Do Entrepreneurs Really Need Degrees?

Do Entrepreneurs Really Need Degrees?

There is so much talk about the importance of college and how it determines your future. As you all know, there really isn’t a specific degree that applies towards entrepreneurship.

A lot of debate in recent months has been whether you really should continue going to college while working on your startup company. As a 19 year old entrepreneur who is attending college simultaneously, I have mixed feelings towards this topic.

At this point of time, I look at college more as a back up plan for me if entrepreneurship doesn’t work out. It’s true, not many of the things I learn in the classroom have actually helped me in my entrepreneurial endeavors.

 
Being an entrepreneur requires a wide set of skills, which is extremely hard to get under one degree. You need to have the legal, business, communicating, and english skills to successfully tackle all the aspects of a startup company. That would require a minimum of at least 5 different degrees, which can take over a decade to acquire.

Learning Outside The Classroom

Majority of entrepreneurs have to do their learning outside of the classroom. With resources like search engines, online articles, libraries, and other public information available for free, anyone can find answers to their questions. You do not need to be taught by a professor or some other expert.

 
The resources to learn are available anywhere and everywhere with an internet connection. When you create your business, you are your own boss.

Nobody is going to come knocking at your door and ask you to show a degree or qualifications. As an entrepreneur, you build up credibility based on what you achieve.

 
As a young entrepreneur myself, I really did learn everything I know about business, law and even my industry through self study. I often felt like college was interfering and taking time away from what I could achieve from my startup companies.

All the information I gathered was from research that I did on my own time or from advice given to me by others.

What Do You Need A Degree For?

I truly thing for specialized practices such as law, engineering, or the medical field, you do need a degree and education before being able to practice. However, entrepreneurship cannot be taught and is something that is circumstance based. You will never hear someone tell a heart surgeon that it is okay if he or she fails in surgery.

 
However, entrepreneurs are always told that it is okay to fail as long as you learn something from the experience. Time and effort are the only things you lose from an entrepreneurial adventure whereas a mistake in the world of surgery can be the difference between life or death.

Do you think a college degree is important for entrepreneurs?

Leave a comment sharing your thoughts below.