Formal Education?

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Do you guys recommend at all formal education in marketing/finance/economics?

I know it's not "necessary" - there are many people making a lot of money online, who didn't even go to college - but my question is, can it help?
#main internet marketing discussion forum #education #formal #internet #marketing
  • Banned
    If you have the opportunity to get an education you take it, plain and simple.
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    • Exactly. I won't say that I was a fantastic student at any point in my school career. For that matter, I pretty much scraped through High School on my test scores, right up until the time that I notice that I was making what I thought was good money and dropped out. It wasn't until years later that I realized my education was lacking and took steps to remedy it. I was 23 when I got my GED, and almost 30 when I took my first college course. Since then, I've tried to maintain a schedule of taking at least one course a semester, whether it's a credit course or an elective through the local community college.

      Throughout history, there are stories of entrepreneurs that made a fortune without an education. While these are inspiring, they also make me wonder how much more successful they could have been if they had been formally educated.
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  • If you planing about making money that's fine you need not to take formal education. But education is must if you want to be an educated
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    • With online marketing, I don't figure it's a must.

      I don't think college is necessary, but the more educated you are in the field you're working in should make you more qualified and successful. I'm a college graduate, but I believe in continuing my education...I never quit learning. I study a variety of topics. I love learning.

      I think people in this day and age are looking more into studying directly for the field you're entering into. For some that may just require attending a vocational-technical school.

      Apprenticeship-type training that allows you hands-on training of skills is still one of the best ways to learn, I believe... it'd be good if our society offered more of these types of opportunities.
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  • If time permits. go and complete your education. My husband wanted to be a linguist and he is still waiting for the right time.......at the age 31, I don't think it's too late for him..but the sooner the better.
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  • Banned
    Yes, I think it can help.

    I suspect that if you compare small business owners who've done some kind of book-keeping/accounting course with those who haven't, the overall success-rate's clearly going to be higher among the first group?

    I also suspect that many people "trying IM" decide that they won't worry about book-keeping at all, to start with, they'll just "wait and see whether they make any money first, and then think about going to an accountant later if they do", and that the success-rate is significantly lower among those people (maybe partly because they're less businesslike and less suited to self-employment to start with, and partly because there are so many opportunities to get into trouble when you haven't thought about this stuff in advance)?

    Some people here like to decry formal education almost as a matter of principle, I know, and there are always exceptions (and they're the ones most often discussed!), but if you compare the "IM prospects" of someone who didn't go to college at all with someone with an MBA, I know which one my money's on!

    I can't prove any of this, of course.
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    • True, because if you've been exposed to some type of accounting, even if it's just basic business accounting, you'll realize just how important it is to your business. You'll also get an idea of whether you should do it yourself or outsource that part of your business.

      I can do the basics, like add and subtract to come up with my profit/loss, but the rest of it? We have an accountant. :-)

      Oh, absolutely! Even IM without an education compared to someone who only took just one semester at community college "may" be more successful!
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    • Book Keeping is my biggest demon, I hate it, and get backed every year.

      Got to find a better CPA.
  • If I were you...I'll take the chance to have formal education first....somehow I believe that formal education build our way of thinking to be more strong and structured. But...it's really there is no right and wrong about this...like you said, many people success without going through the formal education...but, maybe because they're just blessed by the above average intelligence and perseverance....

    Best of luck
    Bizamanda
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    • Statistically, college graduates earn far more than high school graduates even when tuition costs are taken into account. There are also intangibles for higher education such as more business networking options through alumni and professional organizations in one's chosen course of study as well as access to business opportunities in stratified socio-economic circles. Although mitigating circumstances can offset some earnings discrepancies, within statistical deviation limits it can be said income expands as formal education increases.
  • Formal education is no guarantee of success, but there is no question that formal education opens some doors that are otherwise closed. It creates opportunities and choices. Can you achieve success choosing from only the remaining path? Sure, but more choices are almost always better.
  • Any way formal education is of course important for us. It teaches us how to take decision and tech us to how to make our future enlighten with good decision.
  • It didn't help me in any way.

    Instead of spending 4 years studying that theoretical crap, spend them building your business. You will learn MUCH more.
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    • You know, I felt the same way several years ago, but with age comes wisdom and I now have absolutely no regrets in at least getting my associate degree.

