world. It also provided marketing fundementals to succeed in this industry.
well said – it will definitely open doors and I agree that in the real world, what I was taught as well had no value.
I believe college is important, but definitely overrated. To prove this even further-unless you have a degree in something specific like being a doctor or lawyer, they don’t care what degree you hold. They just want to know they are hiring an intelligent person that they can teach and mold. It’s kind of stupid when you think about it, but that’s he way it goes in most businesses.
For me, college is quite difficult and everyday I wonder how many of the classes I’m taking will I really learned something useful for what I want to do. Sometimes I question myself being in college, but it’s just one of those things in life everyone wants to experience.
It’s still worth it for the degree and knowledge you will obtain through college. Once you get a degree it won’t be hard for employers to accept you. π
I have a somewhat different take on it. I dropped out of a PhD program and would say that not a single class that I took in college, at any level, is providing any help to what I’m currently doing. Someone might gain value from business courses as you state, or they might make connections while at school that will help them in the future. I don’t think having a college degree helps much outside of the corporate world, it’s just a piece of paper after all. A lot of schools, MIT for example, are opening up their course materials to anyone via their website. For a self-motivated person, I think that going to college will be more of a waste of time and money than what little they could learn will help. For someone who has trouble motivating themselves, having a college degree, and the corporate doors that having it might open up to them, is probably a good plan.
Granted that the academic side of college is not always directly applicable to an internet entrepreneur. But at school or college you do get more than your certificate:
– Networking (with peers and industry speakers)
– Develop social & team skills (learn how to talk & work in a team)
– Research fundamental (learn how to write & research ideas)
Now all of the above you can get from trial and error but would you blunder your way through a course or blow a deal?
Any way I think anyone interested in programming or marketing should focus on business related courses if they feel that they should attend post secondary education.
I’m an MIS guy from The University of Alabama and would actually highly recommend it because it was such a great mix of computer science and business. I wonder constantly how much more successful I would be had I actually tried to learn instead of just trying to pass. There were so many classes that would be so valuable to me now if I could remember what was taught.
The biggest thing I would change is to put some emphasis on being able to work for yourself. Everything was focused on working for a corporation, but everything we learned could have been applied individually as well.
Still, it’s given me a really good background to do very well for myself.
Jeremy,
I think you should volunteer to lecture at the University of Nebraska there in Lincoln if any professor is confident enough to admit he or she does not know cutting edge technology. Therein lies the problem. Many college professors have attained a Bachelor’s Degree in some area of study and a Master’s in Arrogance. I have taught graduate classes at our local university and am currently teaching an undergraduate class. I love the students who come from real world jobs and challenge my knowledge of subject. They recount stories in class of professors who use outdated text, materials, and refuse to deliver a class online. Come on! Colleges need to push instructors to stay ahead of students or go sell shoes. It is not a coronation. Keep up!
A college degree is an asset that you’ll have for life. You may need to use that asset at some point or you may choose an alternative path, but at least you’ve got it if you need it.
If you have a firm idea of your career direction, then why not get a formal qualification in it? Added to which, 3 years at university can be a ball, and that kind of social “education” is completely different from any other you’re likely to experience in life, and one not to be underestimated.
It all adds up to make you who you are; hopefully more skilled and rounded as a person than before your three years of druken debauchery and the occasional lecture. π
Whether or not college is worth it changes from person to person. A lot of it comes back to personality – some people get more out of school than others. That said, I think the chosen college / chosen major has just as much (if not more) to do with it than anything else. Tour the college, talk to the profs and talk to the students (probably the most important one!). Find out the specifics of the courses as possible (how often they are updated, etc). That can save you a lot of frustration and annoyance (and money) down the road. Doing it again, I’d take more business and marketing courses, but oh well.
Just keep in mind that most people (even aspiring affiliate superstars) will end up working a day job for part of their lifetime, and lots of day jobs still require a college degree.
I dropped out of school and I never regretted it once. I do think there is certain value for people that do want to attend though, it just wasn’t for me. You mentioned some people that have mba’s, how about some that didn’t even finish school; bill gates, mark zuckerberg, list goes on and on
College is the ultimate long term investment. It may not pay off right out of college but 10-15 years down the road it still opens doors. The problem with your analogy is that you are hiring tradesmen.
You can learn a trade either on the job or in school. But I bet every single accountant you ask advise from has a degree. Do you buy your contracts online or do you get a lawyer to write them?
I value my college education even though I am not working in the field I studied. The history, english, and economics classes alone were worth it. I encourage everyone I mentor to get a degree.
for certain fields, a degree is absolutely necessary and valuable. but this a competitive webmastering blog, in which a degree is meaningless. affiliate programs don’t care if you have a degree.
There is alot of great experience you get from College. I don’t know what I would have done with my college experience. I learned how to live on “little to no money”, how to budget my time, and there was that degree thing that I got too….. I think that it would be okay to skip college if you already have a plan….but if you don’t….probably not a good idea. College prepares you for life in a lot of ways.
