Why a Library Card is more valuable than a College Degree, the Pros
I’m 26 years old now and I’m constantly looking back to my time in college thinking of how I would’ve done things differently. Reading things like this post show me how I really could’ve done things in a more practical, efficient way (I majored in Communications and Philosophy (I know, ouch)).
Back then I didn’t really like to read and I hated all things financial. I would make faces at my friends who majored in Economics or Business when they told me what they were reading about. Now I imagine they would make the same face if I told them my salary.
But anyway, things have changed since then: I love to read (fiction, PF books, business books, cook books, whatever) and I have absolutely submerged myself in all things business oriented. The way I’ve done it is by using my library card like the way your average American uses their Visa card on Black Friday, excessively.
Which I’m proud of.
So it got me thinking about how valuable that little card is to me today and how much I took for granted all the resources and people I had at my disposal while I went to college. I came up with some reasons why I feel my library card is more valuable today than my uber-expensive college degree (sorry dad, this is going to hurt you more than it hurts me (he paid for the degree, I paid for the library card)).
-I Was Young and Dumb: I was 17 when I went to college and I had no idea what I was doing. I picked a major that I thought was “interesting” (read: easy) instead of thinking further ahead into what I wanted my professional life to be like.
A lot of the things college offered me were beyond my grasp because I was just plain immature. It was too early for me to know how to take full advantage of all the tools at my disposal, so a lot of the value of college was lost on me. It’s one of the main reasons I think people should wait a year after high school to go to college. Trent at The Simple Dollar agrees.
Today, however, I am a much more self-reliant person. I have an entrepreneurial side that I didn’t have before. I am a self starter. This fits perfectly with the the whole concept of the library card: if I want to learn about something like investing or starting a business, I have all the books I would want at my disposal. Free of charge.
Instead of seeing the business world as “evil” and economics/finance as “boring,” I now see them for what they really are: tools that I can use to make my life better. This is the real world of paying bills and saving for a home, not keggers and skipping class. It’s the world of a responsible adult.
-It was a Party: College is and always will be a party. It’s one of the main positives of going, because you grow as a person and as a social being. But it’s also a distraction. You skip class to go party, you skip class because you partied too much, you skip class because—in the end—no one is going to punish you for it. Literally, you can get away with anything.
Partying is good, but not for four years. It’s too long. It’s good to get all the immature stuff out of the way (the phrase “sowing your oats” comes to mind), but taking four expensive years of your life to finally get it seems a bit steep to me. I think this could easily be done in one year, and it’s why I think traveling before college is a good idea. I went to Paris for a long time during college and it was the best thing I have done—it taught me about myself and what I wanted out of my future. I also made a ton of great friends. One year of intense living will always beat out four years of drawn out partying. And at a fraction of the cost.
-College doesn’t teach real-world skills. It’s the reason why the MBA and so many other advanced degrees are so popular. With some exceptions, what can you do with a simple college degree that others can’t? Most degrees involve a lot of on-the-job training that could’ve been taught in school but never were.
Advertising is a great example: they’ll teach you about theories and how to make a brochure, but they won’t cover the things you’ll actually be doing at an agency. It’s the reason why there are so many Portfolio Schools out there—kids still need to put together the most important part of resume: their portfolio. Why? The universities haven’t given them the tools they need to build them yet.
-It’s Cheaper: Should a college degree really cost a quarter of a million dollars? (look at that number: $250,000)
I don’t think it should. It puts most people into huge dept as they start out their lives and the last thing this country needs is more people starting out in the red.
A library card is free and opens up the doors to any world you can think of. Want to learn to arrange flowers? Ok. Karate? Fine. Start your own business? Now we’re talking.
I know it’s hard to think of these two tools in the same way. Some people don’t see a college diploma as a tool, they see it as a life experience, and I can’t disagree with that. But if we’re talking pure practicality, I can’t see how the library card (which is so under appreciated) doesn’t beat the pants off most college degrees.
I know a lot people look at arguments like this one—that essentially boil down to money—and scoff. Money isn’t everything, right? No, it’s not. But debt and the hardships that come with it are, and there isn’t anything fun about it.
Tomorrow I’ll take a look at the opposite side of the coin try to wreck the argument I’ve made here today. Why? Because this way I can’t lose.
