Careers, Schools And Degrees
What are the top reasons to get a degree for my cool career?
The top reasons to get a degree for a cool career are mainly because there are some fields where it is absolutely required. Nobody is going to let you perform brain surgery without a degree. Nobody is going to let you be a judge if you don't have a degree. My PHD is actually in education and the evaluation of education programs. I deeply believe that school, for most things, is the worst place to learn anything. There are massive amounts of learning. They cram tonnes of this stuff into your head for two years, most of which you will have forgotten by the time you need to use it, if you ever need to use it. Also, usually it's long on theory, and short on practice. It is what is called synchronous, which means your butt has got to be on a chair at and for a specified time to do your degree. For example, 7 to 9 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They charge a fortune for that, your degree, because your tuition is subsidizing their research, their shrubs, their fancy administration buildings. I am violently against education. I use it as the last choice. Now I am fully aware that most people like school because you can meet with other people, and it's nice and structured. You don't have to be a self starter. The instructor says, “Read the textbook page 226 to 297" and "The midterm is going to be November 15th, in Stern Hall room 11”. People like the structure! But if you really care about learning, I would recommend that you forgo State U, let alone Private U, in favor of what I call You U. This is a combination of mentorships, short courses offered by professional associations, online course offered by different universities or again professional associations, reading books and articles and apprenticeships. You will learn more for your cool career at You U of value than at State U any day.
What are the top reasons to not get a degree for my cool career?
Because the degree, is usually 2, 4, 6 years. Do you know that the average freshman takes over 5 years to graduate? Over half of the students who start as freshmen never graduate at all! That kind of error rate! Imagine if there was an assembly line and more than half of the products fell of the assembly line before it was finished, they'd shut down that assembly line! And yet with college we keep sending more and more people to college even though many don't graduate. And today becuase we're sending such a high percentage of HS grads to college, we have more college graduate than there are jobs. There's a hell of a lot of people who have college degrees sitting on their parent's sofa with no clue as to how to get a job. It's not like employers are coming after them. It's no good. Degrees are the most over-rated product in America.
Does everyone with a cool career have a degree?
Of course not. We know millions of successful people who don't have degrees. I mean, I think about Steve Jobs of Apple Computer; he dropped out of college. Another guy, Case who started AOL dropped out of college. Barbara Streisand doesn't have a college degree. Alex Haley, the guy who wrote "Roots"; no college degree. Woody Allen dropped out of college. There are so many who dropped out of college, including Wayne Huizenga who founded Blockbuster Video. There are a zillion really successful people. Maya Angelou doesn't have a college agree. People give her honorary doctorates all the time, but she never finished college.
What is an important skill that most schools do not teach?
An important skill that most schools don't teach is a class on entrepreneurial skills.
What is a "career mentor"?
Well we all grow up wishing at some point that somebody is going to take us under their wing, and shepherd us through life to happiness, contentment, and success. Most of us will find that we go through life and never find that mentor. It is great to have someone shepherd you through the very dangerous waters, the political waters, especially when you're starting out. What to say to whom, how, where, and why. Where to get the best training. What to do to keep yourself motivated when you're starting to have doubts about yourself. Finding that person is critical, and the way you find them is in the following ways. Usually it's not a professor; those are people who are out of touch with the real world. We tend to think about using professors. They're the worst, generally, although there are always exceptions. It's finding somebody who that at a professional conference is a inspiring speaker; who seems like a kind person. It's somebody who didn't just give his speech and then storm off, but took the time to meet with people afterwards and chat with them. It's somebody who seems kindly. It is the combination of competence and kindliness that you're looking for. You'll often find them at professional associations; not just at the national conference. Even if it's at your local chapter meeting. That's a great thing to do, that's what you should do; find that career mentor.
How can I train for my cool career without a degree?
The first thing you should do if you're training for your cool career without a degree is try to find a mentor; somebody who is going to help you outline your training programme. Let's say for example, I want to be something mundane. I want to be a marketing manager. Somehow that excites me; I want to be in marketing. I will find the finest marketing manager in whatever industry turns me on. I would maybe find one, two, or three marketing managers and I would write him or her a very polite letter that explained my passion for marketing, why I am interested, and that you have often heard that getting training at a university is long on theory and short on practice, expensive, and time consuming, and so you want to do your learning on your own with a combination of reading and workshops offered by professional associations and apprenticeships. Ask, “What would you recommend I read? What work shops or conferences should I attend? Where would you recommend I intern or apprentice?” Get that kind of mentorship from a really top practitioner. Not only will you get great training, but you will develop the relationship that will often lead to a great letter of recommendation and get to a great job.
How do I find the right degree program for my cool career?
Here are a couple of my favourite little tricks to find the right degree programme for your 'cool career'. I encourage you to avoid some of the most prestigious schools because the more prestigious, the more likely they are to be research oriented. As a result, you're going to be learning a lot of theory. I've got to admit it to you; my daughter went to Yale Law School. Yale is about as prestigious as it gets in law schools, and yet when she graduated, she (like almost all the rest of the Yale law students) had no idea how to be a lawyer. She told me a great story once about this professor of law at Yale who was awakened in the middle of the night by a call from a friend of his who had gotten arrested for a DUI. The friend says to this professor, "You've got to get me out of jail, this is freaking me out and I don't want to be in jail. You've got to get me out of here!" Guess what the law professor said? "I don't know how to get you out of jail!" Now, the people who are professors generally are long on theory. So, the more prestigious the University, the more theoretical the programme will be. If you're really interested in being trained well, I encourage you to find a school that is expert in the practical; in teaching the practice of the field. How do you find them? You avoid the prestigious names, and then you sit in on an advanced class in that programme. Let's say it is an Urban Planning program. You sit in on the very advanced, the last class. That gives you access to the students who have just finished the programme, and you ask them, "How good is this programme?" That is a great, great solution.
What's the quickest and easiest way for an adult to get a degree?
There are a lot of online degree programs that enable you to take your courses when it's convenient. It could be in your slippers at midnight. You could be studying statistics if necessary. There's a place that I really love that's perfect for adults called Thomas Edison State College. They are exclusively online, mainly online and for adults and they'll give you credit for courses you've taken over the years and aggregate them. And the remaining courses can be taken through a combination--your choice--online, on their campus in New Jersey, by exam. Thomas Edison State College, one of my favorite places in the country to get your degree as an adult online quick.
How do I apply for a job without a degree?
When applying for a job without a degree, you have to pre-empt the problem. You must write a job application letter that explains why it's wiser to choose you because you don't have a degree. I'll give you a rough example of a letter: "Dear Mr. Johnson. I'm really excited about your job number 4833B that you put on Monster.com. However, I'm afraid you're going to throw my application in the trash because I don't have the required MBA. I want to let you know that I very carefully considered getting an MBA, but having spoken to so many people who said that the main thing they got out of that degree program was the piece of paper, I decided to emphasize the substance over the style. Thus, I found two great mentors who are directors at major corporations and I apprenticed with them for six months. I've attended conferences that they recommended I attend. I read books and articles they thought it would be most useful for me to read and I have written a few white papers that synthesize my understanding about how to be an effective manager. I believe I have emphasized the steak over the sizzle. Will you choose to interview me?" I have found, when I give keynote speeches and I ask people who are executives, "Would you interview this person?" 80% of people raise their hand, even though this person not only didn't have an MBA from Harvard, he didn't have an MBA from anywhere! Going for the substance over the sizzle is critical, but you have to sell it in your cover letters and in your interviews.
