Friday, December 26, 2014
Graduates in these fields are getting the biggest raises. Early on in your education, you are motivated by competition, by greatness, maybe even fame or service, but do not buy into that old socialist canard that "money isn't everything" that you'll often hear in your school's program. Do not listen to them. First, don't let some collective voice who can't think for themselves or generate wealth for themselves tell you or anybody else how to make money. You don't have all the time in the world to make money. Do not let anything get in the way of your productive years.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Considering a Master's Degree in English?
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Graduates in these fields are getting the biggest raises. Early on in your education, you are motivated by competition, by greatness, maybe even fame or service, but do not buy into that old socialist canard that "money isn't everything" that you'll often hear in your school's program. Do not listen to them. First, don't let some collective voice who can't think for themselves or generate wealth for themselves tell you or anybody else how to make money. You don't have all the time in the world to make money. Do not let anything get in the way of your productive years.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Considering a Master's Degree in English?
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Do you know what Running Start is? You should. Especially if you want your son or daughter to excel in college. It's a program that allows them to take college courses while they are in high school. Check it out.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
This sums up my position on college.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
Thursday, June 13, 2013
November 20, 2012
October 13, 2012
September 12, 2012
September 5, 2012
August 18, 2012
August 6, 2012
August 1, 2012
SOLUTIONS
Find out what jobs the different US cities are known for. Interesting interactive. Thanks to Bob Wenzel.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Remember why you're going to college in the first place--to get a good-paying job. Unless you're just after the college experience and running up personal debt and wanting to explore options for your career . . . . Use this tool to compare how the different states pay in your chosen field.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Remember why you're going to college in the first place--to get a good-paying job. Unless you're just after the college experience and running up personal debt and wanting to explore options for your career . . . . Use this tool to compare how the different states pay in your chosen field.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Looking for the best results from an MBA program? Check out who pays and what. Thanks to Robert Wenzel.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Check
out these starting salaries for jobs that require college degrees.
If you go to college, choose your college major wisely.
Thursday,
September 19, 2013
Here
is an interesting and worthwhile challenge to kids thinking about going to
college, written by James Altucher.
The
Ultimate College Challenge To Fool My Kids Into Not Going To College
I
give up. I can't tell my kids not to go to college. I have tried all the usual
statistics:
A)
student loan debt you'll never be able to pay back.
B
) for the first time ever, greater than 50% of the unemployed have college
degrees. So that whole myth of "you can't get a job without a degree"
is over
C)
you don't learn anything in college that you can't learn on your own.
D)
you can get a five-year head start on your peers if you give up on college.
None
of that works. The myth is too strong. I had to fight harder.
So
then I wrote a book: "40 Alternatives to College".
I
found out a lot of people don't have calculators. A lot of people, for
instance, said that "starting a business costs money". But they
didn't compare it to the cost-plus opportunity cost of college.
A
lot of people also said, "not everyone is an entrepreneur", ignoring
the fact that I had 39 other alternatives in the book. So I really wondered
what college gave all of these people.
Ok,
I give up on all of that.
I
have a new approach. It's a sneaky approach because that's the way things get
done. By people doing sneaky things.
The
College Challenge:
If
they do one of the below items, I will "help" them go to
college. I wanted to come up with challenges for them that are realistic
but extremely difficult. (e.g. I didn't put on the list, "win the NY
Marathon"). I'm convinced if they do any of the below they will no
longer buy into the societal myth that you need to go to college to be happier
and more successful.
And
it's not all about money. The below challenges will make them healthier, more
creative, wealthier, etc, depending on what they do. And none of the below
requires that much money.
They
will also have the pleasure of doing something that is utterly unique and will
ultimately be considered cool or fascinating in their social group.
A)
Make a YouTube video (or channel) that has five million real views.
B
) Get past the second series of Ashtanga Yoga. (at least part of this has to
occur in India).
