Larry, I think college CAN be helpful, but not necessarily in the old tradition. College level learning, if tailored to what today’s job market is looking for, may provide a competitive edge to a job candidate. College didn’t do a thing for me while I was there. I was too immature to use the experience productively, but it helped me get my MBA. I thought all that education was important 40 years ago, but it turned out that it really wasn’t. My former career didn’t require that level of education.

Today, the job market is entirely different. The ROI for a college education is not very attractive. Yet, if a person used college learning to improve communication skills (writing & grammar), analytical skills (logic, basic algebra and geometry), and some human interaction skills, that person might find more job opportunities. And college learning today can be had at lower cost community colleges and even over the internet, but I don’t see any benefit to saddling oneself with gigantic college loans; the ROI just doesn’t warrant it.

I agree with you that successful people don’t have to have been to college. Life experiences are usually more educational than college, so I recommend people travel, join the military, work different jobs, read a lot, and follow their dreams. Plus study the experiences of people who are successful. That is an education with a solid ROI.

Larry, I feel IQ has been overrated for a very long time. Regular education focusses on developping skills that are related to IQ, while EQ is what makes us a winner in all respects of life. If only teachers would spend more time helping youngsters to develop that quality, that we do all possess, but which is underrated still!

Kindest regards,

Ingrid Kaffa- de Klerck

Larry,

I think that is great idea for most of positions in your company. However, there are many technical professions and other positions where is almost impossible to begin the job without a major amount of training. For example, in software engineering it would be difficult to begin a position without a solid background. That training would not necessarily have to come from a university, but it would have to be present.

Having the privilege to hire in that field for 30 years, I can say that if two individuals have approximately the same training, the non-university candidate will the majority of the time be more successful based on my small universe of hiring.

Like others have noted, it is virtually impossible to have your resume reviewed at most companies without a degree. The hiring manager is many times afraid of the consequences, if a non-degreed candidate ends up not being successful.

These podcasts are worth a listen, if of interest:

http://freakonomics.com/2012/07/30/freakonomics-goes-to-college-part-1-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/

http://freakonomics.com/2012/08/16/freakonomics-goes-to-college-part-2-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/

As a guy that has been able to make due with a G.E.D. I could not agree more. Education is important, knowledge is critical, but a degree doesn’t buy anything in our hiring process.

Thanks for posting this.
Ryan

Larry,
As the New Year starts and I search for ways to do a better job I always enjoy and try to learn from your thoughts, this is a particularly useful one as I try to grow our business and change what I do. What’s the best book you’ve read that might help me?
Thanks for the daily thoughts.

Will

I love this one!! It’s seems the world or people only cares if they can get something out of it, instead of caring about the right thing!! People will fight for a pair of shoes or iPod, but not for a job! They will fight for the first seat to a concert but won’t even leave home to vote! They care only for the story so they can tell it to make themselves feel like they accomplished something when really someone else did! Our world is falling apart and is lazy, our govt is corrupt and it all belongs to us, but we are not going to do anything because the world has made us believe there would be no story or gain by doing anything to stop what we all should want to contine to want to belong to us!! Our rights and freedom does matter!! Thanks man, I thought I was alone.

Easier said than done. Most people don’t PRACTICE buying and selling like this. They may face this situation just a couple of times in their life, so facing the uncertainty of such a decision, they tend to follow the herd (safety in numbers) and then become just another lemming.

Good advice for investing, though, and other actions in life. Wiser men tend to avoid herds whether it is investing or forming opinions. They are commonly called “contrarians.”