I saw this great story today about how a North Texas school district may start allowing teachers and staff to carry concealed weapons in the school when classes start later this month. The policy was devised to help prevent school shootings, and those who wish to carry will need to meet the following requirements:

• have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun,
• be authorized to carry by the district,
• receive training in crisis management and hostile situations, and
• use ammunition designed to minimize the risk of ricochet.

I think this is a fantastic idea, and it sounds as if the school district is giving it the careful thought and consideration that it deserves. Logically, anytime you tell law-abiding citizens that they can’t carry guns in a certain area, you increase the risk of an unchecked shooting spree in that area by someone who obviously has no regard for the law. As David Thweatt, the school district superintendent says:

“When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that’s when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can’t defend themselves? That’s like saying ’sic ‘em’ to a dog,”

I wish that more schools would allow law-abiding, well-trained, responsible teachers and staff to carry concealed weapons if they choose to. And on college campuses, those same rights should extend to students who meet the same criteria. I grew up in a family that uses firearms for hunting, self-defense, and recreational shooting. I also carried a gun daily while I was in the US Navy. If I could carry a concealed weapon legally here in San Francisco, I would. I’m 99% sure that I would never have to use it, but if I did, it would be because I was protecting my life or someone else’s. Alas, I am prevented by law from doing so, which makes no sense to me. Now the only people carrying concealed weapons in San Francisco are criminals. Excellent.

Am I crazy? Should we find another solution to mass shootings at schools and elsewhere? Post your thoughts in the comments.

One of my favorite blogs lately is The Simple Dollar by a guy named Trent Hamm. I was perusing my feed reader yesterday, and one of his latest posts caught my eye: Is College Really Necessary For All High School Graduates?

One of my favorite topics is major life decisions (education, marriage, career path, etc) and how they affect our lives for better or worse. I have found that many young adults often don’t give enough weight to the magnitude of these decisions, and end up facing consequences they didn’t expect because they made rash decisions. So I was intrigued to see what Trent had to say about college and the effect it has on people’s lives.

He starts off just the way I like: with data. He goes over the statistics about how many kids currently graduate high school (less than 70%) and how many kids eventually get a Bachelor’s degree (less than 38% of all kids, though 52% of high school grads will get a Bachelor’s degree). The article keeps up its momentum by then questioning the assumption that the other 62% of kids who don’t get a Bachelor’s are screwed, and offering some very valid career paths available to those kids, like trade schools, the military, entrepreneurship, etc.

So far so good. However, things take a wrong turn right about here. Trent says:

Shouldn’t a Good Parent Expect/Demand Their Child Attend College? This question troubled me for a long while, because I know from my own experience how beneficial college can be. You can learn critical thinking skills and also get the preparation you need for certain career paths. I spent six years earning two separate bachelors degrees and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

He then recounts how he went to school for something, spent six years working in that field in two jobs he enjoyed, but ended up doing something else after that. He then says:

The point is that college itself does not define the path that your life will follow…If you’re one of the lucky ones, you’ve already figured out your internal talents and passions and - even luckier - your parents have supported and fostered those talents and passions.

I would agree with that statement, but I have no idea how Trent makes the logical jump from that to his conclusion, which is that he’s not concerned with encouraging or expecting his kids to go to college. I’m guessing he makes the mistake a lot of people do, which is to say: “I went to school for X and it cost me Y in terms of dollars and time. And I’m doing Z with my life, not X. Therefore Y was a waste.” That’s such flawed logic, and it reflects a very narrow view of the benefits of college.

I didn’t go to college out of high school. I joined the Navy instead, which I hated for the majority of my time. After I got out, I headed back to school, now married, and wrapped up my Bachelors as quickly as possible. It was much harder than it would have been had I done it earlier in life, and a lot less fun too. But I don’t regret it for a second. And I’m going to get my MBA at some point, too. Here are some of my thoughts on the subject:

• College is not for everyone. It’s true. But I would guess that the number of kids who aren’t a fit for any college out there is only a couple percent. I think a lot of people who argue that they just aren’t cut out for school are using that as an excuse, or they haven’t looked hard enough to find a school that’s a good fit for them.
• Regardless, we should be encouraging MORE kids to go to college, not fewer. Do we really want to believe that the fact that 38% of our kids are going to college is a good thing?
• It’s absolutely true that many kids don’t have any idea what they want out of life when they’re 18, but college is the place where a lot of kids find out what it is they want to do. And of the alternatives Trent lists earlier in the post (military, trade school, etc), why are those valid options for kids who have no idea what they really want out of life?
• This is very subjective, but the majority of people that I know who didn’t go to college certainly didn’t do so because they wanted to join the military, attend a trade school, or start a business. They mainly did it because they either got married and had kids very young, or because they just never decided that’s what they were going to do, drifted around for a few years, and pretty soon life got in the way.
• If college isn’t really necessary for a lot of kids, why is high school necessary? If your 15-year-old decides he wants to drop out, will you let him? Why is high school the line that we draw?
• While there are still good opportunities for those without degrees, the data is exceedingly clear that having a degree is a huge boost to lifetime earning power. By not encouraging kids to go to college, they’re missing out on countless life-changing opportunities and millions of dollars over the course of their careers.
• Aside from financial benefits, college introduces kids to science, culture, art, critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and living on their own. For many of these kids, it’s a great transition into early adulthood. In fact, I would argue that the actual topics you study in college are less than half the benefit, judging by how few people work in the field they studied.
• Regardless of how you feel about college, the reality is that most good jobs require a degree just to get the person to take a look at the resume. Can you get by without one? Sure. But why set your kids up for life where they’re trying to get by without something they could have had? Why not set them up for success and stack the odds in their favor?
• While many (most?) people end up in fields that are different than their degree, the purpose of college isn’t to train you for one specific career field. The purpose of college is to teach you how to be an adult, how to think critically, how to effectively communicate, and how to adapt to different situations.
• Like it or not, there’s a strong correlation between family income levels and matriculation rates, which indicates to me that more affluent families tend to value education and strongly encourage their kids to go to school. Most of the parents I know who have more ambivalent attitudes about college didn’t attend college themselves, which I think is telling.
• I’m not advocating that the cost of college should be ignored. There are lots of great, affordable colleges in this country, and lots of ways to pay for it, including scholarships, part-time jobs, and employer tuition assistance programs. Even student debt, when utilized correctly, can be a great investment.
• Finally, my goal for my kids is to set them up with the best odds for reaching their future potential. How many paths in life are there where having a degree is going to have a negative impact on your ability to do that?

