College degree may not make you an entrepreneur.If you look at the history of innovations and scientific achievements and scholarly pursuits, college degree is not the only condition for success. The overall requirements to be successful in any profession is not academic degrees or academic success. However, college degree is likely or supposed to equip you to take on the tasks of the world. If a person can do it without that it is really great like Steve Jobs and others.
By
Krishnamurthy Prabhakar, Professor, Velammal Engineering College
| 12 20 2010 04:06:25 +0000
A college degree or not..you atleast need some basics to really start a new venture, isn't it?? Some bright people study on their own while others go to college to get their basics right...Whether it was Mark or Bill Gates, they did not become entrepreneurs out of thin air...They had their basics right to further their studies through practical experience...buddy, its not the college that can fulfill your entrepreneurial aspirations but your persistent attitude in achieving what you desire the most through meticulous planning and execution...
By
Saibal Ray, Sr. Process Engineer, KPIT Cummins Infosystems
| 12 19 2010 08:21:54 +0000
This is the question not of which strikes in mind for many of us. This open mind for the student, because this is the best choice for the student those who take proper dicisson in our life.
By
Anmol Srivastava, MBA/PGDM student, IBMR-b-school
| 12 18 2010 17:42:49 +0000
Hi Malika Yes entrepreneurs do need college degree to allow a candidate for the interview. I think degrees are yur tickets for your interview but this is not true for technical field. Both degree & knowledge are important for technical work. But knowledge is always superior. Theory lays down the base for your practical exposer & work area.
By
Sanjeev Ranjan, HR Executive, Team Pasona
| 12 18 2010 11:06:25 +0000
Entrepreneurs need a college degree, because many no. of student no trust for every body so many fraud to student careers in your life, this is not fare for my advise........... so i'll take to advise all student who free for dicisson those who want we us.
By
Anmol Srivastava, MBA/PGDM student, IBMR-b-school
| 12 18 2010 05:46:30 +0000
Proper educational back ground both commercial and technical will play a major role in establishing a good enterprise. Of course there are successful entrepreneurs who have established good business enterprises without much education, but in the present competitive business environment it is good to have proper knowledge of what one is venturing in to.
By
Shashi Kumar U, Manager accounts & commercial, Mazda Concrete Products Pvt Ltd
| 12 18 2010 04:35:07 +0000
The best artisans and the architects who had created master-pieces which stand testimony to our ancient culture and civilization never got any college degree. Education, degree, etc. should be viewed as gate passes or entry tickets to enter into government, corporates, etc. Entrepreneurs should be free thinkers who need not bother about structured learning, but should aspire to utilize the inherent dormant latent talent to create something innovative and useful to the larger masses. If in the process of doing something great like, what Sachin did to this country, attains some certificates, it will help him write a few lines more in his profile, not otherwise!
By
S. Muralidharan, Executive Director, Knowledge Foundation & Campus Around the Corner
| 12 18 2010 02:39:29 +0000
The era of Jamshedji ,Dhirubahi etc was different...the world was different..so was the business environment..this is 21st century where "change is the only constant thing.." Today we are living in a global village where IT has has enabled us almost everything which we want to know about a country,culture,people etc.. To survive in this vast,changing and uneven world, we need certain insights and knowledge.Education or precisely Degree gives us this insights.. Degree or education not only makes us successful but also helps us to become a good human being and at the end of the day this is what is the most important..this is my dad's belief.. :)
By
sirat raza, MBA/PGDM student, sri balaji society ,pune
| 12 17 2010 12:04:17 +0000
Not necessary all the college degree holders are entrepreneurs and all the entrepreneurs are degree holders. As you said, it does equip entrepreneurs with the skills that can make them more effective. I know a person having M.Com degree is not cable of writing his leave letter properly. But also I know a Central Minister, who has not even completed his schooling. Both are possible. But as per my view, it is an added advantage to have a college degree to administrate, dealing with accounts, Govt. officials, knowing laws, etc. In our country, there are some exceptions like Politicians(so called social workers) are not having the retiring age, education, etc. Even a lorry driver who is not having school certificate but by experience, he got the license. Drunk and drive is a crime in our law, but our Government is running Tasmac and earning lots of money in it. But can anybody is arresting in front of bars, but it is possible to arrest the drunkards before bar with vehicle, since we can see more number of vehicles before bars in every evenings.
