We have all been led to believe that the greatest chance of success lies in us getting good grades, going to college, and earning a degree to get a nice paying job. This may have worked a decade ago (to some extent), but it certainly is not working now. Why not take your 40k student loan and put a fraction of it into a business, and forget the battle to get hired by someone else in a fragile economy?
The Problem with the Current College Experience
You don’t need to look much farther than Occupy Wall Street protesters to see what the problem with the current college experience is…suffocating debt and no job to pay it off.
Everything has its moments. College used to be a decent way to invest your time and money to get a nice paying job, when there was jobs. Now it comes down to a simple economics lesson to verify that it really doesn’t make a lot of sense for a lot of people.
With debt commonly ranging from 25 to 40k after your college reign, it can take 5-10 years to pay it off IF you are diligently working at it. For some, it can take a lifetime and its no exaggeration to say that 10% of current students going to college will NEVER pay off their student loan, and leave the debt load with either the government (ie. the people) or their family (depending on the laws).
Any business person would acknowledge that to take on that kind of debt with the current job situation is asinine. But hey, brainwashing does terrible things and students are being led to believe that college is still the surest way to get that cushy job (that no one told them is non-existent and has disappeared like Ben Bernanke’s credibility).
I’m going to make clear in a real simple, every day theoretical example, why a college education is not a sound idea for 90% of people out there.
College Degree Investment: $40,000?
Recurring Monthly Loan Payment: $200?
Years to Pay Off: 16.6 years with 0% interest payments (which is a pipe dream)?
“Official” Unemployment Rate: 9.7%
?Actual Unemployment Rate: Closer to 20%?
Retirement Stats: 25% of Americans are now expecting to die (age 69) before they retire (age 80)
This clearly shows that you have at least 17 years, and realistically over 30 with interest, to pay off your loan so you can fight the highest unemployment since the great depression, and try to kick the baby boomers (that still have jobs) out of their jobs that they need until after their death.
You can choose to ignore it, but the reality is extremely sobering (much to a college students chagrin, who want to keep partying).
Success Leaves Clues
Why people choose to ignore history and the clues it leaves is beyond my logical capacity.
The greatest book for success in life and in business, Think and Grow Rich, clearly states that those who achieved true success in life did not attribute it to “traditional” education. In fact, many of them never reached high school!
Don’t get me wrong, I believe in education. I just don’t believe spending what the current system is asking for is justifiable, by the facts presented above. Education often comes quickly and easily through much cheaper methods.
We’ve come to believe that higher education is the magic that dreams are made of, and that is simply a lie. Many people reach their financial and personal dreams without it (or despite it).
I would know, as I paid for a higher education 15 years ago, and it did NOTHING to help me achieve success. The right books, motivation, and mentors did that, at a FRACTION of the cost, with unlimited potential. All my job did is allow me to keep bumping my head on the salary and personal development ceiling.
The Silver Lining – Small Business Thrives in a Recession
History shows, again, that the industry that leads a country out of recession is the small business owner.
They are nimble, quick to respond, and come up with new ideas to stimulate growth. They are where people turn when jobs are bleak, bosses are firing, and no one is hiring. They create an opportunity to earn profits, not wages, with a low capital start up, and less debt load than most student loans.
There’s a reason why small businesses like network marketing companies thrive in times like this…people need extra cash, they don’t need to jump through a bunch of hoops to interview for sparse jobs, and they can work from home and control their destiny.
Its time to occupy your success. Stop looking for people to blame and start looking for ways to protect and grow your wealth. It starts with the realization that we are in a higher education bubble, and its already been popped. People simply refuse to hear the boom.
Don’t make college your default choice. Consider whats stacked against you and make sure it makes sense. Evaluate your options. Then take a pen and paper to make sure that your college dreams make financial sense.
The last thing we need is more business students taking minimum wage jobs. Take that 4 year motivation for business and turn it into a profitable one.
Then help lead you and your country out of recession!
To learn more about how you can avoid burdensome debt, go to http://homebasedcoffeebusiness.net.