Personally I believe that education should not be viewed as a means to an end; rather, it should be considered an end in itself. Not many people share that view with me. The typical answer to “why did you decide to attend college?” is that the job market rewards college graduates better than high school diploma holders. Well, if it is money that you are interested in, then there is surely a better path that you should seriously consider. I am talking about the path of self-employment.
As an economist in the making, I find it most apt to make decisions based on costs and benefits. In other words, let us look at the things you have to do in order to secure a well paying job. First, you have to work hard in your classes to maintain a reasonably high GPA. Then, you have to apply for internships and jobs as you near graduation. Sometimes you may also have to deal with rejection ó you fly to New York City to interview with Goldman Sachs only to learn that you failed to secure the job. Interview training, building resumes and tireless efforts of applying for jobs are a part of the job search of every graduating student. In the jargon of economics: the opportunity cost of applying for jobs is extremely high and it comes without any promises of getting you a job. The good news is that there is an alternative path that you can take to avoid all such hassles.
You can employ yourself. Our libraries are packed with books of examples of people who started a business while they were in college ó and they never had to apply for a job. Instead, these people were employers hiring others right after they graduated.
Business and entrepreneurship is the way forward; it provides you with an opportunity to use your creativity and innovation to make a profit. The things you will have to do in order to launch a business are far less time consuming than job applications (and far more interesting as well). Facebook was once an idea that was discussed among students at Harvard University; FedEx was once an idea proposed to a university professor as an in-class assignment (and the student got a C-grade). If they can do it then so can you. All you need is a sense of motivation and commitment to the purpose.
Working for someone else is a backup plan for me ó if all my entrepreneurial ventures fail during my second and third year at Wooster, then I will fall back on my backup plan of getting a job. Otherwise, I look forward to hiring people.
Usman Gul is a Senior Staff Writer for the Voice. He can be reached for comment at UGul13@wooster.edu.