By
Paul Sureshkumar, Manager, Selvan Marketing
| 12 17 2010 09:13:27 +0000
Mallika, The examples can be very few as you described even a proffesional with high degree like MBA or CA`s is sometimes useless and remain idle without job. Today the scenario is totally changed, the entrepreneur or the business need the core competance in the feild they operate. If the entrepreneur need to grow must have the spoecific specialisation their their feild, this will bring the added fast growth in the business. Exception can be in all area but in generall the degree is required with knowledge.
By
Jyoti CHETANI, Freelancer, Equity Research/Analytics
| 12 17 2010 06:08:05 +0000
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No, they dont need any specific degree from a college. Just want that skill which helpful to be entrepreneours. Innovative mind and talent is also very important factors than degrees.
By
priti inamdar, MBA Finance, student
| 01 05 2011 06:08:38 +0000
Entrepreneurship is the dynamic process of creating incremental wealth. The wealth is created by individuals who assume the major risks in terms of equity, time. For these qualities formal degree is not at all required. Who has the Zeal can do it.
By
Srinivas suravajhala, Asst. Manager.
| 01 05 2011 05:46:23 +0000
Hee hee, entrepreneurs are natural autodidacts, i.e. self learning as situaltion arises. The attribute most needed in entrepreneurship is common sense. As noted novelist Malcolm Gladwell, wrote in New Yorker magazine, that entrepreneurs seek and fill a 'structured hole' in the market.Such qualities are not taught by any degree. Though domain knowledge of field in which an entrepreneur is looking for opportunities is required, but such knowledge can be gained informally. Domain skills such as for programming, accounting, web design and so on can be better learned while doing real work, than at college.
By
Abhijit Anand Prabhudan, Admin/Facilities Manager, Ca*****
| 12 26 2010 13:59:04 +0000
The answer has to be No if one says whether entrepreneurs need a college degree. But they certainly need education irrespective of whether that education comes through a textbook or the book of life. If entrepreneurship is primarily about taking risks and being innovative, the ability for both of these would certainly be enhanced through education.
By
Azhar Kazmi, Professor, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals
| 12 25 2010 21:38:19 +0000
There are thousands and thousand of Entrepreneurs of the previous generation without a College degree,who have built business empires.having built a strong base they can afford to employ highly qualified personnel.Any right thinking person with capabilities with high levels of confidence would have started business instead of wasting 3 years in College.
By
s.baalu , Consultant, XYZ LTD
| 12 25 2010 06:17:44 +0000
I dont think college degree matter in life until a person is having a willing to do things different from others like Mr Bill Gate, Dirubhai Ambani and many others Legend who had made their mark in this world without any degree.
By
sumit chaurasia, CFA student, ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad
| 12 18 2010 14:37:19 +0000
No, bcoz I firmly believe that "The distance between the two points is always a straight line". When you have a broader vision, patience and perseverance and the skill to nurture it, you can always achieve great heights even without having formal education.
By
Sohan Shah, Business Analyst, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
| 12 18 2010 08:06:44 +0000
Who said Entrepreneurs are are not educated? What is the purpose of Education? Is it not Learning? If Learning is the objective of Education each and every Entrepreneur is Learning than any of us. FORMAL EDUCATION AND COLLEGE DEGREE MAY NOT EVEN TRANSFORM ONE INDIVIDUAL IN TO A LEARNED ONE. But all Entrepreneurs learn from their mistakes, many times from others mistakes, they are learned enough not to commit a mistake again. Observe the backgrounds of all successful business people in the world. It would reveal that all of them are "Continuas Learners". Formal education is required for any human being, which is an implied need. But A Degree is not a prerequisite to an Entrepreneur.
