Millionaires and College - Did they finish?
 

was just sort of doing a poll with some friends and very few of the millionaires we know, finished college. The richest guys in the world have nice group who did not finish. Gates, Allen and guy from Oracle. But I only have one friend who is a millionaire that finished college. I was wondering if it was because I do not have very tech orientated friends and acquaintances.

i dont think many that made millions in the tech sector finished college.

No idea, but as with anything else there's no "golden standard". I'm just happy when I get my masters degree so I always have something to fall back on if things turn for the worse.

Lots of poor people didn't finish college either... Lack of education is probably not the key to success. :)

you don't need to finish if you are building a google
if you're submitting galleries I would suggest you keep studying ;)
if you net a million a year and it's stable why worry about getting a degree

overall I think everybody that started to study didn't regret it
not even a sergey brin or larry page... if they would not have done their little search engine project to get their degree.......
so college can't be that bad ;)

:1orglaugh
nice one :)

College is not the key of success but I consider it as a backup. If ever, my business shuts down for any reason i have the papers to start at a above average job and income.

i think youll find many millionaires who finished grad school. college isnt difficult, grad school on the other hand is. phd in engineering makes a lot of money...

College is for people that want to work for somebody else (or a backup, like what Dalai lama says). If you want to work at some job that will make you a millionaire, then college is for you (and the more the better). If you want to become a millionaire with your own business, then college isn't for you.

My dad didn't finish high school, but is a millionaire. Most of my friends that are millionaires didn't finish college (or never went).

Education is good. More education is better.

My uncle made his first million sellinf life insurance, and corporate insurance. He did that by the time he was 40. He quit school in the 8th grade, later took his GED, but never tool a university class.

what's your masters degree in?

Very true, lot's of things can determine how rich or poor you get in this world....

College doesn't train entrepreneurs- it gives them some tools but in my experience to be a millionaire you need to have a very non-conformist attitude and be not only comfortable with, but eager to take risks.

College is often a breeding ground for sheep, imo.

I don't think a college degree is a ticket to millions. It's all about ability.

Like all those sheep who have been awarded nobel prizes for making significant contributions to the knowledge of mankind? :winkwink:

very true :)

I am a high school dropout, and I seem to be doing pretty well

I have my degree in Computer Engineering its always there in case I need to fall back on it

Just because some of the richest in the world didnt go to college, doesnt mean their VP's and high appointed didn't. I'd be willing to bet those VP's and such make waaaaaay more than your average self made millionaire.

Yeah, I think the same way.

But related to the topic of the thread, it's pretty weird. The only millionaire I know did finish his college degree.

why do people get things to "fall back on" ? Why not devote yourself to one thing and make sure you get shit done. If you need something to fall back on then you made the wrong choice to begin with.

yeah good point

infact there are a high number of billionaires who don't have a high level of formal education - and if you removed these from the education vs wealth plots, you'd find on average those with college degrees earn more than those without

Colleges these days crank out workers not thinkers. College (at least in the US) is nothing but another money making industry.

I think there's a difference between being smart and making money. Many academics, scientists, brilliant authors don't make much while somebody submitting galleries since 1996 can make a killing. Sometimes it's related, other times it's just the type of job that pays well or not.

School is for people who want to work for other people...

Yup, you goto to school to "get a job" not to "start a business"
Althought I know there is classes that can help, I am just talking about the majority of people.

I don't think many of them made it to college or even finished.. sometimes I think that rich family becomes richer and richer each year.

I guess the thought is does it have a built in impediment to self employmkent.

They were business. All they have on them are guts knowledge( not necessarily a degree), and luck to get to where they are now.

You know, you might just learn a thing or two that lets you start your business. Not all businesses can be started with good ideas. I'd be wiling to bet all the stuff you take for granted wasnt created by people who dropped out of school or didnt go to college. You'd be very foolish to think anything technologically advanced could be created by someone without formal college or higher level education.

You can make it in porn or any service industry without a college degree, but i think you'd fail to create a successful business in anything dealing with science or advanced technology.

Point being, college is more necessary for some businesses than it is for others.

I have my degree in business and I'm happy I've got it. It's a sense of achievement and accomplishment. Plus, it looks cool on the wall

Uh, aren't you like 19?

i think hes getting his degree. im 20 with a electrical and computer engineering major and i'd say that it woud be near impossible to have a degree in CE at 20.

Ya, but how many can you count?

And I doubt that much of the knowledge they acquired in college contributed to who they were or how they thought.


I think college is a great place to go if you're keen on learning for the sake of gaining knowledge. I don't think its an establishment that you can count on for develloping or learning anything that will enable to you to gain much in life, financially or emotionally.

:2 cents:

I think you're looking at college on the undergrad level too much. The poeple who continue to grad school will usually end up working in funded R&D that leads to bigger things and requires the knowledge from undergrad and real world experience. not to mention that most of that real world experience required a degree to get.

See: Doctors and Engineers.

If you are going to be a professional or corp exec you need that degree.

If you want to get rich you don't.

I did 2 years of college and was bored silly and dropped out.

I only know a few people with advanced degrees. Only one is a millionaire and I did not count him as he is dead. The rest will get there just do to earning level.

Obviously this is a pretty low bar. But it was interesting that so few people with really good jobs had gotten there. Where as lots of folks with small businesses were there.

KRL, i was quoting you the other night during this convo. The deal about having one good year and now multiply it by the 30 years you have left.

I have > $1 million and medical degrees to fall back on.

haha. that is really something to fall back on. a friend i know is becoming a surgeon. the group of surgeons he works with make around 500K a year. if youre a back doctor, eye doctor, or detist, i would open a practice. serious money in those. and those are definately businesses you cant get without a degree hehe.

I agree with you.

Next question to those millionaires who didn't go to college would be: did they start from the ground up? or did their parents were well off before?

College is terrible in the sense that it pre programs you to work for someone else. Everything is based on, do this or do good " if you want to get a good job". Fuck that. College kills entrepreneural spirit.

College is good for general education, which is never bad to have. Helps you learn people skills, etc... but does nothing to help make you rich, just maybe get a better paying job.

I went to college and graduated. Never used my degree and make really really good money.

Although I agree that education systems are designed to turn out workers and not entrepreneurs, several aspects of my education have proved very useful over the years.

I guess that depends on what you studied and on the nature of your business, but those who choose to finish their education for reasons of caution also get my vote. Unless you have a very time-sensitive idea, waiting a while to begin your business isn't going to make much difference in the long run. And like it or not you are far more likely to fail than succeed, so for most, having a Plan B is a very good idea.

There are a lot of people in this business who credit themselves with their success, but although it is true that it was much easier to make money pre-2002 than since, this is still a very, very easy industry. If you are in your early 20's now and merely riding a bandwagon to 6 figures a year (or whatever), by the time you are 30 you may well have discovered you are not quite the entrepreneur you imagined.

Let me dig an old post about this that I found really cool

God damn I can't find it . I thought it was in Mark's (GTS) ambush interview .

Where he said :
Once his teacher asked how much people were expecting to make after they finish their class ... they all said from 30 to 60k.

It's not only about the skills ... it's about the expectation and the ability to think "outside the box" . Sheeps can't become millionaires in today's industry as it is.

Don't get me wrong thought ... education is very good and usefull for an entrepreneur ... I'm not saying otherwise !

hmm never really thought about it

I believe that's shap's interview you're referring to.