In case you’re interested in drawing the line even further between using books to educate yourself, here is a neat website called The Personal MBA that tries to “teach” an MBA course via a series of books.
January 8th, 2008 at 1:32 am
excellent points.
but i’m still going to drown myself in debt with an MBA.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:46 am
[...] Yesterday I wrote about why the library card is so valuable and may even be more valuable than a college diploma. Is it really that ridiculous? I don’t think so, but—like any argument—it has some holes. Lets poke through some of them and see what we’re left with. [...]
January 8th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
I love my library card, but I wouldn’t sacrifice my 4 years of college. I think the major thing that I gained from my college experience was maturity. I could have learned it in the real world, but it’s easier to make mistakes and have them erased while in a protected college setting.
January 8th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Living Off: Pretty sure you can validate the debt when you’re planning to get an MBA. But then I am a big fan of school in general.
January 11th, 2008 at 7:43 am
[...] #3: ENTHUSIASM At The Writer’s Coin recently, there was a discussion of the value of a library card versus the value of a college [...]
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:01 am
Nice post!! I definitely agree that I was too young when I started college to fully take advantage of the opportunities around me. I was 18, but still young and slightly immature…although not into partying. I think if I had taken a year off though I would’ve just killed time (and accumulated more debt), so looking back I wouldn’t change what I did.
I wouldn’t go so far as *replacing* my college education with a library card (although it’d definitely be a frugal alternative!) but it IS a great resource that is ignored by many!
May 24th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
[...] #3: ENTHUSIASM At The Writer’s Coin recently, there was a discussion of the value of a library card versus the value of a college [...]
August 6th, 2008 at 5:06 am
[...] you could ever imagine, tons of DVDs, audio CDs, audio books, etc. I’ve written about how underappreciated the public library is before, but no one shouldn’t pass up these savings. Savings: [...]
October 27th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
[...] Amazon Kindle: Not sure how many people are in the market for this, but just in case you should take note that until November 1 you can get $50 off by simply entering this promo code: OPRAHWINFREY That takes the $359 Kindle down to $309. Not too bad either. I’m a big reader, and I still have not played with the Kindle, but I’m a ways off from getting something like this to replace my books. For now, I’m sticking with good ol’ fashioned paper books and my trusty library card. [...]
December 30th, 2008 at 10:05 am
I saw this post linked off a recent post on Get Rich Slowly (http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/12/30/in-defense-of-buying-books/#comment-161361).
I have to say, I find that there are advantages to both. I am an avid reader, have a library card, and typically borrow many dozens of books a year. I find that if I want to get a basic grounding in a topic, or if I want to explore something without spending too much money, the library is definitely the way to go.
That said, here are some counterarguments I’d like to present to your post:
- College doesn’t have to be that expensive. My four years of university education cost about $12,000 — total, not per year. Perhaps $15,000 once you include the price of books (most of which I still own.) It’s much more expensive than a library card, certainly, but hardly a quarter-million dollars.
- College gives you exposure to people in your field of interest. Simply put, there’s no substitute for talking with someone who’s been in the field for 20-30 years. I’ll probably get more out of a half-hour conversation with a professor (in office hours, say) as out of a half-dozen books. And, as you progress to the more advanced courses, the conversations you have with your fellow students are equally valuable.
- College gives you recognition and reputation. Let’s face it, in today’s society, that diploma counts for a lot in the eyes of employers. Yes, you might have read 30-50 books on a given topic. Yes, you might have done tons of research. But you’ll still need to prove yourself against someone who’s got a university degree. If you don’t have one, it’s a strike against you.
- College gives you structure. If you want to learn, say, chemistry, college will give you a well thought out path to get from point A to point B. It’s possible to replicate this structure with books, but (I find) more difficult.
Sorry for rambling, but I do feel strongly about this. College isn’t for everyone, but I think the counter-arguments to your post need to be heard.
December 30th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Great comments here, I just want to highlight that I also wrote a counter post that pretty much takes the opposite view. You can scope it right here.
February 12th, 2009 at 6:50 am
[...] up” for the money you spent on the device. Since I rarely buy books anymore (thanks public library!), it wouldn’t make sense for [...]