      And actually, you can go for maybe 18 months and simply get a certification in your field of interest and it will help!
    • The question though is who are you learning from? Most likely the best lessons are coming from those who are educated both formal and in the real world.
  • I love it! I know, "High school drop out makes a million in two hours with this one simple technique!" Riiight.
  • Formal education is USUALLY not a bad thing, IMO.
  • When a formal education in marketing is really beneficial is if you ever work with major corporations where the marketing team has formal education.

    You will want to be able to communicate with them using their vocabulary and understanding.
  • I left a well paid plastering job to go back to college. If i hadn't made that decision, I'd still be plastering right now, and hating every minute of it. You never know what doors can open up for you.
  • Cant believe how many people in here are saying that its not that necessary or isnt really a guarantee blah blah blah..

    Duhhhhhhhhhh! Formal education isnt a guarantee and far from it. Infact you will take a TON of classes that make no sense and have no applicability to what you want to do in life.

    You take formal education because it opens your mind to new thoughts and ideas along with many different perspectives than your own. It makes you smarter in more ways than you can imagine. The main thing you learn is a solid work ethic and skills to work with others and under pressure.

    Not to mention is something great to fall back on, and the great people you meet through the process.
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    • Banned
      Everyone just wants to be the guy/gal that bucked the system and made it big. You know how it is .
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    • Banned
      You're completely right, but I've noticed in countless forum discussions about education, that many Warriors seem to look at education only in terms of its earning potential, and then not even to acknowledge the overwhelming overall income disparities between college graduates and others. In other words, you're right, but long experience here has taught me - in a strange, almost-educational process of its own - that you probably won't change anyone's mind. I never can, anyway ...
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  • Most of the top gurus (the ones who really make money) don't have any formal education but many of them do have a past history of offline marketing prior to coming online.

    Formal education is all fine and dandy, but it counts for nothing without experience.
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    • True, but consider that they are constantly pushing the legal limits of what they do. The FTC and state attorneys general are constantly looking at them.

      Every success story comes at a cost be it years spent on education, investment risk, trial and error or in the big MMO gurus case, a legal risk. If you remove the life sacrifice of formal education, that has to be made up for in another way.

      So, no, a formal education isn't always necessary.... but you will pay in some other way.
  • If you want to be a corporate executive, get a degree (not because you require the education, but because you require the certificate).

    If you want to be an entrepreneur, get your business going and learn the ropes straight from the battlefield. Experience trumps theoretical education.

    And if you want to "open your mind" and " enlighten yourself", grab a backpack and travel the world for ****'s sake.
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  • As with most things one can muddle through and learn most things without a formal education ...... but that takes time, and a lot of trial and error. Formal education in my opinion is never wasted, learning proven techniques tried and tested. And once you get your qualification, it cannot be taken from you. I certainly am from the school of thought that if you get the opportunity to go and learn something you are interested in then do it. Its one of those opportunities that later on in life are harder to come by. I hope this helps.
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    • Banned
      Exactly, and this brings up a point that I think a lot of the "forget college, get money" people miss. Now, if you're going to college and muddling through required classes to get a degree you will be wasting your time and money. The people who think of college like that though either never went themselves or don't have an entrepreneur's mindset (and will fail in business anyways).

      College isn't high school: you don't just "show up" to get a piece of paper. You pick a field that you want to master (in this case business, accounting, whatever), and you put in extra effort to master it. There are resources at school that can't be matched in the outside world. On top of that, you have a protection here that you cannot have "going out and just doing it". College is pretty much your last chance to make mistakes with few consequences, and I'm not just talking about drinking and sleeping with "questionable" girls.

      People that say students should skip this crucial stage of development for whatever reason can probably be directly attributed to causing a lot of the messes that the world is in today. Lack of education leads to a lot of stupid s***.
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    • This is very, very true. At 53 yrs. old I went back to our local community college to get a certificate in Web Design. I "thought" at the time that's what I wanted to do. (I'm one of those kids that still hasn't learned what she wants to be when she grows up :p)

      Well, I made it through one term, then halfway through the second - and too late to drop! - I landed in the hospital with the flu! (I'm still paying off the tuition!)

      Anyway, back at home and on the days I was able to sit up long enough, I hit YouTube. And proceeded to learn everything I would have learned not only in that semester but in the next two terms as well - for free!!

      But I'm still glad I went! I did learn something from the little bit of time I went. I got the very starter basics of programs I wouldn't have wanted to try in the first place. My Adobe Design Premium CS4 went onto my tuition bill so I didn't have to pay for that up front out of pocket. And I proved to myself that even at my age with my disabilities, I could still cut it with the young kids (I was the oldest in ALL of my classes!)

