Elon Musk: You DON'T need College to learn.

[PaklovesTurkiye]

It depends, right? under different circumstances?

 

[Khan_patriot]

Not to learn yes, but you do need your fathers fortunes from mining in Africa to become richer

 

[cloud4000]

If I had to do it over again, I would not go to college to get a degree in business. It seems colleges are only worth it if you are studying STEM subjects.

 

[Path-Finder]

he is not wrong. there is so much material available now. if anything universities are churnining out more femenists and lgbtq people than anything else.

 

[patero]

If I had to do it over again, I would not go to college to get a degree in business. It seems colleges are only worth it if you are studying STEM subjects.

A very experienced business owner I know makes a point of not hiring business graduates for business roles, he hires graduates in other fields of study. For the most part I think business graduates are conditioned to apply a rigid approach and aren't adaptable enough for the real world, and don't develop the type of critical thinking applied in sciences or humanities etc.

I believe real world experience is important prior to studying business which is what I did, it gives a person a frame of reference to work from when learning. I gained far more from my under-grad and post grad studies than most other students, I constantly challenged assertions and developed my own frameworks in critical areas such as strategic planning.

I wouldn't say business studies are a complete waste of time, specific areas requiring specialist knowledge such as accounting (tax, audit, cost accounting), legal etc can't be learned on the job, and professional body memberships have academic minimum requirements. But yeah it's possible to develop as an entrepreneur without formal education, but it provides a good foundation to build upon.

I am critical of MBA programmes, I'm a follower of Minztberg and his concept of the anti-MBA concept.

 

[cloud4000]

A very experienced business owner I know makes a point of not hiring business graduates for business roles, he hires graduates in other fields of study. For the most part I think business graduates are conditioned to apply a rigid approach and aren't adaptable enough for the real world, and don't develop the type of critical thinking applied in sciences or humanities etc.

In job interviews, I was told to forget what I learned in college. We will tell you how to actually do things. I asked myself: really? I spent years and thousands of dollars for a degree that I'm literally told holds no value. I should have gotten a degree in history. At least, I would enjoy the subject and still get a job in the corporate world.

I believe real world experience is important prior to studying business which is what I did, it gives a person a frame of reference to work from when learning. I gained far more from my under-grad and post grad studies than most other students, I constantly challenged assertions and developed my own frameworks in critical areas such as strategic planning.

Because most students who enroll are young, inexperienced, and are essentially blank slates where things they learned in college are taken as gospel. Older and more experienced students shake their heads on what they hear and see in colleges. Unfortunately, colleges these days are more into indoctrination rather teaching analytical frameworks.

I wouldn't say business studies are a complete waste of time, specific areas requiring specialist knowledge such as accounting (tax, audit, cost accounting), legal etc can't be learned on the job, and professional body memberships have academic minimum requirements. But yeah it's possible to develop as an entrepreneur without formal education, but it provides a good foundation to build upon.

I can see the value of getting a master's degree in accounting or finance. You get a more technical and detailed grounding in the subjects. But I think there's value in being an auto-didact as well.

I am critical of MBA programmes, I'm a follower of Minztberg and his concept of the anti-MBA concept.

I've been told I should get an MBA so I can apply for more lucrative positions. But I don't see the point of getting a degree in an area I already have a degree in. Besides, it seems everybody and their mother has an MBA. Many just do it because it's in the job description. I'm sure it offers value to non-business majors, but for the rest of us...I don't know.

 

[GumNaam]

It depends, right? under different circumstances?

I don't know about you but I'm sure as hell not going to a "doctor" who hasn't graduated from med school. College does have its place.

 

[SecularNationalist]

I wouldn't say business studies are a complete waste of time, specific areas requiring specialist knowledge such as accounting (tax, audit, cost accounting), legal etc can't be learned on the job, and professional body memberships have academic minimum requirements. But yeah it's possible to develop as an entrepreneur without formal education, but it provides a good foundation to build upon.

So looks like I didn't waste my time doing ACCA .

 

[patero]

In job interviews, I was told to forget what I learned in college. We will tell you how to actually do things. I asked myself: really? I spent years and thousands of dollars for a degree that I'm literally told holds no value. I should have gotten a degree in history. At least, I would enjoy the subject and still get a job in the corporate world.



Because most students who enroll are young, inexperienced, and are essentially blank slates where things they learned in college are taken as gospel. Older and more experienced students shake their heads on what they hear and see in colleges. Unfortunately, colleges these days are more into indoctrination rather teaching analytical frameworks.



