Why do men without degrees succeed much more than those with them?

Question

if becoming rich is the goal of the prospective student seeking a degree isn't he missing the biggest truth in the accumulation of wealth?

Napoleon Hill states in his book "Think and Grow Rich" that in order to accumulate wealth one must understand the laws to this, and that you have to answer the following questions to know just that;

1. What service or Product do you intend to offer?
2. How many years do you intend to be of service?
3. How much money do you intend to aquire? (Very important)
4. How many years will it take you?

Does this make sense and isnt this much more important than any MBA degree?
12 hours ago - 3 days left to answer.

Vicente,

He who aquires generalized knowledge (a degree), is usually is used by someone who uses that persons general knowledge, that he may have in the various sciences to make decisions that make change, and the person with generalized knowledge never succeeds, to a higher plateau than that of his area of expertise and general knowledge, thus he has not suceeded, it is when his mind understands the principles of success and he tends to it that he will aquire true success, that when copared in a monitary sense is will be at the bottom of the list of real successes.

Edward,

Well said, one thing that was pointed out by a Venture Capitalist and that has been repeated by many publications is that people with a "burning desire to succeed" are the ones creating the most successful start ups, because they know what they want and they dont worry about money, and one thing to point out is that the majority of people these people dont have degrees, yet to make their companies function they use people with degrees.

Answer 1

Bill Gates is the extreme exception not the norm. Study after study shows that odds are the man with the degree will do better in life than the guy without.

Still I can see your point, life is all about high risk high reward, a guy with an MBA is way to conservative to take the kind of risks a guy without one is willing to.

Answer 2

Hi jgm,

"Think and Grow Rich" is probably the second most life changing book I've ever read. The first is "The Richest Man in Babylon."

I understand your point, but I do not think it is an "either/or" situation. It's not like "either get my degree, or be rich." As Napoleon Hill explains, many people define "rich" in different ways. It's not always merely the accumulation of monetary wealth.

Many of the people who started companies we know today (especially fast food chains) were high school dropouts that shared one trait: a burning desire to achieve their goals.

However, earning a degree is a very important step in life as well. It opens up many avenues, and tells a lot about the person who earned it.

Answer 3

You are basing this on a premise which is untrue. There are a few people without degrees who manage to succeed anyway, but on average, people with degrees earn an average of $1 million more over the course of their lifetimes than do those who did not graduate from college. And when you look at many of those people without degrees who succeeded anyway, it often turns out that, as in the case of Bill Gates, they left college because they were already becoming so successful that they had to make a choice between finishing their degrees and continuing to grow their businesses, so it wasn't that the lack of a degree made them successful, but that their success caused them not to graduate.

Answer 4

jgm, The likelihood of a poor person ever getting rich is about 1%. The chance of a wealthy child remaining wealthy is about 20%. Going to college does improve the amount of money men or women will make over the high school graduate -by about $200,000. But neither is a guarantee.

The book you mentioned is very old. Look for something more up to date on the subject of going into business. Like business school. College teaches you self-discipline, research, gives you a broad view of the world, and often imparts a tiny kernal of information -if you are listening-that makes a huge difference between you and the guy nextdoor.

Answer 5

This is a fallacy. You see the extreme examples, those few particulars that do not have degrees that make billions and millions. The truth is that most with degrees have obtained the skills and work ethic to make a lot more than those without degrees. Most are not famous and do not go around boasting of their success.
There are many more men and women with degrees that are succeeding more than men and women without degrees.

Answer 6

They don't. I suspect you've fallen into the trap of averaging by salary instead of by person - on average, a person with a degree will make more than someone without one.

http://www.mdrc.org/area_fact_33.html

Average Earnings by Education

no high school diploma = 19,915 / year
High school diploma = 29,448 / year
Associates degree = 37,990 / year
BA/BS = 54,689 / year

US Census data.

Answer 7

Because the man without the degree KNOWS he has to work hard to get anywhere in this life. Some people with a degree assume that is their passport to success on its own. Its like, "I've put in the 3,5,7 years now pay me top dollar".

Answer 8

because people without the degrees realize what they have done with their lives and they tend to work harder to get what they want.....Its not about what you can do or what you have learned....It is about who wants "it" more.....you dont only need to work hard, but you should also learn to work smart