      Oh, and I decided I did not want to go into Web Design for a living. ROFL
  • Only if you can afford it. But I do think formal education is over hyped by the education industry itself. I believed all their propaganda and went to university and it hasn't helped me at all, done the opposite really.
    Answer to your question, yes it can help but it can also do a lot of damage.
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    • All I know is that these days a college education is what a high school diploma used to be. So, anyone who is younger let's say 18 to 30ish who steps up and say's they have never taken a college course is like someone telling me that they lack a lot of the basics.
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  • Formal education has it's merits. But it isn't everything. Especially in the UK; damn, the number of people that have degrees in somewhat specialist areas now working in tescoss/boots/superdrugs, being treated harshly, low pay and many hours.

    Yes, I'm talking about Pharmacists.

    If you're education isn't largely practical, then you definitely do not need to go to University/College to gain the knowledge and skills to become successful. They'll only end up reading powerpoint slides to you all day anyways. People like Scott H Young learning 4 year degree's in 12 months online, it really makes me wonder.

    Though if you ever say "I don't want to learn again." - something is definitely wrong imo.
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    • I know loads of people who went to university and didn't get the amazing job they were led to believe they were going to get.
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    • THAT is the key phrase, right there. No matter what type of education, one should never want to stop learning!
  • education..... YES

    Formal education..... Depends on ur goals.

    You don't need formal education to be successful, but statistics show: an educated person WILL make more in their lifetime than an uneducated person. This is for the career minded individual...... We are entrepreneurs and online marketers, you can self educate on any topic you want, and be successful at it.

    there's a long list of successful people with NO formal education, but that's not the norm.....

    the norm is... Hard work, dedication, action, and knowledge of the industry you are in, will yield positive results.

    I have a BA, and MBA, and may eventually go for PhD (I'm guessing no if u asked me today)...... I have long term career and entrepreneurial goals. I know my education will open doors , on top of my business success.
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    • Exactly. I have an Assoc. Degree from a culmination of a private university, a community college and finally a business school. And I don't regret any of it. But then, I never graduated high school in the traditional sense and wearing that cap and gown for a ceremony was very important to me, even though I was 35 when that finally happened.

      I've also spent the last 19 years constantly self-learning - ebooks, books, a couple of non-credit courses, etc.

      I think one of the problem areas with high schools and colleges/universities today, at least when I was going, is that they don't put enough focus on business ownership and entrepreneurship in any way, shape or form. It's all "get a Job" focused. Doing your Resume, getting an interview, follow up letters, job applications, getting along in the workplace ...

      How about outsourcing? Communications? Marketing for the small business? No, at least here in the US in the colleges I went to, you didn't have any of that. You have to teach yourself these things.

      So IMHO, if you already know by the time you graduate HS that you are NOT going to be employed by anyone else but yourself, I think self-education is going to be a lot more important than formal education.

      The Internet has so many resources, including free resources, that you can teach yourself the equivalent of a Specialized Degree; i.e., like at the school I went to. Granted you won't get that accredited piece of paper but when was the last time a customer on the list of an IM person was asked for their CV?
  • Sometime college educations does help you communicate better with other professionals.
    For example, you can ask the other person what their SWOT are.
    If you know what SWOT is then the other person does not feel that they have to explain EVERYTHING to you.
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  • Hi,

    I disagree with most opinions stating in favor of a formal education.

    Formal education will be nothing more than a great disservice to you.

    Many well respected and successful men who have proved the most creative, innovative, powerful and clear in their endeavors, have more than not, unanimously agreed that formal education is a waste of time and money.

    Claude Hopkins for example, never went to college.

    He went to thousands of lectures to contrast his 'education from action' with 'education taught in colleges'.

    His blunt conclusion was similar to this: "Going to college for 4 years will require another 4 years to un-learn every theory that you were indoctrinated with"

    Mark Twain also said something among these lines:

    "I will never let a college interfere with my education".

    This topic is subject-dependent of course. Becoming a brain surgeon is a different story.

    If you want to be successful in business, marketing or advertising, don't go formal.

    -Justin
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    • This argument is made a lot and it's biggest flaw is not factoring in that we are not all equal.

      Some people have a high level of intelligence, natural business sense and all the luck of being in the right place at the right time. Those are the people within the success group who preach that college is a waste of time for everyone.

