College is widely accepted as the premier vehicle for achieving personal and financial success. Every year, more students set-out to find their place, in the market. For many, including myself, the decision to attend college is born from a combination of personal desire and parental encouragement, with most of the energy coming from the latter.
As a “young person”, I have often noticed that certain influential forces, in my life, are not always correct about any given topic. This realization has encouraged me to question my beliefs, which are widely inherited from said influential forces. My latest question has been: “Is a college degree worth what it used to be; and, is earning one the best way to push oneself into a life of success?”
In order to properly tackle this question, I have had to consider several variables. They are:
1. Financial Expenditures
2. Time Expenditures
3. Opportunity Costs
4. Alternative Means of Pursuing Success
5. What History Tells Us
6. The Current Academic Market
7. Statistics
Financial Expenditures play a huge part in attending college. As a UCLA bound student, I am less than thrilled with tuition hikes, including the latest one that UCLA is deciding on, which would raise tuition by 33%. If a student is pursuing a doctoral degree, the costs go up, significantly. Getting out of college, with thousands, possibly over $100,000 of debt is a big concern.
Time Expenditures also play a big part in attending college. In fact, I think that time expenditures are an even bigger deal than financial expenditures, since time is not a renewable resource, unlike money.
Opportunity Costs are important to consider. For every hour spent in a classroom, one less hour may be spent elsewhere. Of course, one could spend that hour doing something completely meaningless, or something vastly meaningful. It all depends on how the said hour is spent.
Alternative means of pursuing success are available, to anyone who dares to think outside of the box. Perhaps you have heard that it is possible to save $2.50, every day, for 65 years and die a millionaire. That is not the kind of “success” I am referring to! I absolutely despise such suggestions! Why would I want to defer my success, for 65 years, when I will be less able to enjoy it, from a physical standpoint. Entrepreneurship seems to be the best alternative means for achieving success. Less than 1% of the millionaires, in the USA, have made their fortune as an actor, athlete, singer or other type of “star”.
What history tells us, is that the wealthiest people, in the world, did NOT finish college. I know that this statement seems rather unintuitive; but, it is true. According to an article in Forbes Magazine, only 10, out of the top 25 billionaires, in the world, finished college. Possibly even more important, is that many of them majored in subjects that had nothing to do with their financial successes, such as: Warren Buffet, who majored in Science, not Finance or Investing.
The current academic market is, as I am defining it, the value of a college degree, relating directly to the amount of degrees in circulation. As I am sure you know, the Federal Reserve issues our currency and causes inflation and deflation, in order to prevent said currency from devaluing, completely. The more paper bills out there, the less they are worth. In the same way, a college degree is worth more, if fewer people have one. I am not arguing that having a college degree does not increase income, often doubling it; I am, however, interested in the idea of a college degree losing general value, as more people earn one.
Statistics:
A. Here is an interesting table, showing the most educated cities, in the US, as well as the median household income for each. Please note that Seattle, the most educated city, has a median household income that is around $6000 less than New York’s, which is at the bottom of the list. In fact, as the list is studied, it becomes clear that how educated a city is, has nothing to do with the median household income. Indeed, the highest income ($70,921), belongs to San Jose (#15 on the list).
B. This article, claims that: “student debt has nearly doubled, since 1992.” This is yet another factor that decreases the value of a college degree, since a degree is really a financial investment. As they say: “Count the cost.”
C. Finally, I offer a list of successful entrepreneurs, who never attained a college degree:
1. Mary Kay Ash (Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics)
2. Richard Branson (Founder of Virgin corp.)
3. Coco Channel (Founder of Channel)
4. Simon Cowell (May be a jerk, but still rich)
5. Michael Dell
6. Barry Diller (Founder of Fox Broadcasting, Chairman of Expedia etc)
7. Walt Disney (My favorite example)
8. Debbi Fields (Those are some great cookies!)
9. Henry Ford
10. Bill Gates (Booooo!)
11. Steve Jobs (Yayyyy!)
12. Milton Hershey
13. Rachael Ray (Okay… bad example)
14. Ty Warner
15. Frank Lloyd Wright
In closing, I would like to propose that the above mentioned people are no different than you and I, except in one fundamental way; they refused to settle for less than they could dream. Why do so many people resign themselves to a life that is less than they want it to be. I am not suggesting that all college graduates are settling, only that a few are. As the value of a college degree continues to diminish, we must ask ourselves if it is worth it. We must explore new avenues and take-part in self-education. Although college is still widely accepted as the norm, for achieving success, I believe things will look much different, 10 years from now. I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes, given to the world, by Walt Disney:
“If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney
