Educational Baggage and Life University

Yesterday I wrote about continual learning. Today I write about educational baggage.

While everyone knows startups are risky, many do not consider schooling to be as risky as it really is. The costs of higher education for many outweigh the benefits.

One particular example is Life University, one of the nation’s largest chiropractic schools located in Marietta. I have watched a dozen different friends work their way through the chiropractic program there. They are saddled with debt. Some approach $100k in debt over all the years of education and living expenses. They all experience career and wage opportunity costs, probably valued at more than $100k.

When they graduate, they realize that they have two choices:  1) work for another chiropractor at a low wage (and even then, only if they are lucky because there are few of those positions available), or 2) take on more debt to attempt opening their own chiropractic office. Yet, more chiropractic offices are not in demand in the US. There are too many already! New chiropractic offices fail all the time.

Imagine trying to do a startup in an over-served market and saddled with tons of debt unrelated to the expenses of the startup. Startups are hard enough as-is. No thank you!

I’ve written before about the types of graduate degree programs. Life University falls into the “professional degree programs without a capped supply” that I described. That is a dangerous category.

Yet, Life University and those of that ilk will continue to sell their education and make great profits. They pluck out the few anomaly success stories in their field and tout those as the norm.

Educational baggage can suck the blood from otherwise hungry and talented young people entering the workforce.

I love startups as an initial career option for young people. They are risky. They have opportunity costs. But they have a tremendous ability to propel the careers of those that dive in, either as a founder or as an early employee. I’m proud of how our team has that effect on our people. Getting a powerful entrepreneurial mindset helps!

What are your thoughts on educational baggage and career choices? What other examples can you share?