C)
Make a business that has over $50,000 in revenues in the 12th month.
D)
Write a book (or set of books) that has more than 5000 paying readers
E)
Create a blog that has over 100,000 unique monthly readers. Note: you don't
have to be the only writer on that blog.
F)
Take 50 or more courses on Coursera. With me.
G)
Intern with someone who is among the best in the world at what they do.
H)
Organize at least 20 meetups of twenty people or more around a specific topic.
I)
Run for political office and get at least 30% of the vote in a primary.
J)
Have 50 people write to me explaining, in detail, how you saved their lives.
All
of these are such massive achievements that you should no longer see the need
to go to college to achieve something great in life. All of these will solve
the problem of "how do I socialize with people?"
And
any of these challenges will put you on the path to mastery at a much younger
age than most people. You will feel immense self-satisfaction.
Also,
after people graduate college, they can no longer afford to go on the path to
mastery. They have to pay down their college debts.
Well,
what if you are not an entrepreneur? No problem, don't do "E".
What
if you can't write a book that gets 5000 paying readers.
No
problem. Write 100 books that get 50 readers each. Make each book 15 pages. No
big deal.
Anyway,
just pick one.
Well,
what if I pick one and then I fail at it?
Ok,
then learn from your mistakes and either try again or move onto the next thing.
You are still no worse off than your peers who are learning nothing and getting
into massive debt.
I
wish my parents had done this for me when I was eighteen.
But
it's easy to believe the storytelling and mythology of prior generations which
put blinders on how much the world has changed in the past few years.
Doing
the above items will help you take the blinders off.
Doing
the above will help you succeed far greater than your peers and even me (hard
to believe but true!).
And
even if you don't succeed in the traditional sense, my guess you will learn
much more about yourself than joining the herd and becoming another monkey in
the zoo.
Monday,
July 1, 2013
Here
is a complete list of online degree programs. Do not ignore it. http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.org/Degree-Programs/
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Want
an MBA for $5,500?
This
may be worth your time to check out. http://www.new.edu/info/tuition/.
You can earn an MBA in 16 months at 3 courses per term for $5,500. All online.
Wednesday,
April 3, 2013
The
job market is getting more competitive for the shrinking dollar.
With colleges producing more graduates, and youth unemployment at a sky-high 11.5 percent, even landing a job selling Big Macs is getting competitive.
Consider: A job opening at a Massachusetts McDonald's restaurant for a full-time cashier requires one to two years' experience and a bachelor's degree.
"Get a weekly paycheck with a side order of food, folks, and fun," offered McDonald's.
You'll
need to market yourself better than the next person. You'll need a good
resume, and I can help. I've already helped over thousands of graduating seniors.
Call me at 626-789-1599. Workers over 30 and you want help, it is
even easier to help you. Call me to find out how.
November 20, 2012
Gary
North: Don't Pay Retail for a College Degree
Watch the above video first, then open this
link to Zero Debt Degrees.
Check out Gary North's Deliverance from Debt.
October 13, 2012
The
headline in this article sounded unbelievable wild, but
it is true. It reads "1.4 Million Americans with over $100,000 in
College Debt." Please count the cost of a college education, and
know, too, that you can get it for less. See the solutions at the bottom
of this page. As the high schools push more and more for kids to go to
college, almost shaming them if they don't choose that path, I feel I stand as
a lone contrarian and declared target if I ask kids to count the cost of a
college education. Apprenticeship is one alternative. It saves kids
and parents money, allows them to know a business in detail, get a real-world
taste for a field, and earn the praise and recommendation from a business
owner. Of course, that path is not for everyone. If you're looking
to be a professional, a lawyer, doctor, engineer, and so forth, state licenses
require a degree. But you can get a degree for $15,000. Parents or
students don't have to go $27,000 in debt. I don't like seeing anybody in
debt.
October
9, 2012
THAT
$1,000,000 IN EXTRA LIFETIME EARNINGS? IT'S A CON.
