And thus began my education

A lot of parents are going to be mad at me for saying this but someone needs to say it. So here goes: not every kid should go to a four year college. My rule of thumb would be if you have to borrow money to attend a university DON'T DO IT! I know a lot of millenials who are currently in debt $200,000 for their college degrees, who are now bartenders or telemarketers and living at home. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you don't need an education to be successful, all I'm saying is there are plenty of other places to get a cheaper and better education than in the ivy-covered halls of a name brand university.

We have placed far too much emphasis on college degrees and not near enough on education and hard work. Many young men and women who have no idea what they want to be when they grow up would be better off attending a trade school, junior college or joining the military and letting the government help pay for their education. I know many prosperous entrepreneurs who never set foot in a college class.

I’d like to tell you about four young brothers I’m close to. My young friend Eric worked in a pump shop during high school and went to work for Exxon straight out of high school. He worked offshore as a mechanic on the west coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. The company loves him and he loves the company. He’s got a job for life making more money per year than I ever did.

One of Eric’s younger twin brothers was a little lost after high school and I remember a discussion we had in which I urged him to join the military. This made his wonderful mother mad at me but now that he’s a Marine in charge of 30 other Marines and doing extremely well, you’ve never seen a prouder mother. College was the right path for the other twin who graduated with a petroleum engineering degree from the University of Wyoming and he too is doing extremely well. A fourth brother is following in his father’s giant footsteps.

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