Ben
Even if you have a plan I don’t think it’s okay to skip college. Education is one thing that is always staying with you, and you should just go and get that degree rather than regretting it later. There’s always a chance your plan can fail so you should still go to college.
We got a lot of thick comments here so let me put in my 10cents. College is a place that if you use it correctly can really benefit you more than just the experience and academics. Think about it. Depending on the school you have access to great minds or at least professors that know great minds. YOU have to network with those people.
I never did this and I can see where it would have been extremely valuable if i would have done this. Fine, get you degree and go even farther to your DR. but you have to broaden your horizons with your network. Get to know everyone and anyone. Remember their names and birthday’s. Once you do this on a consistent basis, most people will help you out as much as they can.
I agree with this, college is a great way to network with people. It’s also a great place to learn together with people and ask questions and further your knowledge. I’m taking an online class and the forums allow me to network with others and get help from them.
College teaches you how to think and even if your degree doesn’t directly translate into you career, the process of college is absolutely worth it.
Plus, as you acknowlege, picking up a decent background in English, Marketing & Business is important…all of which are important for making money online.
I would have to vote that college is worth it, because that is what I preach to my kids, even though I have no degrees or certifications myself. With that said, I have managed to be successful in my life, even before Internet marketing. For years, (and still to this day) I worked as an IT consultant, basically managing and maintaining computer systems and networks. I have never had a problem finding a job or new clients, because I have personality, charisma, knowledge, and experience. College is less important to the learning aspect of what we do — nothing beats real-world experience, but I preach to my kids the importance of school, because you can’t deny the connection you could make nor do I want my kids to struggle through life because of being non-educated. I know I sound hypocritical since I am preaching to my kids to go to college when I haven’t been, but I see it as just cause it worked out “well” for me doesn’t mean it will work “well” for them. However, I do tell myself I will go to college one day…you’re never too old for knowledge.
Both sides to a coin, like anything – but generally speaking, you should go to college.
I was in and out, switched majors, took a boatload of classes/units…and am still working on completing my degree.
Like anything in life:
You just need to be focused, and know what you want out of it – or you’ll be spinning your wheels going nowhere.
You’re right you should be focused. Instead of just going to college because you’re required to go there because you want to. Go there to learn as much as you can and don’t allow yourself to get distracted with all the stuff the others are doing. I think that’s a big one for most college students!
Growing up, college was never a maybe. I never thought otherwise. As much as I like programming, I will not major toward it. I figure I can learn programming on my own and work with it on my own, what is the sense in paying someone to teach me?
As far as making money online, I don’t think a college degree is necessary. In my case, I’m going to college to become a professional engineer. Doing online work is a hobby, which I happen to make money from. In your case shoe, you happened to hit the right time to be making websites online, and got a really good jumpstart…so good that you could live off of it.
In all honesty, I don’t think you need a college degree for making good money online. However, it is risky if you have no other plans.
It is indeed risky to just depend on making money online. Although there is no degree required you still stand the chance of loosing your money and it’s not a permanent source of making money. If you loose that money you need to have a backup plan, and that’s where your education and degree comes into play! π
I think school is defiantly worth it for the connections. I have met more like minded people and made a few business deals just from the people I met at school. Although I think the accounting classes I have taken have been useful.
OMG. This was one of the questions I wanted to ask you and Darren and Chris while I was at BWE08! I tweeted it last week and have a discussion set to auto-post tomorrow. I’m so interested to read this discussion!
I have a BA and MA in Technical Writing and was never a computer-savvy person. The WWW as we know it was just becoming mainstream when I graduated. My first job out of grad school was as a web developer and I was hooked. I have a background in writing technical things so the programming makes sense to me. Blogging is a way to bring all the best parts of what I love about writing and technology together.
I think that going away to college is definitely worth it! Like Shoemoney said, it allows you to experience life outside of your parents’ house. That alone makes college worth it. I’ve learned a lot about myself simply from being away from my parents and in a quasi-real world environment.
As far as classes go, it all depends. I’ve picked up different things from every class and sometimes I’ve met someone interesting in class.
For the most part, I haven’t learned nearly as much from the college classes as I have being in the college environment.
TheAndySan
http://www.theandysan.com
I go for the girls…
I’ll be the exception to your rule…one of my undergrad degrees was in MIS, though maybe my MBA helps to prove the other piece of your argument.
Without college – I wouldn’t be blogging or making cash online…
I noticed your debt blog, really creative. I’m sure you’ll be out of debt if you keep working online. No matter what education is really important. Good luck with earning that money and with your education! π
I think school opens doors for you that may have otherwise been closed, through jobs and networking in school.
College is worth it to network and make connections – well unless you are just going to sit in your room all day. it also is a good jumping point for getting kids separated from their parents in a safe environment.
i went college, learned nothing from my int’l econ degree and ended up as an editor for a fashion startup. but what do you really gain from college aside from experience and personal growth? CREDIBILITY and, often, association with the image of the school. but really, a quick look at the number of world’s billionaires without a college degree should tell you that hard work and experience seems to trump a piece of paper.