These
stories of college graduates running up debt astonish me. I myself
accrued a small amount of debt, enough to force my hand in taking a job
strictly to pay off the debt. I wasn't pursuing my life's dream, nor was
I serving my career. I sacrificed my future. I was under the
influence of the prevailing values of liberal communism. In fact, any
student of the Humanities would be under the same spell if he were to call
himself a good student. Was there any other criterion to judge one's
self? But I learned. The lesson was hard, all important lessons
are. Count the cost. I did but only for a 3-year period.
There are plenty of costs to count. There is the financial cost.
There is the cost of ignoring marketing. I didn't market. Again, I
was desperate to get out of debt and took the first offer that came my way.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" came my reply to her offer.
"Then sign on the dotted line" came her reply. There are the
costs for joining an organization that conflicts with your personal values and
your economic good sense. Don't let an organization change your values.
It will have influence on you. Count the cost of that influence.
"By
the time they graduated in 1995, the couple was $194,000 in debt. They
eventually married and each landed a six-figure job. Yet even with Kellum
moonlighting, they had to scrounge to come up with $145,000 in loan payments.
With interest accruing at up to 12% a year, that whittled away only $21,000 in
principal. Their remaining bill: $173,000 and counting."
It's
stories like this that make me feel lucky.
October
5, 2012
This is a
fantastic article on the tangible and qualitative benefits of a college
degree's ability to transform self-worth. It doesn't. You know
this. Don't be fooled by some desperate acquaintance or ill-thought
notion that a college degree is so important. Check first to see if a
company or a corporation will consider hiring you based solely on what you know
rather than on the degrees you overpaid for. Here is the article. It includes a list of
successful business individuals who, don't say it, dropped out of high
school and ended their formal education there. It's an impressive list.
In alphabetical order, we have:
Tyra
Banks
Donald
Barthelme, Writer
Richard
Branson
David
Bowie
Woody
Allen
Carla
Bruni, Singer, song-writer, and wife of former French President,
Sarkozy
Warren
Buffett
David
Byrne, of Talking Heads fame.
James
Cameron
Coco
Chanel
Ellen
DeGeneres
Michael
Dell
Barry
Diller, Founded Fox Broadcasting
David
Geffen
Whoopi
Goldberg
Donna
Karan
David Karp, Founder of Tumblr
Annie
Leibovitz
Doris
Lessing
Steve
Martin
Sean
Parker, Founder of Napster
Wolfgang
Puck
William
Safire
J. D.
Salinger
Ted
Turner
Kristen
Wiig, American actress, comedian, and writer.
Sam
Maloof, furniture designer.
September
17, 2012
Appalled
but not surprised by the racket that is college debt, Gary North says in
contemplation of a young man's debt "I would call this student a victim of poor high school education. I would also call him a victim of the
college." Don't be a victim of poor high school education.
Do the math, and count the costs of any long-term expenditure.
Please. Ignoring the cost of a college education can bankrupt and
humiliate individuals for many years to come.
September 12, 2012
It is
troubling to watch how parents and students pay so much, too much, in this
Texas father's case, so much money for a college education that does not pay
off. We all operate off of our own assumptions. We all have been
taught that we all need a college education to somehow certify our intelligence
or prove to our brothers, in-laws, or cousins that, yeah, we're smart.
The only person who really needs to know that you are smart is your spouse,
your immediate family, and the clients and people you work with.
Otherwise, spending thousands of dollars, or in some cases hundreds of
thousands of dollars, for a certificate signed by your governor to prove that
you are smart may not be worth the debt that too many kids are taking on, debt
that parents sadly give their permission to. See this poor parent: he claims that educating his five
daughters cost him $1.5 million dollars. Really?
September
8, 2012
Prof.
Lawrence Kotlikoff on the costs of a college education.
