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8 College Courses That Will Make You Rich?
By Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D. | June 3, 2008
Students complain long and hard about which college courses, if any, are worthwhile. By the time they graduate, however, most expect their degrees to be the ticket to a well-paying job and a wonderful life.
In a recent article on the blog Dumb Little Man , Robert would readily agree that not all college courses are created equal. He believes that while a college education may help you get steady employment, most college courses won’t help you get rich.
There are 8 courses, however, that he believes do help prepare you to be a wealthy entrepreneur, given that you have the goals and willingness to do so. Here is his list:
1. Accounting — understanding assets, liabilities and cash flow is critical to financial success
2. Marketing — every business involves selling something, but also success depends on finding the market then creating the product
3. Economics — understanding the market helps you decide which direction your business should go
4. Finance — understanding how the time value of money works leads to wise investments
5. Any American History course–learning from the mistakes, twists and turns of history can help you make decisions about the direction of your business
6. Writing and Composition –the ability to convey your ideas well is a key to successful selling
7. Any Literature course–like history, literature holds a wealth of knowledge and wisdom to help guide you in business decisions
8. Management — understanding people and how best to communicate, delegate and be liked will help your business and profits grow
Read Robert’s full article and the comments.
Here’s how I responded to Robert’s blog post
Robert, I heartily agree with your list of courses from which every graduate could benefit. Those who have the will, determine and insight could indeed become rich. Those who chose not to become entrepreneurs would still have a good life foundation.
To your list I would add critical thinking. So many of my college students are so stuck at the literal level that they have diffiulty understanding metaphors, drawing inferences and being able to analyze, evaluate and synthesize.
As for William’s comment about being able to pick up this course knowledge without going to formal classes–that would be great for self-starters, competent communicators and clear thinkers, but alas, many students have difficulty without guidance. As for auditing classes–it often costs the same as taking the class in person so there’s no savings by going this route. Online classes are not the best solution for some students either. Successful online students must have strong communication, time management and analytical skills.
Those who are cynical of our school system would say that our public school system doesn’t intend to prepare students to be ready for the real world, much less be prepared to become entrepreneurs. While the rich get richer using skills they’ve gained in and out of school, many graduates enter the job market riding on an antiquated and flawed idea about how the world, commerce and wealth work. This makes the gap between rich and poor grow ever wider, disintegrating the middle class.
During my 40 year teaching career of junior high through college levels, I worked with many fine teachers, not too many great administrators and students eager to learn if only the system was designed to nurture their early curiosity and creativity. When I attended graduations and watched so many students that the system had let down, my heart ached for them and for us.
Topics: Connection between literacy and earning power, achieving success, college courses, college degrees, public schools |