I hear a lot of people in the crafty business world talking about how they made it in business even though they didn’t get a business degree and it makes me wonder what they think you learn doing one.
I have a degree in International Business and Post Grad in Innovation & Entrepreneurship and I can tell you right now that my business qualifications don’t put me ahead of anyone else in this game of indie-business success.
Here’s what my IB degree taught me in a nutshell: to write reports, use powerpoint, you will always have to carry someone on your team and to work for a company that will pay you to do as little as possible for the most amount of money. Sounds crass, but that was really it in a nutshell.
I learned a bit about post-war European Politics too, but that’s an entirely different story.
I don’t think my degree was a waste of time, I love to learn and I learnt a lot. Not much of it is relevant to what I do now, and by not doing one you didn’t miss out on a secret boost into business.
I openly admit that I paid no attention in Marketing, I was on the conventional path and my attitude was: why do I need to understand it, that’s what a marketing department is for. Does it hurt my business now, maybe.
A lot of a business degree is about reproducing what the lecturer has said in a way that they want to hear it. Well, that was my experience.
Even in my Post-Grad, it wasn’t, in the end, about learning how to run a better business or even how to start one up. It was about making sure that you completed the outcomes set by the university for you to pass.
That’s why I think that some of you have an advantage by not having studied business. You studied something else, you learned from the school of life.
I did IB because I wanted to travel the world and have a financially stable future. I whole-heartedly enjoyed taking the classes, but it doesn’t make me any closer to success than anyone else.
I took my Post-Grad course by correspondence because I lost my job and couldn’t find another one and the idea of sitting on the couch all day frightened me too much. I enjoyed most of it, and I learned that I can work well ahead of a deadline.
Now I have certificates that need to be framed and hung and still a hell of a lot to learn about how to create a thriving business that supports me and my future.
Do you think that your qualification has helped your business or are you in the same place as everyone else? Tell me in the comments.
This is so interesting, and I have to wholeheartedly agree. I recently wrote a blog post called “What makes an artist? Hint: it’s not art school” that basically echoes the same sentiment. Art school taught me how to make art, not how to run an art business. I’ve got the benefit of a few years experience running a micro business under my belt, but that doesn’t make me better off. There are always things to learn!
Not listening in Marketing? You’re stalking me aren’t you :P
Great post Dannielle! Someday I want to go back to art school and teach a PRACTICAL ART class, or something like that. How to actually survive as an artist/designer. School’s great and I loved it, but they don’t teach you much about making it in the real world.
I think college teaches us how to learn. How to be critical readers and thinkers. Poor grammar aside, I think that’s valuable. I don’t regret dropping out, but I don’t think it’s a total waste of time either. Any education informs your work as an artist and communicator.
I totally agree with you Amy! I love learning and I appreciate my degree for what it was. But I don’t feel that it makes me more likely to succeed in micro business than anyone else. Learning is always important, no matter where you are learning from.
Great point you made :)