RSM789 Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 ...being able to sell yourself...If a business degree will help that cause, and I think we're agreed that it will, then by all means go for it... It is been my experience that business degrees produce decent accountants, but don't help create good salespeople, managers or entrepreneurs. The latter 3 require more people skills and willingness to take risk, things that people are either born with or are learn best via experience. 1 Quote
Bruce424 Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 But if college is what you do. Just be prepared with paying back loans and some more loans. And maybe some more loans. Me personally, I think the sales and endorsements aspect of the sport can be learned elswhere. Hands on training. 1 Quote
Super User Choporoz Posted April 22, 2015 Super User Posted April 22, 2015 . Just fish, pro angler is not a reasonable goal, so you'll want a fall backin case that doesn't happen. Every time I open this thread, I keep thinking back to ^ I'm curious how many bass pros net more than the use median income...which is what, about 53K? I'd bet its a pretty short list. Quote
Super User Montanaro Posted April 22, 2015 Super User Posted April 22, 2015 Or work for oil/gas and make good money buy a boat and spend your 2 weeks off every month fishing until you start winning tournaments. Don't go to college if you think you have to. Go to college because you want to. 2 Quote
Super User Master Bait'r Posted April 22, 2015 Super User Posted April 22, 2015 No, you don't "need" college unless you specifically need to learn something, like an engineer, accountant or doctor, etc. Most of business school is complete BS anyways- and that's why the naturals will always rise above on their own IMO. It is always a good idea to invest in yourself if you have the grades and expendable income as well as the wherewithal/mentality to actually absorb it all... But to get yourself into ~$100k worth of debt because you think you might need it is a foolish thing. I see tons and tons of people who "thought they needed it" get absolutely bent over a barrel when they couldn't get a job in their field or worse hated it once they were living it- now they're struggling to make ends meet with a crap job when things didn't work out like the story book they wrote as a child said it would. I was "lucky" enough to graduate college juuuuuuuuuust as the economy collapsed. Thankfully just in time for me to lose just about everything, actually... So no. You don't need college. You can also take individual courses to increase your competency in finance or marketing fwiw. What you do need is go get all up in whatever it is you're trying to do- learn every d**n thing you can about how it actually works. Seriously, just go do it. If you find yourself at a level where you're seeing big holes in your game, then by all means pony up to a whiteboard again- but don't think it's a prerequisite by any stretch of the imagination. That's foolish talk. My honest advice is to just bite the bullet and dive in. Go be a pro. I mean, it, just start entering tourneys. If you get to a point where you are missing pieces, then go back and learn them specifically, and maybe even a-la-carte if you can. DO NOT OVER-INVEST IN THE OVERPRICED HIGH SCHOOL SCENE THAT IS COLLEGE UNLESS YOU HAVE A VERY SPECIFIC PLAN OR YOU'RE WASTING YOUR TIME AND MONEY. You'll be doing yourself a huge favor if you do the figuring first and the learning afterwards than if you were to do it the other way around. 4 Quote
thomas15 Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 I think we are all dancing on this pinhead referred to as the etreme luck required to become a professional angler. If you listen to those who have made it to the top, especally those who are young, when they speak or when they write it is as if they are intelligent and polished individuals. Still, I know an individual who is a serious compedative pistol shooter who has sponsorships, one of those is a very large and well known pistol maker. However this person does not make enough money to live on by shooting alone. So I would say if you want to get sponsors that's one thing but to make enough money to survive is something else all together. I seriously doubt that some of the well sought after sponsors will have anyone making public appearences on their behalf it you talk like Bubba. Sorry if that offends but that is how I feel about it. Having said that, sport fishing as we know it is primarily a consumer driven recreational industry. The world will not come to an end if the season were to be cancelled. While I appreciate the chance takers attitude, it is wise to have a viable back up plan. If you love fishing so much, it would probably make better sense to invest the 10s of 1000s of dollars a college education will cost into a bait and tackle store. Or buy a commercial grade boat and become a tour guide. That would keep you close to the industry without having to expect a ton of luck to come your way. 1 Quote
Super User Sam Posted April 22, 2015 Super User Posted April 22, 2015 BassMaster17, going to college is not for everyone. We need good blue color workers who know plumbing, welding, car mechanics, engine mechanics, painting, the building trades, lawn work, tree removal, and so many other careers that a trade school or OTJ training is best. For those who want to go to college and try for a career in accounting, medicine, engineering, law, insurance, management, banking, etc., then it is best they go to college. I have a number of guys I know who graduated from college and are in the building trades and love it. Others I know dropped out of college and are in the computer industry and are doing great. I know some people who never have set foot on a college campus other than for a football game and are very successful in their businesses or working at a high level for others. All college is is a filter to separate out those who want to have a formal education and to allow companies to set hiring SOPs. Companies use the need for college degrees to limit the number of individuals applying for jobs. Otherwise they would be inundated with thousands of resumes for one position. With a formal education there is no guarantee of success once you get into the real world. My wife worked at the IRS with a bunch of losers who not only attended and graduated college but had their CPA designations. Which leads me to the subject of your personality. A good personality can get move you up the ladder of success. A sour attitude, no matter how many Ph.D.'s you have will not help you. On the money side, a college education can be worth around $1,000,000 in income over your lifetime, if not more. So yes, college opens more doors and gets you through the hiring filter. But there are no guarantees in life with or without a college degree. 3 Quote