I’m about to finish high-school in less than a year. Believe me, I thought a lot if going to university or college (like you say in usa) it’s really worth it for what I really want to do for the rest of my life. In my case it’s not worth it. Here, it’s more of a trend to go to uni, rather than going for the educational purposes. Even those that barely finish high-school are going to uni. It’s the crowd mentality.
Why is it not worth it in your case? By getting a degree you will be able to get a lot of good jobs out there and employers will look at your applilcation. A lot of employers require you to have a degree. Do you not want to get a good job?
Full Sail University offers an online degree in …wait for it…BSc Internet Marketing!! Seriously, subjects include things like SEO, viral campaigns, email marketing etc. Now *that* is a degree I can get my teeth into. I spent 2.5 years at university changing my major every six months because I had NO idea what to do. I should have gotten out sooner, worked for some real world experience and then hopefully have found a course like that to stimulate me. Yeah…eh hem that MCSE was a total waste for me, since i’m now the worlds biggest Mac Pundit, and refuse to have anything to do with PC’s if I can help it.
school was the best time for me..
I can’t forget those days. π
No offense intended, but if you knew more CS than your CS professors, that was simply a problem with the school you went to.
I’ve been programming since I was in elementary school, and had several years of part-time development for local businesses already under my belt before college. So, I knew what I was doing when I got to school, yet learned invaluable amounts of theory from my CS professors at Ga Tech.
Not so much practical experience with a certain language, platform, or framework, but the kind of knowledge that makes you better at solving problems with any language you choose to learn.
I would highly recommend it.
That said, I left school in 98, during my fourth year. The dotcom boom opportunities were just too tempting to resist. So far, that decision not to finish school hasn’t had any negative repercussions that I know of.
I do have a feeling that this economic crash is going to make a lot of people wish they had a degree though. Rightfully or not, education is one of the first factors that many companies use to differentiate between otherwise equally qualified candidates.
I think you right on about this. You took advantage of the tools there. This is very different that just going and hanging out with the ladies who are looking for a handout
Thanks for sharing your experience Dave. Yes I agree if Jeremy knew more than his CS teachers did then it’s simply the problem of the school. The CS professors must not have been educated enough. It’s good to research on your colleges and find ones that have good teachers. These days there are websites out there where they rate the professors and the schools so it shouldn’t be hard. Everything has been made easy for us, but people are just lazy. π
If you went to college you would know how to spell. So it is worth it!
Isn’t school enough to learn how to spell?
Well you could do that with a spell checker too and a lot of people know how to spell without going to college. π
The reason you would go to college is to learn more and get skills for your future career and also to prove your knowledge to your employers.
Too many people don’t attend college, or drop out after making some money online. Then they stop making money, for whatever reason and never get to go back. If they can keep making money online, that’s awesome.. but sucks for those who fail.
I know, a lot of these people need to stop taking chances and really think about their future life. Everyone has to work at some point and you will need a degree to get your job. Without it most employers won’t even look at your application. There is a chance your online business can make you loose a lot of money. You could end up making a mistake and someone could end up suing you. This is just an example of something that can happen.
It depends on the individual not everyone is capable of being successful without college. Some folks need the rearing that college gives them some don’t. so i cant quantify that college is completely useless when i see the many folks who took their higher education and became billionaires. on the other hand you had those who had no college and became billionaires but usually those folks had money to begin with. Sucess is what you make it.
Well it is possible that some people do not need college. I know one person who just reads a lot of books and does a lot of labs/experiments and he’s really smart. He knows a lot and he graduated from school very early. But he still went to college! Why? Because employers require a degree and they look at your education. They don’t care about just your experience they want to see your education. Education is one of the major things that employers look for and if you don’t have college level education then most employers won’t accept you.
I am a computer engineer and it’s really worth it I think. First, not only I can develop things myself, but it also helped me to develop a rational thinking when facing complex problems/situations. There’s also the fact that I don’t work full time on my internet business so being a computer engineer gives me a very decent job! π While I’m trying to eventually be full time on my internet business, it’s nice to have a good backup.
I agree with this. It’s good to educate yourself and learn as much as you can about whatever you like. Good luck with your goal of starting a full time online business. π
Great post Shoe.
I think college is definitely worth is as it’s great knowledge to have up there, gives you a feel of achievement and a sense of pride, and a degree is also a great thing to have in case your internet business falls through. Atleast you won’t be on the streets.
I love that type of thinking. We cannot just rely on the Internet for our source of revenue. Unfortunately I’ve noticed some Bloggers and Webmasters leaving their education behind just because they’re making enough revenue online. I feel sorry for these people because they’re just hurting themselves. If they stop making revenue online then they won’t really be able to find good jobs in the real world. Yes there’s a big chance that they won’t stop making money online but there is still a possibility that they could.
I’m just gonna go to college because it looks good on the resume.
Its same about me. I am stuck with my college because I just need a certificate.
You will be really bored then. Pursure a degree related to whatever you’re interested in and learn because you want to. Trust me you don’t want to go there just because it’s good on your resume! Do it because you want to learn and improve your knowledge.
