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The Actual Value of Your Degree
An undergraduate degree is a fairly in-depth introduction to your topic of study. When you graduate, you aren't an expert in your field -- but you probably have a pretty good idea of who the experts in your field are, and what you can read to try to catch up with them. You can handle the nuts-and-bolts work without any problem, and you may even have a good idea of where to go next to get even more information you need. Depending on the program you choose, you might even complete a project or two that are directly related to the company you want to start.
At most universities, there's a lot of theory involved in getting a degree, but not necessarily a lot of practice. Once you have your degree, taking it out and using it in the real world can be a little more complex than a student might expect.
But having degree means you're not starting from scratch, trying to figure out how to choose what to read on your chosen subject. Because you have experts -- professors -- guiding your learning, you can skip over a lot of irrelevant material.
And at most colleges, you even have access to experts outside the business school. If you need help with other aspects of launching your business, you can likely get it.
With an entrepreneurship degree, you don't just get exposure to one part of running a company, as you would with a management or a human resources degree. Instead, at least in theory, you get information that pertains directly to starting your business, as well as a grounding in all those topics necessary to keep your business going.
In Stanford's graduate program, you can take classes like Social Entrepreneurship and Building and Managing an Effective Sales Team. It's information you'll have to figure out how to put into practice, but such courses could leapfrog you ahead of those trying to learn it on their own.
Deciding If You Need a Degree in Entrepreneurship
Whether you need a degree in entrepreneurship can be a tough call. Who wants to put down money for a college degree when they're about to start a new venture that needs cash? And who wants to spend time studying when they could be out starting a business? But learning about entrepreneurship and how to run a business before you actually try it yourself can minimize risks or damage from a trial-and-error approach.
A degree is more likely to be useful if you know you want to run your own business but don't know where to start or what that business will look like. Many entrepreneurs have a great idea for a product or a service but don't come from a business background. It's possible to learn everything about business, but in those situations, the structure of a degree can be very worthwhile.
Still, a lot of entrepreneurs go into business in areas they're already familiar with and already have a lot of passion for. An entrepreneur might already have some background in running a business, even if that background comes from working for an employer. If you already know the ins and outs of your industry and you're comfortable figuring out details like funding a company, it's harder for you to justify the cost of an entrepreneurship degree.
And not all entrepreneurship degrees are created equal. It takes some hunting to find the good ones -- simply running the phrase through a search engine only gets you links to online schools that might not offer degrees that improve your odds of business success. It's better to dive into learning about business on your own than to waste your time on classes that won't get you where you want to go.
Thursday Bram is a senior writer at Wise Bread, a leading personal-finance community dedicated to helping people get the most out of their money. Get daily money tips by following Wise Bread on Facebook or Twitter.
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Amy Poindexter 4 months ago
The Entrepreneurship degree program at the Univeristy of Houston Main Campus is the number one program in the country according to the Princeton Review. The benefits of the program are HUGE. First it shows you how to start a business with zero money. Second, the program requires the students to have a business idea. From there the students puts together a plan to start the company. Also it teaches when to call it quits, when to sell and when to expand the company. And not just when but how. Sure you dont need a degree to start a company, But doesn't it make sense to make the investment so you don't have to go through the pain of learning the hard way? What if starting a business isn't for you? A degree in your pocket that teaches how to expand a company is an asset no matter what field you end up working. Being able to think like a business owner and have leadership skills are impressive skills.