One thing that’s very common among young entrepreneurs is the dilemma of whether to choose business or books, degree or dropout, lectures or business meetings, exams or project deadlines.
While many of us feel obligated to follow the traditional path of completing higher education, the number of young dropouts-turned-successful-entrepreneurs continues to rise. We all know about Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell and Mark Zuckerberg. Despite of the absence of a university degree the four are some of the greatest innovators. At times it looks like entrepreneurial success is the norm for college dropouts, but how true is that?
We often listen to the stories of successful college dropouts. Do we ever hear about the ones who couldn’t make it? Of course, mega successful dropouts are one in a million. Many entrepreneurs that did not drop out, recommend turning your ideas into projects which can be turned into a real business after you graduate.
Although it may seem glamorous and exciting to forgo the diploma in exchange for success on your own terms, but is it the right choice for you? The big question is “When is the right time to start?”. Only you can answer that. We all know that college is the perfect place to meet smart, motivated individuals with goals and ideas, just like you. The lessons learned in the classroom might become your tools to start something new.
A college education, like most things in life, depends on the individual. Just because Zuckerberg, Jobs and Gates created empires without degrees does not make a college education worthless. Don’t be tempted to leave your classrooms just because you see the overwhelming success of a few who diverted away from the college campus.
Top Universities give you knowledge about starting and running a company. College also acts as a perfect place to meet like-minded people. By refining your ideas in college, with teachers acting as your mentors, you can avoid costly failures when you begin your start-up.
On the contrary, there are many who believe that Entrepreneurs don’t need a college degree to leave their mark on the world. The choice is solely yours to make. Degree or Dropout, think through it before you decide anything. It’s difficult to debate the benefits of real-life experience versus classroom training, but in the end, if you are determined, you will make it.
The Campus Entrepreneur encourages youngsters to get involved in early entrepreneurship. Whilst you still have time to decide between starting a business or completing higher education, why not start working on the idea. Life as an entrepreneur is very challenging, it is always a good idea to start working on the business idea as early as possible.