It’s a conundrum. For what I’m doing now, college was mostly a waste, but I had no idea then what I’d be doing now.
A lot of people think it’s a waste but that’s really because they made it a waste for themselves. Instead of going to college to learn and improve their education in certain areas they just went to have “fun” or just because they were required to. That’s not a good thing and these type of people end up wasting their times and regret it later.
One of the things that was said to me a long long time ago that has stuck with me ever since then is that Education is the one thing that can’t be taken away from you. Once you’ve learned something, you will always have that knowledge, barring of course some unforeseen brain injury.
That being said, if someone takes everything you have and you still have the know how to do again what you did before, you can always rebuild. I can’t really argue with that logic.
I agree with this logic! Thanks for posting that up here. Learning is what we will be doing the rest of our lives, and it’s very important to educate yourself. Without education you could mess up on your job and you wouldn’t know how to complete your work properly. You have to go to college and educate yourself otherwise you won’t succeed in this world.
Honestly one of the best posts I could’ve read for where I am at in life. Next year I am starting college but i’ve been questioning if its worth all of the time and money. Right now I know several programming languages and have a decent ability to design websites. I love business and entrepreneurship but somehow I am going to college for Commercial Aviation/Aviation Management. I guess I’ll just do both, fly planes half of the month and design websites the other half… or something like that π
It’s definitely worth all the time and money, and you won’t regret it. When you go in there LEARN don’t go in there to waste your time like most of the other kids out there who just want to have “fun”. It’s good to do both instead of just doing online because it can get boring online and it’s not good to rely on one job for earning your revenue.
In America the culture is very different than Europe.
For example each American follow the American dream try to be independent of the system and make tons money. Self-Made-Man
If you are from a rich family you guarantee to have some money to pay your education to go the College and get a degree (Harvard…)
But when you come from a poor family only way you can get a loan and go to university is to sign up for 10 years for us army.
In Europe if you have no degree you have no chance to get a good job too.
Some part in Europe the education is free like in France where everybody can go to the University but nothing guarantee you can get a degree, you donΓ’β¬β’t work.
Between that some guys stand up and say okay I fed up all craps I want a piece of this dream for me and my family degree or not degree. And say Γ’β¬ΕI going to make some moneyΓ’β¬Β¦ Γ’β¬Ε
I know a lot of people with master degree they make only ΓΒ£ 780 per month and some without degree make ΓΒ£ 1800 with a certificate of IT (+A) with tons years of experience Why?
Skills to pay the Bills.
One more thing I learn more from blogger how to make money than from my ProfessorsΓ’β¬Β¦
Check this out: What they still donΓ’β¬β’t teach you at Harvard Business School by Mark h. Mccormack.
Is college worth it for what we do? Beats me. I’m more a believe in the notion that every experience we have is an opportunity to become more than we currently are so if college affords you such experiences, bangarang. But there is something special about college no doubt. Even if YOU don’t ever go to college, go your friends’ and hang out. (#):)
It’s worth it because of everything you learn from there. You wouldn’t want a doctor to work without a degree or the proper education would you? Everyone needs to go to college and learn as much as they can in their field. No matter how much money they have. Getting jobs is getting even more competitive these days and most jobs will require you to have a degree.
When it comes to this kind of work, I think college is good as a backup plan. If God forbid something should go wrong with making money online, at least you’d have a degree to get a good paying job.
With the way things are with the economy right now, those that are working “regular jobs” & don’t have a college degree are lucky to be working at all, but I wouldn’t count on this in the near future. Soon enough companies will only be looking to hire those with college degrees.
I definitely agree with you on this one. Yes you can make money online, but it’s all just temporary. Just because you’re making good money online it does not mean you should just stop learning. You will be learning your whole life no matter what, so just go to college and get a degree. Maybe one day Google Adsense bans your account or another affiliate company shuts down. So you can’t just depend on one source for revenue.
Yeah I agree, 90% of what you learn in college academically is worthless… its the experience of getting along fellow classmates and networking that really paid off… Experience in the working force nowadays tops education.
I would just say that about the major courses like Math, English, and History. The other courses related to your profession and language courses are really helpful. I mean there are a lot of Spanish speaking people here in the U.S. so it’s good to take that as an elective and learn as much as you can. Employers also like people who are bilingual and know multiple languages.
WTF! The same xprnc! Too boring!
Wow, my IT teacher back in high school really sucked. She always hated it when I knew more than her and every time she gave me homework and I wrote more than she knew, she’d simply just mark it wrong. I hated her.
I’m sure it’s still the same even though that school is the leading school in my country, nothing is cutting edge about their IT class.
OK honestly this is getting VERY creepy. I was JUST telling my girlfriend today after I got a good mark in accounting how much I could care less about school, It’s just a backup plan and to appease my parents.
I will admit some classes have been beneficial BUT I can honestly say I have learned A LOT more just by doing and reading things on the internet. I love when teachers say “you’ll need to know this when your looking for a job” and I always think to myself, “screw that I already make enough money working for myself in my SPARE time, I can’t wait until I’m done in April to do this full time.