      But then you look at the guy who is just kind of average and views "business" as a place you go to work 8 hours a day to do as little as possible without getting fired. That's the guy who is in desperate need of the structure of a formal education. How many newbies showing up here crying poor fall into this category? I would imagine a good amount, and they have zero chance of making things work online just as they can't get anything decent going for themselves offline either.
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    • I can almost gurantee you that those lectures Claude went to were given by those who were formally educated.
  • "If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library."

    -Frank Zappa
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  • #1 - Get a face to face or over the phone "sales" job. This is the best education in marketing that you could get.

    #2 - Most of what they teach in "formal" universities on marketing you can learn online from Wikipedia or from buying a textbook on the subject.

    #3 - Study the basics, again such as sales, and learn how to find out what the market wants, what the "hot" markets are, and how to do your proper market research. Learn the demographics, the language that they use, their fears, frustrations, challenges, hopes, aspirations, desires, goals etc. and you will understand how to serve markets better than any "formal" or informal "education" could teach you.

    Hope that helps!

    -Brody
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    • I can't even believe I made it through and graduated. I must have spent more on beer than on tuition. It was on one of those drunken nights that I found IM and never even used my degree.
      If the next google update leaves me without an income, then I have something to fall back on.
    • I agree about the text books, but how many are actually going to open text books?
  • The best bet is learning something that you love and not for the money. You will make money if you do what you love. Its hard but I am working on a masters degree now and am extremely happy I made the decision to go.
  • I will say learn as much as you can from wherever you can. Just make sure you got good teachers.
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    • I'm pushing to get as much education as possible. I'm only 23 but I already see that having a stimulated mind that is well balanced allows you to see the open opportunities in any market. Lack of stimulation and you're stuck in old ideas. It gets hard to innovate or even just to adapt.

      So yes, I believe it is of great importance to get a formal education to better open your mind. Shoot, I am basically a full time IMer yet my degree is in Philosophy. Both seeing the forest for the trees and analyzing the crap out of one sentence to find deeper meaning has definitely opened me to innovate in my business than had I just did IM with nothing else.
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  • It is important but I think the important thing is to study what you like, more than what you have to...
  • I went to college because it was a pre-requisite for getting
    a better-paying job in the offline world. Then I went into
    the military for 20 years, where more formal education was
    a pre-requisite for getting promoted beyond a certain point.

    In all those years, I NEVER really used what I was learning
    in those college classes.

    Now, I find myself falling back on some of the things that I
    learned, like statistical analysis, when making business
    decisions.

    The education that I gained in the world of work has proven
    far more valuable than my formal education, but the formal
    education swung certain doors open.

    If I were starting out today, I would still pursue that formal
    education, but I'd have an online business at the same time,
    and if education got in the way of a growing business, I'd
    probably drop out.

    20/20 hindsight

    Willie
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  • No, it's not necessary, since it can be learn by trials and errors and also if you have some creativity and good ideas, you can make money online regardless what your education level is.
  • Formal Education can really help lots, but not required, the one thing that it does, is build confidence, which is necessary to succeed in anything.

    There are things that you will learn formally that you will not learn here, and there are things you can learn here that you will never learn formally.
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    • I think formal education can put you in a box.

      -Look at the number of guys in marketing, business, finance who never went to college or never even got a masters (which some might think of as a requirement). It's a loooong list.

      Claude Hopkins
      Jay Abraham
      Richard Branson
      Gates, etc.

      I think the problem with formal education is what they teach is "safe" (not necessarily effective). In finance, there's all these precepts that they teach....about modern porfolio theory, rate of return, analyzing cash flow, etc. The real world isn't as neat as many academic theories. This is what a lot of successful people exploit. I.e. Claude Hopkins going door to door learning how to sell.

      There's quotes in Claude Hopkins book (my life in advertising), about learning more from the common man, the man selling things on the street....vs formal, book education.

      -I don't think you get breakthroughs in a classroom. Everything is "safe" or conservative. Or the standard way of doing something. Also, I think successful people can do one thing exceedingly well. You don't really need "everything" in a standard classroom.

      Also, I think there's something to be said for common sense. It alone has value in the business world (and in life). You can make things too complicated and lose touch with reality (i.e. the economic crisis). How many businesses lose touch with reality? It's a lot.
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  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • In most cases, any time someone has invested a lot of time, money and effort into a goal they will defend that choice to the death. Its part of what defines them. You can't attack someones belief system head on and expect positive results.

