A Degree With a Pedigree? Don't Waste Your Money

Seth Godin posted a great article on his blog about attending top colleges vs. regular colleges and their outcomes. I gotta say kudos, Seth! You got it right.

I'd pit my public primary and secondary school education and my state public college education and degree against anyone's. And I didn't go into a ton of debt to get it either! I was able to work my way through college. My very small student loans were paid off within 7 years of graduation on a modest salary. My loan payments were less than most people's minimum credit card payments.

After you have a degree, nobody cares where you got it or even what your GPA is for long. What people care about is if you have the knowledge you need and if you can apply it, know how to get more and think to accomplish your work for your employer or in your own business. Your performance is what matters.

Given the choice, I'd hire a B-C average student from a local college because they probably had to work hard on studying to get those grades, or they had to work a job part-time or full-time to get a degree at all. They already know how to work. I wouldn't even consider a student from an Ivy League school. They wouldn't stay long enough for me to waste my time, energy and money training them. I'm a small business with no clout. Why would they even look at me as a potential employer? I believe they'd leave as soon as a more prestigious opportunity came along.