curtis9 Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 Going to college to learn skills to be a pro fisherman is a horrible idea. Either jump all the way into fishing or go to college to find a career you can make enough money and have a flexible enough schedule to afford to fish. Quote
Choosylobster Posted April 23, 2015 Posted April 23, 2015 College will make you a well rounded person, but it won't make you a great fisherman. College is something that you really want to do, it's not for everyone. The decision of going to college has to come from you and not your parents. I seen a lot of people force into college or a university and then they end up dropping out. Quote
RSM789 Posted April 23, 2015 Posted April 23, 2015 ...On the money side, a college education can be worth around $1,000,000 in income over your lifetime, if not more... While statistically true, that statement can be misleading if one infers that going to college is the reason for the additional income. The reason why college goers statistically make more money than non-college goers is based the ambition level and drive of the person, not the education. Typically, those with high ambition levels go to college and it is those ambition levels that lead to increased income over their lifetime. If education in & of itself was the reason for additional wealth, then how would one explain the monetary success of that college dropout, Bill Gates. 2 Quote
Super User flyfisher Posted April 23, 2015 Super User Posted April 23, 2015 While statistically true, that statement can be misleading if one infers that going to college is the reason for the additional income. The reason why college goers statistically make more money than non-college goers is based the ambition level and drive of the person, not the education. Typically, those with high ambition levels go to college and it is those ambition levels that lead to increased income over their lifetime. If education in & of itself was the reason for additional wealth, then how would one explain the monetary success of that college dropout, Bill Gates. Exceptions do not make the rule as you are implying. For every Bill Gates there are probably 50 other successful CEOs who went to college and most likely post graduate school too. When i worked at a large bank there was not one VP i knew, in this company that was about 6 levels from the top and probably 25 from the bottom, that did not have at least a Master's degree. You can definitely get into a company at a basic position and work your way up but having a degree generally starts you way higher up the ladder. I was 6 credits shy of my Bachelor's degree when i started at the bank and worked my way up and on the way finished my degree. I got promoted about 5 times in that stretch only to be at the level that many recent graduates started at, this alone increases earning potential over a lifetime as i was making more than double what i started at. Education has a direct correlation to income and it has been proven year after year. And trust me, i have known plenty of college graduates that have zero ambition and/or drive but they make good money because they are educated and are in a career that pays well and would not be accessible without a degree. 1 Quote
Super User gulfcaptain Posted April 23, 2015 Super User Posted April 23, 2015 Or work for oil/gas and make good money buy a boat and spend your 2 weeks off every month fishing until you start winning tournaments. Don't go to college if you think you have to. Go to college because you want to. Yeah, I'm in that field. Wish it was a bit more consistant as right now it sucks. Nothing like a 25% pay cut, but beats unemployment. But even I am looking to expand my options and make myself more marketable by upgrading my Coast Guard License incase the oil/gas doesn't recover a bit this summer. You could always go with Lottery tickets, if you hit the jackpot.....become a pro. If not, well you can make a collage out of those tickets to remind yourself that school's probably a good idea. And no, I didn't go to college, but I decided to go "all in" in a profession of working as a Merchant Mariner. But still requires schooling to achieve higher pay and advancement. 1 Quote
Super User F14A-B Posted April 23, 2015 Super User Posted April 23, 2015 Blue collar work is a great career choice, but , it can have serious implications on your health/body Just sayin... Quote
SDbassin Posted April 23, 2015 Posted April 23, 2015 yes, once you have a degree, a world of options open up to you. If fishing for a living doesn't work out, there are still other good options to make a good living with a degree. Quote
basshole8190 Posted April 23, 2015 Posted April 23, 2015 You only go to collage if you wanna get sponsered Quote
RSM789 Posted April 23, 2015 Posted April 23, 2015 Education has a direct correlation to income and it has been proven year after year... And trust me, i have known plenty of college graduates that have zero ambition and/or drive but they make good money because they are educated and are in a career that pays well and would not be accessible without a degree. With all due respect, that is incorrect. It is not the education that contributes to the the income level (in business at least), it is performance. Unlike teaching, in business you do not get paid more just because you have a degree. You get paid more because you are worth more and you are worth more in most cases because you you add more to the bottom line. Yes there are exceptions of nepotism & crony capitalism, but those companies typically end up folding due to incompetent people at the helm. Those who have the ambition & drive to perform are also the kids tend to be the kids who go to college. They will be successful & make money with or without a degree. If you do indeed know "plenty" of college graduates with zero ambition who make good money only because they are educated, then you also know a bunch of business owners who aren't any good at hiring. How in the world could a company be successful & stay in business if they paid good money to educated dead wood? You may know plenty of college graduates, but I know plenty of successful business owners & they, like myself, don't pay high salaries to people based on their degree. I'm not saying the people in our companies who are highly paid aren't college graduates, rather that the REASON they are highly paid has nothing to do with being a college graduate. It all has to do with performance. The day you start paying people better money for any other reason is day one of the end of your company. To say that education is the causal factor in higher pay is akin to saying that being a B.A.S.S. member is the reason why Elite anglers are such good fishermen. Just because all Elite anglers happen to be B.A.S.S. members does not make that membership the reason for their success. Quote