By
Raj Mahender, Project Management Consultant at freelance
| 12 18 2010 07:59:57 +0000
Idont think so..Entrepreneurship requires courage and ability to take calculated risks.It requires study and knowledge of the business. one can not gaurrentee that college degree develops all these qualities in the student.
By
Ravindra , Deasign Engineer, Geometric ltd
| 12 18 2010 07:56:00 +0000
"Not at all.Entrepreneurship can not b learned in a college..it is inherited in a human being..just need to take initiation and start...In college it is all theoretical..but the practicallity involved is too different..wat is learned in college may not stand true in real lyf..sometime bookish knowledge may also fail...Hence, entrepreneurs need not go to college"
By
Ankit Shah, Manager - Risk Advisory
| 12 18 2010 07:03:02 +0000
Not necessarily. Entrepreneurship is not learnt.It is ingrained in the blood.Some have it others don't.You may have great degrees but still lack the management caliber.All the courses that have been developed today have come into existence on real life case studies only.When we say its better to follow x way and not y thats because we have examples supporting the same.
By
Nisha Agarwal Agarwal, performance Management, Lanco
| 12 18 2010 06:35:15 +0000
This question reminds me of one of CK PRAHALAD's favorites - Is Globalization Good or Bad? Some in the audience would say it was good, some would say it was bad and then CK would deliver the master stroke - it is a bad question! When we pose a question, we must be careful not to force a binary answer. The basic premise in management is one of choices. Of course there are many successful entrepreneurs who did not go to college, leave alone getting a degree. These are the exceptions and they don't make the rule. For the vast majority though, formal education is necessary. Going back to CK, I would re-phrase the question: "How can we transform education (not degrees) to produce more entrepreneurs?" This would provide opportunities for a healthy debate since there can be many different approaches. Since you are forcing a binary answer, my submission is no. You need degrees only if you are looking for a government job. For most other initiatives, passion and a relentless drive are all that matter - not fanciful degrees.
By
B V Krishnamurthy, Chief Academic Advisor and Distinguished Professor, RIMS
| 12 17 2010 22:14:59 +0000
It is not required but it may help. For example, they are so many street vendors who are entrepreneurs without a degree. But I believe that entrepreneurs should have leadership skills, problem solving skills, etc.
By
Srinivasa Varrey, Sr Architect, Peak Technologies
| 12 17 2010 19:25:50 +0000
I do believe that an Entrepreneur do not require any degree, take for Instance no body teaches a New Born Fish to Swim. So, in the same way an Entrepreneur do not need any degree. But on the other hand an Education in the respective field would help him Polish his Thought Process.
By
Kashif Billal, Training & Induction Manager, H&M Hennes & Mauritz
| 12 17 2010 19:03:34 +0000
i do not think college degree is required but you have posted this question here and all people are graduate so whatever result you will get you can not relate with the exact situation.
By
Manmath Patil, Marketing executive
| 12 17 2010 15:11:08 +0000
May not be required. What degree shows is only possession of certain knowledge. Knowledge can be acquired from many other sources and not limited to colleges. But one needs an entrepreneurial skills to use/materialize the acquired skill/knowledge. These can be seen in few independents and largely in people those are having strong financial background. But additionally education/degree can sharpen one's overall performance, dynamically. Thanks Malika for invite.
By
Nilesh Jain, Project Manager, A Leading Media/Telecom Co.
| 12 17 2010 06:43:12 +0000
its not mandatory for an entrepreneur to have a college degree.. me, being one. am tellin u frm my personal experience. but a degree does assist u in makin it better and big. or else the struggle is more to make it a success.
By
JOY , R & D Engineer, Maruti Suzuki India Limited
| 12 17 2010 06:15:13 +0000
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