September 5, 2012
The Pit
and the Pendulum of College Debt. It's worse than the Poe short
story. Here is Gary North on the college student
debt-bomb.
September
3, 2012
John
Stossel on how government intervention causes the increases in college prices.
August 18, 2012
Here is
an article from the British Telegraph weighing the value of a paid
higher education.
August
13, 2012
MAN TAKES
OUT $142,000 IN STUDENT LOANS TO EARN CULINARY DEGREE: HE'S NOW EARNING
$10 AN HOUR
Here is
his story.
August 6, 2012
A
MISSISSIPPI COUPLE OWES $110,000 IN STUDENT LOANS
Here is a
couple from Mississippi. They both acquired $55,000
student loan debt, totaling $110,000. Their joint income is $50,000
combined. They have 1 child and leave their child at a daycare in the
morning. They rent an apartment. The husband is in real estate; he
didn't need his degree to be a Realtor. He could have saved 4 years and
$55,000; the wife could have also. This breaks my heart because I see
young people doing well in business with no college degree and no debt.
They're doing very well, and they have 2 and 3 beautiful, healthy
children.
August 1, 2012
A MEDICAL
DOCTOR OWES $555,000 IN STUDENT DEBT
A poor
woman who earned a medical degree is now in total debt to the tune of $555,000.
She cannot pay it back. She will be in debt until she is 70 years
old. She has a medical degree. She has work as a doctor. She
thought that her earnings as a medical doctor would make it easy to pay back
the loan. She did not count the cost. She did not count the cost of
interest on her loans. What makes this story even more sad is that her
father co-signed on one of her loans. Her story is here.
Wednesday,
August 1, 2012
Lew
Rockwell interviews Gary North on getting a university degree at a low cost. He
refers to American Public University.
July 22,
2012
THE BEST
ADVICE IS TO NEVER TAKE OUT A STUDENT LOAN
Good
advice by Gary North, "The best advice is to never take out a student loan. Take all college-level general
education courses by CLEP, if the college allows this. Otherwise, at the
community college. Cut costs."
Don't do
what these students did.
July 2,
2012
THIS
YOUNG MAN RECEIVES CALLS DAILY FROM DEBT-COLLECTORS
This is
the story of a young man, 28 years old, who dropped out of college and enrolled
in culinary school. A laudatory goal. Practical (and by practical I mean
smart)? You be the judge. He graduates from culinary school eight
years later--that's how long it takes to earn a medical degree--and at 36 the
man is $142,000 in debt with student loans. I'm not sure, but I can't
imagine any restaurant or hotel around the world that could pay him enough to
pay off that loan plus the interest.
FACT: You cannot claim
bankruptcy on student loans.
HINT: A better
alternative to college is apprenticeship.
TRAGEDY. Here are the devastating details.
SOLUTIONS
July 12,
2012
EARN A
COLLEGE DEGREE FOR UNDER $10,000.
Colleges
and high schools won't tell you how to save money or how to earn a degree for
under $10,000. It will take sacrifice and hard work. Saving
thousands of dollars and still earning the degree requires a serious effort on
your part. I don't want you to find yourself with tens of thousands of
dollars in debt at the start of your young life.
First,
start by taking CLEP Exams. In general, not in all cases of
course but in general, 1 CLEP exam is equal to 1 semester of college-level
equivalent class. If your son or daughter is ambitious, have him take a CLEP
during the summer. If he passes the exam, he can use that score to exempt him
from taking that required college course. Your son can take 1 CLEP Exam each
summer and maybe a total of 3 CLEP Exams per year while in high school. If he
follows this path, he can test out early in his first 2 years of college and
save you money. As you save money, your son saves time. As he saves time, he
can use that time for more productive activities, like taking a debate class or
a public speaking course or attend an economics class at the Mises Institute or
start a business. I tell you this so that you can save money and time while
your son earns his college degree.
Get a
college mentor through CollegePlus.
