I was looking over at Free Money Finance this morning and saw a couple of posts that, although it seems that he did not intend to be related, kind of tied in together nicely. The first was M.B.A.s Don’t Prepare Managers for Real-Life Challenges, which I think you could apply to college or advanced degrees in many different areas. The first quoted sentence says it all:
An M.B.A. provides the strong general education that an executive needs but it doesn’t teach the skills needed in the day-to-day operation of a business, according to a survey of international executives.
I have an advanced degree, not an MBA, but I would definitely agree that my degree provided me a good general education, but did not provide the specific skills to do what I do. This does not mean that the degree was unnecessary. Rather, I was able to go in the right direction because of what I learned, so that when I didn’t know what to do, at least I could stumble in the right direction. Second, I interned while getting my degree and was able to see how things worked and to look at different areas in my field, which in turn helped me focus on what I should learn at school.
However, what really matters about a degree is #5, which reads in part:
The most valuable part (employment-wise) of a [degree] to me has been that it opened doors for me that would have never been opened otherwise.
In many situations, an advanced degree is required to get a job. Sometimes, like engineering or law, you cannot even enter the field without the right degree. Other times, you will receive a promotion or advancement faster (or at all) with an advanced degree. Most entry level positions today require a college degree, even if it’s just a liberal arts degree (which I have and am not complaining about).
This ties in with the second post, Stats on Income, Commute Time, and Vacation Days, which shows the difference in hourly wages between a high school and a college graduate. Essentially, people earn nearly twice as much with a college degree. $28.06 vs. $15.65 for men, and $21.30 vs. $12.34 for women. (The difference in income based on gender is the subject for a different post)
The point of this post (yes, there is a point) is that an education is an investment in yourself, and it pays off big time. If you don’t have an undergraduate degree, get one. If you do have one, try and get a graduate degree. Yes, I know it takes times and money, and if you are already successful, then a college or advanced degree is not necessary (see: Bill Gates). But if you want to advance, a degree can make it easier by opening doors and giving you opportunities that you would not have had otherwise. If you are currently working, sometimes your company will pay for you to go to school, and even going to school can look good to your boss. And many universities offer classes at night or on weekends for those that are currently working.
FMF has written extensively on the value of an education here.
Update: I received a comment from Shadox (thanks for the international review) stating that b-school taught him how to fish, to use the old analogy, rather than giving him a fish, in addition to providing many skills directly applicable to work. This is a much better way to phrase what I want to say. My graduate education examined issues from a theoretical perspective, but gave me the tools that I would use later on, even though we never addressed specific situations that I would face.