I can see the value of getting a master's degree in accounting or finance. You get a more technical and detailed grounding in the subjects. But I think there's value in being an auto-didact as well.



I've been told I should get an MBA so I can apply for more lucrative positions. But I don't see the point of getting a degree in an area I already have a degree in. Besides, it seems everybody and their mother has an MBA. Many just do it because it's in the job description. I'm sure it offers value to non-business majors, but for the rest of us...I don't know.

A good way to look at it is a business degree will get you to the starting line, then the real learning begins. Without a degree today (any degree really) you aren't even in the race. Whilst Elon Musk is correct in theory, I still believe good students will benefit more in the long run with a formal business education. As for MBAs, well yeah you look good on paper, and salary surveys indicate they offer higher earnings and career prospects. I question their actual value though in the real world.

This probably wouldn't be of much use to you or many others here, but I followed a much different path to most, worked in various jobs and industries before studying later in life and started a business during my studies. I was applying what I learnt in my studies in my business as I learnt it. The most important areas I focused on were strategic planning and entrepreneurship, with the former being the most important.

Strategy like most areas in business is most deeply understood by its practitioners, not the theorists. I could probably publish my framework one day for others to learn from, for the most part it has been created to meet the needs of my business and not really based on prescribed methods. Strategists such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs and many others developed their strategic plans to meet the needs of their businesses not according to the dictates in textbooks. Most of their understanding of strategic planning would have evolved over time in their respective businesses, some of whom may not have any formal education or training in the field. Musk is right in theory about college education and learning, but the foundation, structured and disciplined approach do benefit graduates over their careers.

So looks like I didn't waste my time doing ACCA .

Are you working in public practice or corporate?

 

[Maula Jatt]

A good way to look at it is a business degree will get you to the starting line, then the real learning begins. Without a degree today (any degree really) you aren't even in the race. Whilst Elon Musk is correct in theory, I still believe good students will benefit more in the long run with a formal business education. As for MBAs, well yeah you look good on paper, and salary surveys indicate they offer higher earnings and career prospects. I question their actual value though in the real world.

This probably wouldn't be of much use to you or many others here, but I followed a much different path to most, worked in various jobs and industries before studying later in life and started a business during my studies. I was applying what I learnt in my studies in my business as I learnt it. The most important areas I focused on were strategic planning and entrepreneurship, with the former being the most important.

Strategy like most areas in business is most deeply understood by its practitioners, not the theorists. I could probably publish my framework one day for others to learn from, for the most part it has been created to meet the needs of my business and not really based on prescribed methods. Strategists such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs and many others developed their strategic plans to meet the needs of their businesses not according to the dictates in textbooks. Most of their understanding of strategic planning would have evolved over time in their respective businesses, some of whom may not have any formal education or training in the field. Musk is right in theory about college education and learning, but the foundation, structured and disciplined approach do benefit graduates over their careers.

Are you working in public practice or corporate?

which is better iyo
I think advice is spend first couple of years in public and than go freestyle

 

[patero]

which is better iyo
I think advice is spend first couple of years in public and than go freestyle

Yeah my brother worked in public practice first to master the 'craft', then worked in corporate for ten years. The public practice firms have better training and resources for grads. He enjoyed the management accounting work more in corporate though. One piece of advice, do not go into Audit services, its a big dead end and it attracts a particular type of person.

 

[Maula Jatt]

Yeah my brother worked in public practice first to master the 'craft', then worked in corporate for ten years. The public practice firms have better training and resources for grads. He enjoyed the management accounting work more in corporate though. One piece of advice, do not go into Audit services, its a big dead end and it attracts a particular type of person.

wait I heard that about tax accounting
its basically audit, tax, and consulting or something

I heard tax is dead end and only public companies take you in (so not a lot of opportunities to look around for different type of industry)

 

[patero]

wait I heard that about tax accounting
its basically audit, tax, and consulting or something

I heard tax is dead end and only public companies take you in (so not a lot of opportunities to look around for different type of industry)

Tax really underpins the entire financial accounting field, and it overlaps with many other areas (legal, finance, etc). Its the most important area for accountants to understand, even if you aren't planning on becoming a specialist. Its the primary reason clients hire public practice accountants. Consultancy services are (imho) mostly a way for public practice firms to milk fees from their clients.

Nobody hires ex auditors to do anything other than,...audit services.

 

[SecularNationalist]

Are you working in public practice or corporate?

Private practice kind off. As a free lancer.

 

[FairAndUnbiased]

Lol musk.