A music class I took was the best class I have ever had because the professor touched on music and really taught about the world, which I found very beneficial.
My major was business and those are the class I have found most applicable to my life now.
The other very important part of college you hit on the head “For most people its their first real experience of how the world really works away from their parents. First crazy experiences with money, girls, boozeΓ’β¬Β¦ ahhhhΓ’β¬Β¦”
College is definitely worth it. Right after I graduated high school I started college. I’m actually taking online courses because I want a Bachelors Degree in Information Technology. I love online classes because they’re very reliable and convenient. Instead of having to travel a long distance to go to college I can just go online and work on my classes from anywhere I am. Most of the IT related jobs require you to have some sort of degree. Even if you have certifications you can’t just get accepted without having a degree. I’m taking extra classes in my online university and I hope to graduate early. That’s the smart thing to do! π
Some nice advice there.
I’m actually going into Computer Science / CIS and hope to prove you wrong. I do understand that with these classes, you can be farther ahead to be doing more on your own (in the programming field for instance) and learning more that way than you will from a class. I’ve seen more successful people in my field that were passionate about doing programming and knew much more than what any class would teach.
Some people find it hard to learn on their own though and having a teacher can be helpful. Going to college can also be good if you take the various other classes – as it is easy to find that there are other things of interest out there than the degree that you initially thought you wanted to get.
College or no college, you have to find what you enjoy doing. Otherwise, your life will be very sad. If you go to work every day and don’t enjoy it. You are not going to be happy. Take me, for example. I am an MD by education… But I work as a balloon artist. You have to make yourself happy….
There are different routes and different reasons for college. The collective knowledge is advancing at a rate that is faster than it ever has been before. There is no way that you could know everything you need to know about anyone subject in four years (or five in my case) but what college gives you is something that Jeremy hit on. A place to learn how to interact in the world, not just Γ’β¬ΕFirst crazy experiences with money, girls, boozeΓ’β¬Β but a chance and place to build the discipline it takes to accomplish something in this world. College is not for everyone, that is true but it is the place that helps train you to build a structure to your world and a basic knowledge of how to learn and find resources.
I read a study done by a psych prof in New York a few years back and the number one key to college success was the ability to prioritize work and get the stuff done that really counted. If you go to college and learn that skill you will be ahead of 99% of the world because we all have the same number of minutes in a day, we all have the our own goals and desires, and we all have distractions. If you want work and family to be the most important things to you then you have to learn how to do the things that make those come first and learn to weed out the other things.
One of the things I see in MBAs is they think in the term of cost / benefit and that is huge in deciding what projects to take on.
Trust me I had my fun in college but the thing that got me through was knowing what work was important, what wasnΓ’β¬β’t when to kick the girls out of my house and study, and not gaining 50 pounds from booze and pizza. Once I got those things down life was good!
So yes college is important because it teaches you to be a rounded person, with priorities, a schema on knowledge, and a chance to set yourself apart.
I thought that college was a waste of time and money at one point, but changed my mind after realizing the only way to work in the field I have a passion for is with a degree. So, I am 23 years old and have just gone back to school this semester to continue toward my Bachelor degree in Finance/Economics.
The decision is a personal one and different for every individual. Some can be successful and happy without a degree, and other people will need one in order to do what they love.
currently im in university, and study in ICT, before i taking this courses computer is always my favorite thing, but what i like is something that related to creative thing, like web designing, animation and etc. but i still waiting for the course to teach me about it, i been year and half now but still nothing about it, what i learn is economy and business management i know it is important but that is not what i looking for.
i also learn programing, first c and then c++ but yes, i learn fast about programing to score is not a problem.. but still it is not what i looking for, because of i waiting my course to teach me about what i like (the designing thing) i far behind from other people that actually learn it by themselves. me while busying with subject that actually dont really matter stuck here.
so about going to college it depend. if you go and get what you want, and you can use it, it is worth it but if you go and you dont know what the heck you been studying, get out pack the bag and find other thing.
Hey izzat, I know what you’re going through. I want to focus on website development but I’m having to take the required courses first in college. I ‘m actually taking online courses so I have the option to choose whichever class I want to take during whichever time. I’m going to get all the basic courses like English, History, Match, etc. out of the way first because I know these courses will bore me. One I get these courses out of the way then I’ll just be doing computer related courses and that won’t bore me at all! π
at least you can choose.. π
but for me i have to study every week
the knowledge that i dont when
or how to use it.. and i bet i will leave it
after finish my study.
Lets get real for a second as I think some of you need it. Unless you are starting your own company which is very hard to do and make a good living at it then you are going to need a college degree to get a good job. Anymore almost all companies require a minimum of bachelors degree and most 6 figure jobs require a bachelors plus a certificate or higher as an addition, some now in many industries are even requiring spanish as a fluent second language. We are now in a global economy so you are not only competing with the guys down the road you are competing with the guys in japan and south korea and the UK, Germany, etc. As I said I think unless you are going to work for yourself or do something such as web design or something such as that you NEED a college degree of some kind.
