<p>I realized that a university degree in itself is not useful for getting rich. Attending university is only good for the connections. That is the key to wealth.</p>
<p>Being a total bookworm is the worst thing one can do at a university. Socializing and forming connections is far more important. </p>
<p>Is this true?</p>
<p>I disagree. While connections are important, you are only an undergraduate. Any connections you form will likely be with fellow undergrads and professors, and perhaps the occasional employer through internships. You should not count on one of them landing you a job after graduation. You still need high grades and work hard to do that, especially if going for a grad degree such as an MBA. </p>
<p>Many companies do look at your grades after graduation and is one portion of your resume that can differentiate you from other applicants. Some even have GPA cutoffs (such as below a 3.2 for example)</p>
<p>It also varies greatly on the type of major you are referring to. A CS major in Silicon Valley might find it helpful to have other programmers with him or her to form a start up company, while it might not be as useful to a biology major or a history major.</p>
<p>Grades are not the epitome of college or life, but I think it would be foolish to dismiss them completely. It is that completed degree that will be valuable in employers’ eyes and will be a “safer” bet than relying on potential connections even if you didn’t do that well in college. Most people who become rich (not that it should be the ultimate goal in life anyway) worked their way up and did not rely on family connections or otherwise</p>
<p>@shawnspencer,</p>
<p>I know someone that simply married into wealth. That is very hard to do without good connections at a university. </p>
<p>For example, working at an auto shop isn’t going to help with dating the well connected. </p>
<p>Not saying grades don’t matter, they do. But tuition is expensive. A regular income from a regular white collar job simply doesn’t justify school anymore. It needs to be higher. And only though connections can this be obtained. </p>
<p>There is nothing dishonorable about using connections. It is a logical way of approaching the issue. “Rely” or not. </p>
<p>For example, working at an auto shop isn’t going to help with dating the well connected.</p>
<p>They work on their cars themselves?</p>
<p>" Attending university is only good for the connections. That is the key to wealth."
-Not really, disagree, have completely opposite experience… However, it depends what you call “wealthy”
I do not have idea how to obtain $50 mlns quickly and without a hard work but just using connections, if that is an idea of “wealth”. However, living comfortably, paying for kids colleges , Grad. schools, having no debt, I mean “average” type of middle class living, for this type you do not need connections, but you must be a very self-reliant person. You do not need to possess even $10 mlns for this but somewhere close to $1 mln is desirable. I do not call family with $1 mln rich though and one definitely need no connections to have it, but college degree will help greatly for this middle of the road, reasonable goal.</p>
<p>@FrancisBacon making a connection may assist you in getting a job but that connection can’t “do” your job for you. So you use a connection to get a desirable job, which is a perfectly acceptable thing to do, and then what? If you cannot perform in that job then I think your future earning potential does not look so bright. </p>
<p>@ MiamiDAP
Without connections, it is almost completely impossible to obtain 50 million. Everyone can work hard, but without connections, it’s useless.</p>
<p>Hey, it can’t hurt to aim high. The higher one aims, the higher they land in case they miss.</p>
<p>@ HarvestMoon1
Of course it won’t do your job for you. That is but a fixed factor. However, obtaining the connections in the first place is the important part, because without it, there is no chance at being a multi millionare. </p>
<p>Oh, and with connections, one can get more than just a job. One can obtain capital to start a business. Wealthy business partners etc. </p>
<p>A degree by itself can only get you a job. Connections can get you an empire. </p>
<p>So there are 2 identical positions available at a start up in Silicone Valley. You get your job through your old roommate from college who knows the person doing the hiring. The second job is filled simply through an application/interview process or through a “headhunter” and that person knows no one at the company. How are your chances increased of ultimately being more successful financially than applicant #2?</p>
<p>I make a lot of connections through my volunteering in the community.