Super User Catt Posted April 23, 2015 Super User Posted April 23, 2015 Blue collar work is a great career choice, but , it can have serious implications on your health/body Just sayin... Waking up in the morning can have serious implications on your health/body! Just saying Quote
Super User flyfisher Posted April 23, 2015 Super User Posted April 23, 2015 With all due respect, that is incorrect. It is not the education that contributes to the the income level (in business at least), it is performance. Unlike teaching, in business you do not get paid more just because you have a degree. You get paid more because you are worth more and you are worth more in most cases because you you add more to the bottom line. Yes there are exceptions of nepotism & crony capitalism, but those companies typically end up folding due to incompetent people at the helm. Those who have the ambition & drive to perform are also the kids tend to be the kids who go to college. They will be successful & make money with or without a degree. If you do indeed know "plenty" of college graduates with zero ambition who make good money only because they are educated, then you also know a bunch of business owners who aren't any good at hiring. How in the world could a company be successful & stay in business if they paid good money to educated dead wood? You may know plenty of college graduates, but I know plenty of successful business owners & they, like myself, don't pay high salaries to people based on their degree. I'm not saying the people in our companies who are highly paid aren't college graduates, rather that the REASON they are highly paid has nothing to do with being a college graduate. It all has to do with performance. The day you start paying people better money for any other reason is day one of the end of your company. To say that education is the causal factor in higher pay is akin to saying that being a B.A.S.S. member is the reason why Elite anglers are such good fishermen. Just because all Elite anglers happen to be B.A.S.S. members does not make that membership the reason for their success. The big difference is you are equating a college education with being a hard worker. There are plenty of people who do not strive to be the next VP or CEO of a company and are content in the roles that they have wherever they are working. That doesn't mean they are not hard workers, because they are but they are not the ones who are pushing hard to improve. I do agree that performance is how you will be paid highly and experience goes in with that as well, the diploma isn't the end all be all but rather a starting point to help weed out some employees. A college degree helps to build experience and critical thinking skills and exposure to areas outside your norm that takes much longer to get just by experience. Working harder isn't always the answer but 99% of the time working smarter is. Remember, it is the base of the pyramid that allows it to be taller, not the people climbing the steps to the top. Don't want to derail the topic any further so i will bow out. Quote
Super User J Francho Posted April 23, 2015 Super User Posted April 23, 2015 I wonder who went to college in this thread? Some of the speelign is horribal 5 Quote
Dogmatic Posted April 23, 2015 Posted April 23, 2015 I always wondered why anyone would want to become a professional fisherman any way? The last thing I would want is to have to "make a living" off of fishing, turning the whole experience into work, and the pressures that entails, is counter-intuitive to the reason why, personally, I fish. So,in short, if you have the opportunity, and good fortune...go to college(but work on your spelling first, the spelling-grammar Nazis will get you.). 1 Quote
Super User J Francho Posted April 23, 2015 Super User Posted April 23, 2015 Monday morning, the alarm goes off at 4am, and you say, "awe man I've got to go fishing. Again!" Yeah, right. 4 Quote
Global Moderator Mike L Posted April 23, 2015 Global Moderator Posted April 23, 2015 There's an old Sicilian saying that my factory worker Dad used to say.... "If all the kids in the world went to collage, who's gonna clean the fish" (God, I miss that man) Mike Quote
Super User SirSnookalot Posted April 23, 2015 Super User Posted April 23, 2015 Quite often work ethic as well as the career path stems from home life, as the saying goes an acorn doesn't fall from the tree. I know many people that became doctors, lawyers or cpas because it's in the family, same goes for sales or people that go into business. Of course there are many exceptions, that said I'll forgo my career as it has nothing to do with question of needing college to become a pro fisherman. I would not suggest this degree or that degree, nor a career. I would suggest that it be discussed with parents and school counselor. All one has to do is fish to be a pro, if successful the accolades, endorsements, sponsors. etc. will come. It does help to have a camera friendly face and communicate well, but it isn't mandatory. A pro wins a tournament, the sponsors advertise the fact a certain lure was used, the next day a bunch of gullible amateurs start feeding the bait monkey. Has the pro really marketed that lure? There have numerous mentions for the need of startup capital, that can be said for just about any business. I may add just like a fisherman a business needs time to grow before it's profitable. 2 Quote
Dogmatic Posted April 23, 2015 Posted April 23, 2015 Monday morning, the alarm goes off at 4am, and you say, "awe man I've got to go fishing. Again!" Yeah, right. "Crap! I had a tough day on the water, I didn't place in the money at that tourney and my mortgage payment is due!" Yeah, right! Quote
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