I think college is very important, graduating is a rite of passage! Personally, I am in college, I study Economics sciences and it really helps in the make money online and business field! So if you still have the chance, go on and take some college classes, there you will build a strong personality and you’ll get a lot of experience.
If you get the chance, I’d say take it. When you are an unknown, it’s a lot easier to get people to listen to you when you can put a few letters after your name…besides that, I don’t think education has ever done anyone any harm but the lack of it seriously does…
College is always worth it Jeremy, you know that. Even if you take a class that has nothing to do with your work you still learn and that improves you as a person.
Knowledge isn’t just power, it’s self worth.
I went to college and grad school full time for well over 10 years b/c my plan was to be a professional, which needed this much work. But as time went by, my preferences changed and I don’t really want to work in my career field anymore. Overall, I think that higher education, especially college, is way overrated. On the other hand, I know a woman who doesn’t have a college degree, who worked ‘for the man’ for a few years, got raises, experience, before getting laid off. Now she’s having a tough time finding a job for the same pay because although she has experience, she doesn’t have a degree.
If you’re planning on starting your own business, college may not be a great idea. If on the other hand, you’re looking to work in the corporate world, go to college.
Whew! Hot Topic! Good to see so many good opinions on this. This is what a great discussion is made of (Neither a right or wrong answer).
Yup, sure is, I may lean to one side, but I can def see the other one!
Like the pros always say, there is no secret! that includes going to college. At the end of the day, it all comes down to who wants it bad enough and who can be creative and intelligent about the money making process.
Strong, very strong that college is essential for all. No wavering.
College can be a great complement to this industry but not always necessary I’d say.
School was great, it teaches kids to be sociable and gives you life lessons. Working on the internet is a lonely, boring job…
I know people who did not finish school, including some with incredible tech skills, who can’t advance to what they want because of no college degree. Let’s face it, some industries only want college graduates. A few, who are entrepreneurs are okay with some college and no degree, but they are the type of people to succeed no matter what. Everyone should go to school, and live away from home. Teaches you to grow up and some life lessons.
This post is directly for me. I should consider going to college and my subject now itself.
I enjoyed college! It really opened me up to the real world, from interactions to independence. I took up a Computer Science major here in the Philippines at a well known university. The sad part it we never got any Business and marketing related subjects, it wasn’t part of the curriculum (stupid)!! As shoe mentioned it was the best subjects he got, o well I think I’ll stick to books for now haha!! Any suggestions that would benefit my online endeavor?
I’ve gotta agree, I only find like business classes to be of benefit. Of course, unless it’s like a web dev class.
College is worth it but it will not necessarily make you rich. Getting rich all depends on what you have learned to get that degree.
Many of my best friends to this day I met in college. Pretty much the best summer of my life was studying abroad in college. For those reasons alone, I would say, college is more than worth it!
Great post. I went to college for three years, but it wasn’t for me. Although I did learn a lot and get some real world experience in the process.
And I bet you can apply what you learned to the online world…
I agree to some extent that college education doesn’t really provide any substantial help to things that we do…But education does set us in the ‘right’ frame of mind.
Frankly I hated to do certain ‘subjects’ while i was doing my degree…and every day i hoped that if that subject didn’t existed in my curriculum life would have been so much fun.
But honestly I think that education does play an important role in a professional’s life…but ‘education alone’ can’t make anything HAPPEN.
One really need to go out there and ‘experience’ the world… and think out of the BOX for a change.
I don’t believe that an MBA makes you successful at all. People who pursue MBAs are achievers who without the paper would be successful anyway. The MBA is just a checkbox.
College is definitely worth the time in my opinion. In fact, it’s a lot more beneficial than high school and below as it really is a pretty focused education on your major, unless you’re going as an undeclared.
College definitely does not mean success. However, college can help you make a lot of money and be somewhat successful without leaning so much on that thing called a “chance” and a “luck”. I mean, a Whartonite probably has a better chance of making money than a high school drop out online entrepreneur, right? π
College is all about the experience, commitment to a goal, and relationships you build. It should never be simply seen as a meal ticket. It’s like anything in life; you get back what you put in!
School is what limits a person’s true indefinite skills in life. We all only live once, but because of how society treats people without an education, most of us are forced to go through school. Without school, you may be living next to a few millionaires…
-Mike
I have to agree. If you apply for a job, but don’t have a degree, you are looked at differently. You know what, give me that degree, I will make my own with what I have taught myself over the years.
“my own trial an error” – that is the best education, you will always remember those sessions compared to an hour long lecture…
College is not for everybody. I think it’s an individual choice. Some people do better learning on their own, while others need guidance. Whichever path you choose, never stop learning.
I think education is always useful in life. I always chose education.
I agree education is always useful and college is a great place to learn a lot of different things
Well I guess for some people who can not make it on their own, then college is required for them. But if you have enough drive to make it without it, then go ahead, jump in the deep end as that’s one other way of learning how to swim.
