IS EARNING A BUSINESS

DEGREE WORTH IT?

By Jennifer Cook

This really is a question worth addressing.

People often point to Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg as examples of extremely successful entrepreneurs and industry leaders who dropped out of college. It’s important to remember that these high-profile drop-out superstars are the exception rather than the rule.

The Data Behind Education Value

The actual numbers show that American business owners that make up our entrepreneurial class are actually quite highly educated:

64% of owners have at least some college when they start their businesses.

Nearly a quarter have bachelor’s degrees, and 17 percent have a graduate degree.*        

Less than a quarter of business owners have a high school diploma or less.

This data speaks well of an education to help people start and succeed in business.

It’s not just the entrepreneurs who are seeing their knowledge and skills well received in the marketplace. Business degrees apply to every industry, business type, government organization and non-profit.

Finance, accounting, economics, health administration, marketing and a host of other specializations can lead you to a promising career in those fields or help you move to more senior positions in addition to your existing degree.

Business Grads Earn Big Salaries

Mid-career salaries for MBAs in a number of specializations reach into the six figures, and they’re even a prerequisite for management positions in a lot of firms. A master’s in business isn’t necessarily the graduate program that everyone should go into to further their career in any field, but the degree is so common among managers and executives that it is a good move if you are looking to move up.

Making a Business Degree Work for You

If you’re going to make the investment in education as part of your future, you have to have a plan in mind. Look 5-10 years down the road. Consider the industry you want to be in and the

types of positions you want to have, and look at the education, skills and experience required to get there. Your actual degree program can be the foundation for all of that.

Diversify your skills. That means being more than just another business grad; it means having expertise in something specialized, having a focus and a direction for your business acumen.

Jennifer Cook writes on higher education, career development and the job market for Strayer University. When she isn’t combing through labor statistics, you’ll find her scooping up the latest news and debating politics online.