by Patricia Thornton

Created on: March 15, 2009

Depending on what your goals are, a college degree may not pay off. Take into consideration an individual who wants to open up his own business and gets an Masters in Business Administration. The Masters Degree alone may cost that individual up to thirty thousand dollars. Not to mention the cost of the B.A. he or she would need to get in order to be eligible to enter the Masters in Business Administration program.

There is absolutely no need to spend money on a Masters degree if you are going to work for yourself. Are you going to not hire yourself because you don't have a degree? The common criticism is that ignorance is more expensive than an education. Being educated is vital to success in business. This criticism assumes that the only way in which one can become educated is through earning a college degree. There are numerous books written on all of the subjects you would need to learn in order to succeed in business. For example, I took a marketing class in college once. Then I read a book that I bought off of Amazon. I learned more from the 200 page book on marketing than I learned from the Marketing course that was taught by a professor who held a PHD from an Ivy League University. Reading books and teaching yourself is much cheaper than earning a degree. Instead of spending $30,000 on a Masters in Business, purchase all of the books that you want to read and put the rest of your money to work in your business.

Now, if you are trying to work your way up in an already established company, you must get a Masters in Business Administration and it will pay off. You will not become the CEO of a major company (the word "major" emphasized) without a college degree. Attorneys are another breed that benefit from a college degree. If it is your goal to become an attorney, you must obtain both a B.A. and a Juris Doctorate.

In short, the answer to this question depends on your goals. IF you do not have a goal then you should probably get a degree so that you will have a better chance of being hired by a company. However, if your goal is to open up your own business, do not spend $30,000 on a degree when you can spend less than $1,000 on books that will teach you everything you need to know, while throwing the remaining $29,000 into your company.

In today's society, it is a sin to suggest that someone shouldn't go to college. However, as mentioned previously, this is because most people equate not going to college with not being educated. I am a huge advocate of education. It is not only necessary, but also vital to obtain an education. However, it simply doesn't make sense to spend an excess amount of money on a degree that is simply not needed.

Learn more about this author, Patricia Thornton.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.