Should You Get a Business Degree?

So, you want to start your own business. Should you get a business degree? I think the answer to that question is generally that it depends. It depends on your financial circumstances and it depends largely on what is available to you locally. It also depends on what you plan to do with your degree once you obtain one.

The costs of obtaining a college degree have risen through the roof over the last couple decades. What used to be a slight financial burden for most people has become a huge cash (or more likely loan) outlay of money. Where your college degree cost used to be inline with the cost of purchasing a new vehicle, many people now graduate from college with loans equal to their home mortgage. This kind of debt can tax your financial resources for many, many years to come.

It isn't only physicians and lawyers anymore with six-digit student loan amounts, there are now many college graduates with debt in that range as well. While the salary of a physician or lawyer allows them to pay back their high amount of loans, the average college graduate today does not make a living anywhere near that level. Having a degree is nice, and can help you land a good job, but can it help land you a job which will pay back your student loans and still allow you to live the lifestyle you want? This is a large consideration. What is the point of getting a degree if you are simply going into debt and that degree is not going to significantly help you dig back out?

Another consideration is where you currently live and what resources are available to you in your local area. Is there a good community college or university near you? If you decide to pursue a business degree will you have to move? Will you have to rent an apartment just while you are in school and then move again? Will you be able to use your degree to find a job in the area where you want to live or grow a business? In other words, if you leave a rural environment and get a degree with the idea you plan on moving back to the rural area to start your business; can that rural area support your business and make you enough money to pay back what it cost you to earn your degree?

Probably the biggest consideration is what you plan to do with your degree once you obtain it. Is your degree a requirement for the position you want or the business you wish to build? If you want to be a lawyer then yes, you will need a degree and it will pay off for you. If you want to build an art gallery, is that degree in Art History really going to move you farther along to attaining your goals?

Student loan debt is at an all time high in the U.S. today. It is my belief that college degrees are important if you are going into a position where one is required. If you are not, then you need to consider many factors in trying to decide if getting a degree is right for you or not.