    Most colleges teach you skills to be an employee and not the creative thinking necessary to be a leader or entreprenuer.

    In the IM world, you can attend college but you won't see massive success without attending the school of hard knocks as well.


    If you want to be "cultured" you need to learn things from multiple perspectives. Our graduates think learning stops once the degree is obtained.
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  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Education is always good.

    But paying 10-50k a year to go to a class where someone teaches you from a book is questionable.

    Experience trumps education every time.

    Although there is a difference between going to school for something like business and going to school for something like engineering. Engineering is a pretty universal skill, meaning there are fundamentals that everyone who does engineering must follow.

    But when you go to school for something like business... there are no rules written in stone that will guarantee you will create a successful business. There are just the fundamentals... They basically give you the tools needed to build your business, but you still have to build it.

    So is a business degree worth it?

    If it costs you $50,000 to get your business degree I would say NO. It's not worth it..

    Spend that $50,000 experimenting and learning from your mistakes. You will gain more knowledge by doing that than any 4 year graduate straight out of business school.

    Most of these kids who come out of business / marketing school expect to be hired by big advertising agencies because they have a piece of paper with their name on it. Truth is nobody in advertising gives a shit about that paper. In fact they probably laugh at the idea of people paying thousands of dollars to go to school for a piece of paper that is given out to millions of people every year.

    Let me make this very clear. You're not special because you have a degree...

    The only thing that piece of paper is good for is getting your foot into the door. The rest is up to you.
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    • The 50k you mention is usually borrowed money for a lot of working class kids, which from a risk/reward perspective makes it an extremely silly thing to do.

      risk - many thousands of $ of debt
      only guaranteed reward - piece of paper with something printed on it.

      Its just part of the dogma of most modern societies that 'education is always good', so most people accept it without scrutinising it properly. If 'education' was replaced with 'gaining marketable skills' then I would be more inclined to agree with it.

      Why would upper/middle class people want working class people to become one of them when they would have to go to the trouble of replacing their working class? Most modern societies NEED working class people or theres no middle/upper class. I think they are happy for working class people to get a university education just as long as they will spend the rest of their life in debt and make them even poorer than they would have been if they hadn't have gone to university. Its a win-win situation for them, in my opinion.
    • I think its better if you actually dive into the school thing and find out for yourself.

      I had a prof who taught me retail from a book. His selection of the book was excellent. How did I know? because I started studying business at the age of 15.
      Oh, let me tell you about the prof teaching the course lolol. Have you ever heard of hersheys? well he dated the daughter. Have you ever heard of Mergers and Acquisitions? This prof was responsible for the start of that.

      My point is you normally wouldn't get that hands on type of training in the Real World and this school wasn't even an Ivy College.

      Another course I took delt with the future of business. The prof. was in advertising and marketing at one point. Anyway, this course covered Affiliate Marketing and Multi Level Marketing this was back in the early to mid 90s.

      Again I say you normally don't get that type of start and training in the Real World.

      The problem here is that people are lazy and rather wallow in their own self pitty. So, what if one guru comes out of 1 million. That means that 1 million are low achievers to middle of the road and never get the guru status. So, my point this time is that you are better off getting as much education as you can, rather it be formal or otherwise. Just make sure you pick the right teachers.
  • Getting an education doesn't matter, you need to have knowledge don't try to be a jack of all but try to be master of one. If you are master in any field I guarantee you that success will follow you
  • Feel like I'm kissing Ken Claudhill's ass at the moment...

    Education = instruction in some subject

    Training = to teach a person to do something

    That's a key point.

    IMHO I think it could be beneficial to do a marketing degree or whatever. Just that it's highly likely it will be up to you to fill the gap between the theory taught in class and application in the real world.

    Perhaps with part-time jobs, your own business or arranging real world experience during the course.