When we have kids, they’ll live with the expectation that they attend a good college after they graduate from high school. We won’t force them, and if they feel strongly enough about something else that they’re passionate about, they’ll be supported in following that path. But the onus is on them to make the argument for why they shouldn’t have to go to school. And if they don’t feel strongly enough about an alternative path to convince us, they’re off to college. They’ll thank us someday.

About a year ago, I started blogging in earnest about personal finance and investment, as well as the occasional post on personal development.  In April 2007, I started a series about investing for young adults, which took me a bit longer to complete than originally planned (6 months vs. 1 month).  During the process of writing that series, I got the idea for a site dedicated to helping young adults succeed, covering topics like personal finance, career development, etc.  I got so excited that I turned the project into a huge mountain of an idea and got discouraged.  I have since decided that I need to start somewhere, so I’m going to go ahead and just give it a try.  Hence, Bounteo.com is now live as a simple blog (for now).  I’ll be moving a lot of my personal finance and investing posts (including the series) over to Bounteo.  Please check it out or subscribe to the feed.  Also, I would love any suggestions on how to make the site better, post topics, etc.  Thanks!

PS - The name comes from the word “bounteous”, just in case you were wondering.

Here are my programs at this point, in descending order of preference:

Harvard Business School

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

…

There are many others that I admire, such as Chicago School of Business, Kellogg (Northwestern), Columbia School of Business, and Sloane (MIT), but I haven’t researched those to the degree that I feel comfortable ranking them. I expect to apply to 6 programs in the next 3-4 years, so I have some time to figure it out.

I love business and entrepreneurship. I love it so much that I can’t sleep sometimes because I just want to go out and DO something. One of the things I’d like to do is get my MBA. Now, I know that many lifelong entrepreneurs are no fan of the MBA, but for me, there are five primary benefits of an MBA from a great school, in order of ascending value to me:

5. The technical skills and training you receive

I would argue that this is the least valuable part of spending $250,000 for a top MBA program (including lost earnings while attending), as most of this knowledge is freely available to anyone, via books and so forth. Most of the case studies from Harvard Business School can be ordered online and delivered to your door. Additionally, this seems the thing that you are least likely to look back on as what enabled your career to flourish.

4. The credibility of a world-class education

It’s undeniable that certain schools have greater cachet than others. Merely having the right alma matter on your resume can open doors for you that would otherwise remain closed. I went to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs for my undergraduate degree, which was a great school where I learned alot but not exactly a prestigious school. You can argue that the system is broken, but I’d rather work with the system than against it. Additionally, the large and very influential alumni networks of some of the best MBA programs are an invaluable resource that can open many doors for you.

3. The improved earning power that you have upon completion

Historically, the top MBA programs produce graduates who earn more immediately after graduation and grow their earnings faster than MBA graduates from less prestigious programs. Surveys have shown that graduates from the top programs often make as much as 150% more than than their pre-MBA salaries. The top programs are more expensive, but in the long run, they have been shown to be a financially sound return on investment.

2. The connections and bonds that you form with your peers in the program

Students make friendships and bonds together that may last their lifetime. While many undergraduate students lose touch after college, MBA students are generally older, more mature, often married, and often enjoy a clearer direction in life than they did as undergraduates. As a result, MBA graduates often form long-lasting friendships and bonds that serve them well both personally and professionally. I know that getting an MBA will be a lot of very hard work, but I expect to have fun along the way with others who are sharing the experience with me.

1. The opportunity and experience of learning about what you love from some of the best in the world

This is it. This is one of the main reasons that I want to get my MBA. As I said at the start of this post, I love business and entrepreneurship. I have many heroes and mentors, and the best schools have the ability to pull those people in and have them share their experiences in a very intimate and personal setting. For example, Harvard Business School teaches cases that deal with real-entrepreneurs and leaders in business, such as Michael Dell, Warren Buffet, and Jeff Bezos. Often, these visionary leaders join the class via teleconference or even a live appearance to discuss the details of the situation they faced in the case study, and how they dealt with it in real life. Students are encouraged to ask questions and seek more detail.

At a program like Harvard’s, you have the opportunity to sit in a room with 90 other brilliant and eager young people who want to change the world, discuss a real-world problem that was faced by a real-world business leader, led by a professor who is probably one of the foremost academic experts in the world on the subject, and on top of that, that business leader may be sitting in your classroom and answering questions by students about the decisions they actually made and why.

How can you put a price tag on that?