While I am all for eduction I look at it as an investment. If someone becomes a surgeon and makes $850,000 a year, med school is a good investment. If someone chooses to get a PhD in Social work and can only find a job that pays $30,000 a year that might not be such a great investment. It’s not all about money I know, but people need to look at how their investment will pay off so they can know what to expect and make an informed decision.
Even if you don’t make much after college its worth the money for the things you learn and the people you meet
As long as you’re not accumulating massive amounts of debt, college is a great experience and lots of fun. If the only decision is financial, then it’s probably not worth it.
:)Well, I graduated from college recently and found that college wasn’t a total waste of time depending on different factors. The good things I got from college was that I learned great networking and socialization skills which are good for success in the future. As far as the degree itself, so many people are broke that graduated from college because they cannot find a job. If you look online, you will find sooooo many “online colleges” begging for you to enroll. These colleges are only after people’s money and most of them are scam because they brainwash the american people by telling them in order to have the american dream, they have to go to college! Bull crap! π
I agree with a lot of what you’re saying, Jeremy, but when it boils down to the end, if 9-5 job is what you’re looking for, get your degree from a decent school. Why? Because the rest of the world isn’t as forward thinking as the Shoemoney crowd. My boss would be crazy if I tell him “hey go with this candidate. He flunked out of college, but his 5 years working for Cisco must’ve have been rewarding”, when there are plenty of other candidates with equal amount of experience who can flash their Ivy League degrees.
Practially, I agree, not everyone *need* a college education; there are many things we can figure out and learn on the job with little or no detrimental effects. However, if you’re getting into the corporate world, learning on the job is hard if you can’t get that job π
I went to college and finished a networking & hardware coarse… I found that I didn’t really learn much at all..only if most if not all employeers want a diploma π
College is where you get to meet chicks
Cheers
I think anything that challenges you to think and grow is a plus…college is good but “education” is better. Some of the best education I have didn’t come from college. However on the flip side, college has played a very instrumental role in my own life. Balance is the key.
Lol hey shoe, thanks for reading my email. (I sent you the message about this xD)
Love the article.
I used to work for a private education group, they ran colleges and universities all over Canada and I can honestly tell you that college is worth it for web junkies but not for our careers. Certifications, conferences and online forums are better for our trade but education, for the sake of education is always important.
Hey.. Is your wife editing your posts? Your writing style has changed π
Well, for me college worth the while, just for the relations I made. I meet my fiance there and a few colleagues that soon became business partners π
Interesting post Jeremy. Btw I wrote a similar article here on what I did and did not get out of school:
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/8-essential-skills-they-didnt-teach-you-in-school.html
[…] Shoemoney – Is College Worth for What we Do? […]
Computer Science degree here.
No longer working for the man.
Successful online company with a single employee, me.
Profitable from day one, with zero funding.
Zero debt.
College provided me with an excellent foundation on which to learn. I’m not writing operating systems, database engines, or cryptography, but the understanding of how all of that works “under-the-hood” has been invaluable to me.
I’m not saying it’s absolutely beneficial to everyone, as some of the CompSci people I studied with didn’t make much of themselves, but others have gone on to big things as well.
In the end, I think it’s prepared me to be able to do multiple things since I have a variety of knowledge from school.
[…] Is College Worth It For What We Do? […]
I plan on taking programming *PHP* and advertising/marketing classes once I am accepted into a college.
[…] recently read a blog on shoemoney.com, where the topic was Γ’β¬ΕIs college worth it for what we do?Γ’β¬Β This, maybe more than ever, is a hot topic, considering how the economy is in a state of near […]
As a current college student I think that it is definately worth it; thought I say that with a caveat. It depends on where you are going to school, what your plans are, and how well your school prepares you for life after graduation. The great thing about college is that you are exposed to many different ideas, and granted the opportunity to learn skills in a concise and definitive way. Research at University is an extremely valulable experience. I do caution that one must be prepared to take everything they can out of the experience, or they are just wasting thousands of dollars and four years of their lives
You know, I could never motivate myself to wake up for those early am classes. Especially with all that was going on in the nights before those classes.
To me, it just seems silly to go to college unless you have a concrete plan on what you want to do. Im 30 now and have just recently come to light with my life goals which wont really require me to have a degree.
So in my case, college was somewhat a waste of money, but I wouldn’t trade in the experience for anything.
After going through college myself and also interviewing new employees, I’ve found that experience plays the biggest role, but a degree of some sort helps because if you don’t have 1 you’re going to need a stellar resume to complete with the other candidates. It really comes down to Experience + Good Interview + Degree, simply because you can’t compete with the other 100 applicants that have some sort of degree without 1 yourself.
Computer degrees as it relates to business and online success I agree.
But knowing more than the instructors, that is a different topic. Like so many things it is the school. One of my degrees (a simple AA) is in CS. My primary instructor in computer classes was a C language phenom. Talk about real world experience, he worked in the national labs with Seymour Cray, you know Cray supercomputers. He built C compilers for the supercomputers when they were brought up.
