I was doing keyword research on Ahrefs the other day and I was surprised to find that folks were asking how much education is required to become an entrepreneur.
So I asked our fellow indie hackers what levels of formal education they'd pursued and did a little digging outside of IH as well. I'll get into the results below. And in case it's helpful, I'll list a bunch of free courses and resources recommended by founders. Because these days, educating yourself is easy, and it doesn't have to break the bank.
So let's nip this right in the bud. Do entrepreneurs need college?
Short answer: No.
Long answer: Also no.
You do not need permission from anyone to go out on your own and build. You do not need a certificate on your wall. And you do not need to know everything there is to know before you get started — that's not how it works.
Honestly, one of the greatest "aha" moments that I've had in my adult life is that the people we look up to are making it up as they go, just like the rest of us. They may be "experts" now, but they weren't when they started. And even the experts are still trying to figure things out.
So no, you don't need a degree.
A quick look at some stats to drive it home.
According to one study only 12% of founders have business degrees. And another study showed that 30% of entrepreneurs graduated high school but did not get a college degree.
A survey conducted by CNBC showed a pretty even spread across different education levels in entrepreneurs. They found that 5% did not complete high school, 20% had a high school diploma or G.E.D, 14% had an associate's degree, 17% had some college, 26% were college graduates, and 18% had a postgraduate degree.
If you crunch the numbers on that survey, you'll see that most entrepreneurs do not have a four-year degree.
Here on IH, the results weren't quite so evenly spread. Like I said above, I conducted a poll to see what level of education indie hackers have. Here are the results:
As you can see, most of those who took the poll did pursue some sort of higher education. But there are still plenty of folks making it work without any college at all.
On that same poll, I got a couple of comments on either side of the argument that I thought were interesting.
@jdiprete didn't say you need a degree, but he was definitely grateful for his college experience:
"One of the things I have found most helpful was the network I got from going to college. This network has been key for everything from my first job to starting my first company, and in my opinion, I don't think I could have formed as strong of a network without college. I also was able to discover what subjects I liked and what I was good at in college... From an educational standpoint, I found it helpful to have classmates to work on problem sets with, professors and TAs to ask questions to and learn from, and a structured class schedule to learn the foundations of CS."
And @rionmartin implied that the era of higher education is ending:
"You don't need a degree to be an entrepreneur. You don't need a degree for many of the jobs asking for one. It's a social norm. One that is shifting."
I personally studied both entrepreneurship and business management. While I'm sure I draw on some aspects of my management education sometimes, I don't feel like I got a whole lot out of it. As for my entrepreneurship major, it wasn't as practical as I would have liked, but it did shift my whole perspective on things — I realized that starting my own business was a real possibility. So in the end, it was worth it for me, but maybe not for the usual reasons.
So what are the education requirements for founders? There are none. But of course, you'll need to educate yourself on the industry in which you plan to build a business. And as you build, you should be continually learning about the things you need to do next, like validation, launching, marketing, and so on.
In my opinion, that's the way of the indie hacker — learn as you go, experiment, make mistakes, and keep going.
If you want to pursue higher education, it seems to me that computer science would be a safe bet, assuming that you want to build digital products. But I wasn't a CS major, so I would love to hear what others have to say on the topic. Definitely take a few business classes, like Digital Marketing. And dive into whatever industry you eventually want to build a business in.
If we're being real, the only true step is to sell something (and then do it again). Here's a checklist that might help you find your way through the launch of your first product.
For those who want to learn on their own, here are some free courses for beginners that might help.
Additionally, lots of universities are offering free online courses these days. Check out Harvard's free courses ranging from "Intro to Computer Science" to "Technology Entrepreneurship: Lab to Market". And here's a curated list of the best free entrepreneurial courses offered by universities, from "Accounting 101" to MIT's "Customer Targeting". EdX is also a fantastic mostly-free resource where you can access some of the best courses in the world from universities and businesses. The quality of teaching doesn't get much higher than what you'll find in these courses.
So those are some stellar free resources to get you started. If you make it through these courses and you want to get even more serious about it, paying for more in-depth courses can be a great investment. They can get really expensive, but there are also plenty of cheap courses that you can find on the likes of Coursera, Udemy, and the like.
If bootcamps are more your speed, here are a few free bootcamps for coders:
I'd recommend subscribing to industry, entrepreneurial, and marketing newsletters to keep you in the loop and educate you as you go. Here's a list of newsletters for founders that I recently posted.
Similarly, follow people who are doing what you want to do — particularly those who are building in public.
Read books. Here's a list I put together.
Engage in communities like IH to learn from peers and grow together. Join co-working groups like @charlierward's Weekend Club for the same reason.
Get a job in the industry. Use it as a learning experience. You can still start a business as a side-hustle while you're at it, and the income will make the entrepreneurial journey less stressful.
And just generally be curious. Again, you're in the right place for that. Check out the forum and learn from others who have been there or are learning just like you.
So what do you think, is formal education worth it? If so, what majors are most helpful?
And what course (or otherwise) has helped you the most in your journey?
🤓
Fantastic follow-up @IndieJames! To clarify, I don't believe all higher education is coming to an end, but the traditional 4-year degree lost its relevance a long time ago for many career paths—particularly business degrees (which are the most conferred).
To quote Naval, "There’s No Actual Skill Called 'Business'"
In the US, the costs make it hard to continue to justify spending the enormous amount of time and money to graduate without the skills the market wants—even many CS programs don't teach the most in-demand tech. It makes even less sense if you want to be an Indie Hacker or small business owner.
The cost to attend the public university I graduated from in 2008 is now $25k per year for tuition, room and board. That's $100k total for a mediocre, no-name school (KU). The ROI for that kind of money can really only be found in a STEM degree—or the prestige of a top-ranked school.
Finally, companies like Tesla are dropping degree requirements altogether. And to solve for the widening skill gap—candidates increasingly don't have the skills companies need—companies like Google have created their own programs that they will accept in place of 4-year degrees.
EDIT: Tuition, room, and board are currently $25k not $28k.
Well said and thanks for clarifying! I added an edit near your quote. 👍
Love this - and thanks for the weekendclub.co mention James <3
For sure!
Great article, James. Thanks for sharing! 🙏🏻
Sure thing, hope it helps 😃
i think it depends on an individual's goals and circumstances. Formal education can provide a person with valuable knowledge and skills, as well as opportunities for networking and career advancement. Additionally, a college degree is often required for certain types of jobs and can improve one's earning potential. However, it's also important to note that there are many successful individuals who have achieved success without a formal education.
anyway great article, thank you for sharing 👍