The wealthy have a lot of free time and they often like to give back.</p>
<p>HarvestMoon1</p>
<p>Of course, in that case, sure, the end result depends on skill. Well, the connection is a way of getting in easier. The application process has more hurdles and less chances of making it through.</p>
<p>Probability wise, it’s better to go via the connection path. This is because it is possible that one is capable of being successful on the job, yet cannot make it through the regular way. </p>
<p>Let me ask you this, how is one supposed to start a multi million dollar business without connections?</p>
<p>It can be very challenging to raise capital until you have a team established and a company that has a product. Many people seek the assistance of a venture capitalist to raise $ to fund a start up. </p>
<p>Well, really, anybody who is trying to make connections should just go about the business of making friends. Also, volunteer work is excellent.</p>
<p>My daughter made a nice network at work and school through work and school, though we certainly could have assisted her with our own. </p>
<p>Get an etiquette book and read it and practice it. be the type to make invitations and reciprocate. Write thank you notes. Get a reputation for being slightly old school manners-wise. Dress well. Get good grades. Ask people how they are and what they are up to and actually listen to what they have to say. </p>
<p>When my oldest was first making more experienced older contacts at work, she kept little notes in a book about people, things they were interested in, etc… These are old tricks, very old school things. </p>
<p>You will never make “connections” in life unless you are interested in them. As for starting a multi b/million dollar business? You probably won’t do that without great ideas and collaboration with others anyway. </p>
<p>Most in college aren’t looking to get wealthy. They’re looking to get/stay middle class. So for that end a college degree is useful. Having a 9 figure net worth doesn’t do you much good over a low 7 figure net worth honestly, the pursuit of large wealth isn’t that useful of a pursuit. </p>
<p>I am in my job #9. About 1/3 of my jobs (estimated about 6 or so) I have obtained from the ad in the local newspaper. It includes the first job right after CC and the last one which is the best of them all and my opinion is valid since I have a wide range of comparison. Nope, they did not make $50 mlns for me, nope, I could not go to no Silicon Valley (and I would not go even if I could). I had no connections though, but after several jobs, of course, when you step into practically any place, somebody would know you there from one of the previous jobs and can give you recommendation in person. I am an IT proffessional, not in any management position. My H. is an engineer who has a totally different story. He stayed on the same job for over 3 decades. He also originally obtained this job from the ad in the local newspaper, no connection. Many engineers in our city know him. But it does not matter, he decided to stay at the same place.<br>
We live in conomically depressed region, always been this way. Living in such a place is much easier and much more comfortable, since it is not crowded. We would never take jobs in NYC or LA even for mil for each. We have no desire to live in places like this. We are very familiar with the life style in places like NYC, one of our kids is there, raising his own family. It is tough, rough, not attractive to us.
Maybe connections will make a diff. in Silicon Valley, NYC, etc. However, in places like our city, only self-relience can sustain you and nothing else and we have to forget about $50 mlns, living comfy is just fine with us. BTW, our house which is very average for our standards, would be in some mlns at some other regions, where everything else is also much much more expensive. So, while we do not possess several mils, I feel that we are living just like others who do but live in expensive regions of the country.</p>
<p>Networks definitely are helpful, but you still have to deliver the goods. Look, the key thing to keep in mind is that everyone is looking out for themselves. So if you’re smart, dedicated, and have a reputation for doing good work, your friends will want to pull you in to their startup. If you just drink and party, probably not so much.</p>
<p>DH is a successful businessman who depends on connections to find and close deals. He didn’t start making those connections until he got into the workforce. He couldn’t have gotten his first job without that degree, so…</p>
<p>His college connections were all in the same boat, so while those were good for having someone to go party with on the weekends, it sure didn’t put opportunities in his way.</p>
<p>I am going to treat this as a serious question, although I’m not sure it is. Yes, you are correct that being well-connected can be extraordinarily important in becoming wealthy. But the way you phrased the question suggests that you don’t understand the meaning of a valuable connection. </p>
<p>In the context of achieving financial success, a valuable connection is generally someone who one day will be in a position to be a client, a referral source for clients, an investor, and (perhaps less important) a potential employer. Or, it is someone who is, or will become, extremely influential and who views you as a valuable source of information or a trusted advisor. It is very likely that at least some of your classmates will someday achieve a position where they can be a potential client, referral source, investor, or person of influence. I actually agree with an unstated assumption in your post: One of the advantages of going to a very elite school it is likely that a greater proportion of your classmates will someday have the ability to play such a role. </p>