Yes, there were things he did not know. This was in the mid to late nineties, so Internet things were all new. But he was invaluable, we learned on Unix Sun and SCO machines, which helped me later when Linux became prolific. When I brought my O’Reilly PERL book to the lab to try scripting for Apache server, he didn’t know HTML but he knew PERL, UNIX, and client server relationships. I would be were I am today without him.
So, if I walked into the classroom with the attitude that I knew more than he did because I knew HTML, I would not have the knowledge I do now with the languages of today. I think everyone wants to script should take computer classes to learn the basics. Just like the MMA fighters, you can take a street fighter like Kimbo Slice, and win a few. But it is those who learned real technique and stay humble to learn even more that become stars with a record to match; not becoming yesterday’s flash news.
As my economics professor put it, if you are good at selling and communicating with people you would find that college was a waste of your time. But if you are not a very people person studying IT or math or econ you would love college.
Is college worth it for what we do? Fascinating question considering I graduated in 1986 with a BA degree in Business Administration. Now also bear in mind that back when I graduated, the Internet looked nothing like it looks today; nor did our computers have the capability that today’s PC’s have.
I remember my first computer was a 386MHz, with 2MB of RAM, that’s less than what comes with most entry-level printers today.
While I took some computer courses in college, they are virtually useless in this day and age. Shoe, I do also agree with you that the basics such as English, math, etc. still come in handy.
What little I have learned about the Internet has come from surfing, reading a few library books and my good friend “Mister Trial and Error”. My sales and marketing knowledge has also been helpful.
I have toyed around with the notion of obtaining a Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW) designation, but have yet to pull the trigger on that.
Many, I have talked to say that most hiring managers ignore it and only interested in the experience you have and your web portfolio. That makes sense to me.
Regards,
Johnny
http://www.collegetidbits.com
http://www.johnzpchut.com
For entreprenurial paths, I tend to agree that a business and marketing primer somewhere along the way is important. But the college degree that my parents told me to get from age 5 until i went, is either 1. Not enough (under qualified) 2. too much (over qualifies) or 3. NON-relevant ( I am a biology major now in Web Strategy! )
Brandon… Very well said… I think you captured the essence of what has happened…
I studied product design at Uni, I value it as my strongest asset online. After I learned the ins and outs of making some mulla, due to my degree I had the insights and skill sets to beable to work on the next set of tasks much more easily such as products and continuity! by the by though I guess it just depends on the person.
I think It is worth…
Yeah.. what we attending school for?
The main thing I learned in college was balancing many different activities at the same time while keeping track of my goals and finishing my projects on time. Also the networking effect is pretty powerful as well.
I’m in the middle of college now, and waiting for next intake, now I have problem with my financing then I look up for break the college and start to full Blogger and making money with Blog. However in my country, Indonesia where’s people love to be a graduate even they make a less money than Blogger.. that’s the hardest thing of my.
Generally, I would say getting an Associates Degree or Bachelors degree is overrated. Yes you will learn some important/useful information, but the majority of it will be useless. I see it as making up for the poor Middle School-High School education system.
Graduate level courses on the other hand, are very useful. You will learn a lot of very useful information.
Experience is great, but it obviously takes years to get. 7-10 years of experience will basically equal out to a Bachelors degree during the hiring process. Plus, you have a better opportunity of moving up the food chain after you gain a little experience. Is it worth it? From a getting a job stand point, Yes. From the “I’m smarter now because of it” stand point… no not really.
I think college is best for those who do not do better learning on their own and for getting a piece of paper that says look I’m special give me a job.
That’s why I’m going. I don’t have enough time with work to learn PHP by myself (I can edit the hell out of PHP just can’t make scripts from scratch) so I just want to learn through a professor. Also I want the piece of paper and the college I’m planning on attending (Rasmussen) has 95% in field career placement. I already have plenty of web development knowledge, I just need that damn piece of paper to prove it.
If college is SOOOO awesome, how come I have a BBA AND a Master’s in Computer Graphic Design and NO ONE is even interviewing me???
College taught me ZERO. No recruiter is looking for what I have. NONE IN ANY OF THE USA much less Puerto Rico where I live.
I’ve sent 1000’s of resumes and I have NEVER seen results. If college has given me ZERO JOBS and ZERO VALUE then college is WORTHLESS.
And if it isn’t tell me where else to send a resume and who wants someone who isn’t a SUPERGOD with 20 YEARS of the most SUPERGRANDIOSE experience!!
I would NOT reccomend college. Sorry. A ticket to a world of nothingness!
Somebody better give me some serious PROOF to the contrary. I used to be positive but the world of the ultrarich killed every dream.
IMHO college does make some sense.
1) I learned quite a lot of basic stuff which I would not have learned otherwise: law and differences in legistlation in different countries, economic and political history of the world etc. Quite interesting.
2) I went to college because it was way cheaper ($2.5k/p.a.) than trying to buy all those courses for the stuff actually I wanted to learn.
After the first “what the hell is going on” it made much more sense to just search the web for books, online trainings, forums etc.
Din’t finish it tho.
p.s. was working in IT as a developer for 15 years and no-one, not once, ever asked why didn’t I have a degree.
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