EP59: Should Entrepreneurs go to College?  w/ Derek Magill
Channel: Liberty Entrepreneurs Podcast
Date: 2016-11-24

What you are going to LEARN in this episode:


If college is still a smart investment 
How much entrepreneurs benefit from attending college
What employers really think of your diploma
The importance of building an “experience portfolio”


Today’s guest is Derek Magill, college dropout turned online marketing entrepreneur, author and business strategist.  Like most high school students, Derek was told that college was the absolute best idea to ensure he lands a job and makes a “good living”.  


During his second year of college, Derek started to realize that the most valuable and enjoyable parts of his life were when he wasn’t in the classroom.  He started a small t-shirt company and made a few thousand dollars while in college.  Before long he felt like he was creating far more value in the world by selling shirts than he was by writing essays to only turn in to his professor.  


He says, “you are never actually creating anything or building anything valuable during your college career.”


Rather than sitting in class and continuing to learn more and more theory, Derek recommends building a website, learning how to sell something online, or maybe start a podcast or blog.  By the time your peers are graduating from college, you’ll have a portfolio of experiences and assets that you’ve built for yourself.  


I can assure you that, as someone who’s hired dozens of people, this type of “portfolio of experience” is waaaaaaay more valuable than a diploma.  


We end the show with a discussion about why “college dropouts” have such a negative stigma and how college may be just an extension of our under-performing public high schools.  


If you are a highschool or college student, then don’t miss the Derek’s advice towards the end about taking a “gap year” and learn from the real world rather than only experiencing professors, textbooks and exams.  


Contact Info:


Derekmagill.com blog - http://derekmagill.com/blog/ 
Get a Job at a Startup - http://www.DiscoverPraxis.com 


Recommended podcast:  http://libertyentrepreneurs.com/2016/04/le30-isaac-morehouse-experience-based-education/