<p>But merely meeting these people, or hanging out with them, is not enough to make them a potential “connection” in the sense you are talking about. They are only “connections” if, for some reason, they are inclined to look to you in times of need for your advice, judgment, skills, and counsel. </p>
<p>How do you get to be in such a position – that is, someone in the role of a trusted advisor? You need to know a lot of people and be likable, that’s definitely true. But even more important, you need to have an absolutely stellar reputation for trustworthiness, reliability, impeccable judgment, practical intelligence and professional skill. </p>
<p>You start building this reputation from the moment you meet someone. Doing well in your classes is probably the easiest way to start building this reputation. And NEVER lying, NEVER flaking out on a commitment, and NEVER backstabbing other people is absolutely critical. You’d be surprised how valuable a reputation for impeccable credibility is. In a word, you need to have a reputation for having the utmost integrity, combined with the highest degree of professional skill. Being good at beer pong – not so important.</p>
<p>Think about it. Let’s say you become a lawyer and you want to be wealthy. You need to be a “rainmaker,” meaning you need to bring in clients. Let’s say you are now 45 years old, and a bunch of your classmates from Harvard are in a position to hire a lawyer. It may be because the company they are working for has a very significant problem. Or their buddy at another company has a significant problem and they want to enhance their own reputation in the eyes of the buddy by providing a top notch referral.</p>
<p>You want to be the “connection” they rely on? You better have demonstrated consistently throughout your relationship that you have the innate intelligence and absolutely stellar judgment necessary to make them want to entrust their most difficult problems to you. Or to gamble their own reputation on referring you. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, from the very little I know about you, which is the single post which starts this thread, I don’t think you are doing very well at making the right kinds of “connections.” There are many, many students who post on this forum who come across as mature, thoughtful, intelligent and resourceful. They sound honest, trustworthy, and reliable. They have, over time, built a fine reputation in this limited realm. Your post, I’m sorry to say, has an air of immaturity about it. I’m saying this not to be harsh but to give you concrete feedback about your attempt to make connections, which I’m choosing to believe you truly want to do. </p>
<p>Love this letter from the founder of Questbridge:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/for-students/introduction-letter”>http://www.questbridge.org/for-students/introduction-letter</a></p>
<p>My husband established his connections by seeking out and finding mentors in his company who were movers and shakers, but hard workers with integrity who were impressed by young employees who possessed those same qualities. I think some of them saw their younger selves in my husband and were impressed by his incredible work ethic and integrity. There were many young men hired at this company who had come from well known families in Dallas. I’m sure a favor or two were called in to get them in the door at this company. I worked there as the receptionist for a year, which is how I met DH. What I observed was those people who had successfully used their connections (usually their parents’ friends, not college friends) to get that job just never went anywhere with it (with the exception of one, who had a burning ambition to succeed on his own merits, and did). Those were the guys with the little miniature putting greens in their offices who would practice their puts for hours on end, and the ones who took long lunches with the secretaries. I was very happy to be the recipient of these free long lunches, but I couldn’t figure out what these “connected” employees were bringing to the company. DH was rarely around because he was so busy working to find and make deals. The senior mentors saw this and began to give him referrals and would propose various joint ventures with DH’s clients. These mentors taught DH a great deal, would send him leads, and advise him on strategy. </p>
<p>Yes, sometimes it’s not what you know but who you know. Other times, it’s what you know helps you to impress the right people to know.</p>
<p>DH did NOT go to an elite or prestigious university, but he has intelligence, drive, a great ability to communicate, a wonderful personality, integrity, and the wisdom to seek out the people who can someday be “the connection.” </p>
<p>In essence, OP, I think you’ve got it wrong.</p>
<p>@ nottelling </p>
<p>It seems there is only an air of immaturity about my post due to the fact that I am extremely concise, leaving many dots for others to connect. </p>
<p>However, it is very serious as I strongly suspect that forming great connections is the single fastest/practical way to be rich.</p>
<p>There is a case where one doesn’t have to be completely precise as you state. </p>
<p>I know of someone that simply married into extraordinary wealth. His grades were average at his university. He was not precocious at his field of study. </p>
<p>In fact, going to a top university solely for the purpose of marrying into wealth is well worth the investment, assuming the person has attractive characteristics. </p>
<p>I do agree with you that for business connections, yes, one does need to show competency. </p>