Who becomes self-employed?
Chad Moutray of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy examined that question by following the fates of the college class of 1993. Some of Moutray’s more intriguing findings:
- “The self-employed tend to have slightly lower grade point averages (GPAs) than their wage-and-salary peers.” The students with the best grades were more likely to seek work in the not-for-profit or government sector.
- Business and management majors were among the least likely to become self-employed. Â The most likely folks to go it alone: Social science and “other” majors.
- “Race, ethinicity and gender did not play a significant role in determining who would eventually become self-employed.”Â
Read the full report here. Â
(HT: National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship)
The first finding isn’t really surprising at all, but it is somewhat depressing if you were a mis-guided grade chaser. Those of us who were told (and shame on us for listening, but we were young and wanted to “do it right”) that grades mattered at all, chased them thinking they would serve us in the long run, when really, hanging out and making friends (developing social/communications skills) would have done us much better, sole-practitioner or corporate climber.
GPA is all about put your head down, assimilate, regurgitate. Follow the map. No one I know who works for themselves is like that at all!
I think it is the same reason why you see a lot of the most successful people coming out of the ‘C-student’ ranks as well. Those that have high marks and a strong educational background really don’t have to struggle(1) and fit the business world’s norms of who they should hire, so they get things handed to them, and tend to work for other people who want to make money off them.
On the other hand, if “the man” doesn’t want you, you have to struggle and find something that works for you on your own. The best option to define a role that fits your skill set is to be self-employed!
1. I know I am generalizing here, there are always exceptions… but were talking big number statistics here.
Other studies have also revealed that the smartest and most creative students generally do not “fit in” well to the school system that seeks a regurgitation of facts. If one is not aiming at becoming a scientist, mathematician, financier/accountant, or lawyer grad school only puts one in the “system”.
Any outside of the box thinker is making social relationships, probably working in some capacity or even has their own small company during college.
As an aside many CEO’s were not at the top of their class, nor did they attend the best schools. However, once past the academic regurgitation and please the professor stage, they excelled due to their creativity and ability to motivate and actually get a meaningful job done.
Maybe this is the best of all possible worlds in relation to educating business leaders and entrepreneurs, o perhaps more internships and encouragement to hands on learning and experience needs to be more valued. What if grades were based more on the application of information learned that on how much one recalled but could not apply?