Getting A Better Education

Today I leave for classes on business management. I'm actually pretty excited about them because I love getting deeper into something.

I had a conversation on a plane last week with a fellow named Todd. (Hey, Todd, email me.) He and I discussed education and success principals. I've never had a college degree, but I'm constantly taking additional classes and in-depth training to achieve my goals. I read books, go to seminars, search on the internet, and take online classes on specific topics. I talk to people who are doing successfully what I want to do. He was the same way.

It seems that (except for some minimal degrees) college has become too much of a business and not a real opportunity for the education you really need to do what you were made to do. I see that in the classes my kids are required to take. Many of the classes have nothing to do with who and what they want to become. They are just busy with being busy and paying for what they don't need in order to get the coveted degree.

I am concerned about the direction our higher learning institutions have taken. Now I suggest to people to take a year or two off. Go get an entry level job in the field you are interested in pursuing. Find out if you really want to do that before you spend yourself into a debt you can no longer crawll out of before you die.

Depending on the field of course, you many never need a specific college degree. There is so much out there to train a person now that has nothing to do with college and everything to do with your dreams and goals.

Look around. Be creative. Discover your options before you are $50,000 or more in the hole. Go talk to people that do what you want to do. So many love to share and help others that are just starting out. Ask them what they'd do differently and what they thought worked. Find out what you need.

For instance, to become a flight attendant, you do NOT need to go to some generic airline school. You have to go through the training of the airline that hires you. The extra "airline" school is just wasted money and time. If you want to work for an airline, apply directly to the airline. Talk to people who fly, or work on the ramp, or are pilots-whatever you want to do. You'll be surprised at the many routes there are to your destination:-)

Is there anyone else out there that makes a good living and would like to suggest alternate training opportunities? Please share.

Angie

PS I'll be traveling this week. Bear with me as I hunt for good internet options so I can post. I plan to do a mini-series on Tosca Lee and her new book, Demon-A Memoir. I absolutely LOVE it!!! It's so intelligently written. Anyway if I have snafus, I'll be getting to that a.s.a.p. because you do not want to miss out! It's probably one of my favorites ever. (And no, it's not horror:-) The title alone makes a lot of sense once you read a short bit of the book.)