| sc94597 said: I don't disagree with the rest of your post. I just want to say though that what one learns by opening their own business and what one learns with an MBA are quite different. MBA's have their own value, but they don't replace experience, nor does experience replace all knowledge one gains in the process of an MBA (sometimes a general analysis is useful.) If they were replaceable uses of ones time then there would be a demand for one or the other, and not both. I do think, because of subsidies and price barriers in the economy certain degrees are oversaturated and that is why people who think they only need a degree to succeed are out of luck. On the otherhand, there are some things you won't gather from intuition. Without a knowledge of microeconomics and organization/planning deriving from such knowledge, many firms wouldn't have been successful as they have been, and that is principally a subject-area that one can only gain so much from intuition. |
I agree, each experience is different and yes a general analysis is useful but you don't have to put 4 years worth of time into an analysis. It costs $500 for a business license as opposed to $30,000 - $50,000 for an MBA, which someone would most likely be paying back for a long time considering 9/10 times people who earn an MBA become glorified bean counters and are employed (I stress the word employed) by someone for much less than they are worth. That's what a piece of paper (certificate) will get you most of the time. People have amazing capabilities but they are held back by the way certain things in life make people think and I think school is one of those things.
Opening up a business may not replace the knowledge learned throught the 4 year course of an MBA (I think its arguable) but you will learn MUCH faster because you actually go through the process.
Warren Buffett is a good example of a self-made billionaire (77% of all billionaires are self-made). His story is awesome and definitely someone I would recommend to look up to. The fact that 77% of all billionaires are self-made (Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates come to mind) just proves how much school is replaceable by the drive, motivation and IDEAS that have encapsulated each and every sector or industry.
And again, I'm not saying don't educate yourself, do it as much as possible, read lots of books. I try to read about a book a day, some books take me about 2 days or so to get through but have a selection of about 100 books to just go back and read every now and then. Take interest in your interests, put your time in and do your work, not someone else's. Talk to lots of people, it sounds stupid when you think about it but I don't mean jst go up to random people and start talking to them I mean don't be afraid to talk to people who are wealthier than one is. You will only learn and this is the best way to learn. To find mentors who have gone through life and become rich is seriously invaluable. Or you could sit in a classroom with 50 other people listening to lectures for 6 hours.
You do not need to go to school to learn about micro-economics or to build organization skills or to plan your life. You know what you want to do in life, school isn't going to organize it or show you how to organize it for you. If you know your interests then go after them, what does that specific field need and how can you improve on it? Introduce it to the world, embrace the fear of the unkown, you will only grow as a person.
Who knows, maybe I don't know what I'm talking about but I've built myself up to a pretty comfortable position and I owe zero of that success to school.