    I did a degree and it was an essential pre-requisite despite being far removed from real world application. The best way to actually be good at the job was having the right attitude and combining real world experience with curiosity. Reading, going to seminars and listening to the people who know what they were talking about.
  • You can educate yourself when it comes down to marketing. There are plenty of books on the subject you can check out at your local library. Why waste money taking up classes?
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    • Banned
      I agree completely with this. I'd hate to get a formal education in "marketing". I don't even think of "marketing" as "formal education" (though I acknowledge that in some places it just about can be, these days, with "degrees" available in "business studies" and even specifically in "marketing"). Not my idea of "education" at all.
  • In my opinion, for making money education is a must. It might not be formal education. Practical education and experience are more effective than formal education for making money.
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    • Any way you put it whether it be in the classroom or the WF one still has to gain that experience. Look at your WF failures the ones who ignore the basics of IM, sitting around for years before they build a list, or get their hands dirty. Yet I'm sure they have heard it over and over again.
  • If you take education in online marketing then you can work more professionally and it would be more beneficial to you.
  • I bought a few books on internet marketing. So far making decent money online. My thing is "Work Smarter, Not Harder". My degree was in animal science, now, its nothing, I didn't finish my courses. I work at an animal hospital "learned my job hands on". No point in school for me. I've always been able to make money without having to go to school. Besides, even if I wanted to go to school, I couldn't afford it.
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  • I am in favor of formal education at every opportunity. However; the mainstream educational system (formal college) may be geared more to brick and mortar business than you would find useful if you were working solely online. You would have to be good at taking principles and applying them to your method of operation to get the most out of it.

    You might be better off to utilize a OJT technique and self study the areas that you need to learn
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    • Fact is, in this day and age, you can't afford to not have a degree in my opinion, the only problem is whilst it opens many other doors, these doors are to the world system, which is get a degree and get a job and so on, and as we may all know, you can only earn so much with this system.

      In most cases, these type of graduates never think of doing their own thing, and where they do, it will be some conventional way of doing it, which I just find way time consuming and risky.

      I say this because I have got good graduate friends who are stuck in the rut race and when we reason, they are never interested in looking at the opportunities online business avails and boy, only if they new what they could achieve with the knowledge and skills the have acquired. They actually shun online Internet marketing as a business, which is a real shame.

      I have so much to say on this but I am just going to cut it shot, however, I think it's highly important to guide your children in their careers and to make sure they get it, because they often don't, you know youngsters, they got their own ideas too.

      Bottom-line is, like Jim Rohn said, "Formal education will make you a living, and personal development will make you a fortune"

      A combination of the two can be explosive. Can you imagine what these young graduates would do if they had the knowledge one can acquire through personal development and the online marketing world?

      I think they need this stuff badly because there are too many of them and there is no work for all of them, the sooner they realise this the earlier we can alleviate the job crisis problem IMHO.

      Sadly, it's a question of choice and perception I suppose!
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  • Economics - Only if it interests you personally. It won't help you much in business.

    Finance - YES, at least at a basic level. If you want to turn internet marketing into a real business someday (read: more than a sole proprietorship), then you definitely need to understand the basics of corporate accounting. Even if you remain a one-man operation, it still helps to know the basics of an income statement.

    Marketing - Do not learn this from traditional schooling. To be frank, the professors in marketing schools just don't know what the hell they are talking about. You will learn a lot more about marketing from good internet marketers who teach direct marketing methods like Eben Pagan than you will learn in 4 years in a marketing degree at a public university.
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  • It's my impression that most get into IM too young when they have no "business" sense. Learning SEO and other IM stuff doesn't make you a business person.

    It's better to get an education when you're young. If it teaches you nothing relevant to your business (which is doubtful) at least you will become more disciplined which will come in handy further down the track.
  • Education is important yet don't forget one can be self educated,
    both ways are great as long as you committed to it, and motivated to learn!!!
  • Banned
    A fisherman have enough money sometimes more than enough ,it's not means that he is graduated or a Ph D or a fish expert from reputed university.
    By the way formal education can't give you money but it can give you professional attitude , a social value , a grammar to earn money.
    If you wanna earn money only it is not necessary to take formal education but it has some moral value.
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  • There is no right or wrong answer as it depends on a number of factors.

    I enjoyed 4 years at my local university and completed a BA Honours Degree and to this day I have never used anything in that course ! Back then it didn't cost me a penny to attend university but the same course today might put you $30k in debt.

    With that type of money you can even start your own small business and learn on the job.

    For certain occupations a degree is a must but in many cases now an employer will prefer experience and a proven track record of achievement.

    Now if you get the chance to study the top rated course at the best university that is a different ball game.
  • I know every wants to make money...but i strongly believe you have to educate yourself first. Take a step back to take 2 steps forward.
  • Without education you are nothing

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    Do you guys recommend at all formal education in marketing/finance/economics? I know it's not "necessary" - there are many people making a lot of money online, who didn't even go to college - but my question is, can it help?