You can probably tell by making reference to many of the other blogs we’re networked to over here that generally there’s a bit of an attitude towards traditionally formal schooling. Of course I’m talking about college/university here and based on my own personal experience there are indeed some degree courses which indicatively don’t seem to be worth all the time, effort and money spent.

It’s basically like you’re buying a job – selling yourself into a life of servitude one you’ve qualified. The question is, is the job you’re buying worth the amount you spend on your college tuition amongst many other expenses that come with the typical campus life? Sure, many will argue that there’s more to college than just coming out with a degree and that’s true, but by the time the typical student-debt riddled student actually realises that, it’s usually too late.

You should be using your time spent at college building up relationships with all the other students so that in the future you have a network of people with whom you can open some doors for each other. The degree is just a piece of paper that says you’ve spent the requisite amount of time “learning how to learn” really and that is the essence of what going to college is all about. I mean why do you think you can probably find a job in a field which seems like it’s miles apart from what you studied for as part of your degree course? It’s all about the process and many professionals who are active in the field will tell you that actually it’s all about decision making.

So anyway, I’m definitely not discounting the value of a college degree, but I’m merely putting it into perspective so that you know how to get your money’s worth.

Moving right along, I think we’re in agreement that some learning areas like entrepreneurship are best practised in the field, which is why there aren’t really any degrees in entrepreneurship on offer. Yes, there’s the MBA, but ask any entrepreneur who has actually gone on to do an MBA and they’ll tell you that it’s really all about learning about the organisational side of business with MBAs, particularly the likes of business law and what is required for compliance and the likes.

The value of an MBA goes back to that networking platform we were talking about – building relationships with your fellow MBA students and then maybe getting together after studying to open doors for each other.

Otherwise there are indeed many careers for which a college degree is a non-negotiable requisite. I mean you wouldn’t want to be represented by a car accident lawyer who wasn’t qualified and registered with the relevant legal bodies of their field’s regulatory structures, would you? In the same way, you wouldn’t want what is essentially just an unqualified but a super talented, self-taught brain surgeon to operate on a loved one who might be in need of such surgery, would you?

So yes, there are indeed some careers which invariably need that college degree and they’re not influenced by the effects of time, generally.