Is Leaving College For Building a Business A Good Idea?

Last Updated on October 23, 2023

What do Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Dell, and Azim Premji have in common other than being billionaires? They are college dropouts!

Yes, these are some of the most successful people we know who dropped out of college and challenged the norms. They are billionaires not by accident, but by design. Nowadays everyone wants to be the next Mark or the next Jobs. But one question remains. Is it worth pursuing a college education if some of the most successful people dropped out from even some of the top colleges?

Is College Education Worth It?

Of course! A college education is worth your time and effort. But there is a catch. Just like anything in this world, a college degree is only as good as how you decide to use it. Even if you have a degree from MIT or Stanford, it doesn’t mean that you can be a billionaire. What you decide to do with the degree is more important than achieving the degree itself.

In most cases, college education gives you more exposure, knowledge, and, more importantly, industry connections. networking is one area where college education can really help you. It has a huge network of influential professors and an alumni network.

Now, many people ask the question, “But most of these graduates aren’t billionaires. So why should I pursue a degree when people have proven that we can be successful without it?”

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. It mostly depends on the person asking this question.

Why everyone is not cut out to be an entrepreneur?

1. Entrepreneurship is hard. You need to keep hustling all the time, make compromises on personal preferences, and work the first few years as no one else will work in the hopes that it will play out well for you in the long run. Not many people can carry it till the end. Those who can, usually ends up being successful
2. You cannot identify a real problem to solve. A successful business is something that solves a real problem. Unless you can figure out a solution to a problem people are willing to pay money for, you are not in business
3. You are not comfortable taking risks. If this is you, then entrepreneurship is definitely not for you. You need to take big risks when you are running a business. Identifying opportunities and acting at the right moment is critical for business success

When can you afford to skip college education?

All is not doom and gloom.

What makes entrepreneurship so attractive is the challenges that come with it. You don’t need a Ph.D. or even a college degree to become a successful entrepreneur. All you need is the ability to take risks, the mentality to push forward even when things seem horribly wrong, and the correct mindset to identify opportunities and act at the right time.

If you are confident about your skills and abilities, skipping a college education may be worth it. You can put the money you might use for paying tuition fees to build a solid business that solves real-world problems.

Over to You Now:

What do you think? Is leaving college good or bad? Do you think students might be misled by success stories of entrepreneurs who dropped out of college?

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12/20/2024 03:22 am GMT