That was a headline from a Yahoo News article today. The article went on to list various careers and the impact that going to a top school would have on the wages of workers in those careers.

Undoubtedly going to a top school will open more doors and provide more opportunities for higher earning.  As the saying goes, “birds of a feather flock together.” That’s not to say that you can’t earn a decent living going to an average school.

What I found most interesting about the report however was it’s reinforcement of the wage worker ideal. As a part-time college instructor myself I often hear students enamored with the idea of becoming high paid wage slaves such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc….

I find it ironic that university culture, a culture that promotes free thought mostly churns out corporate wards.  My guess is that this happens because very often university professor’s are themselves wards of an institution.

I am not discounting education and I am certainly not discounting elite education. What I am advocating however is alternative education.

Though some schools teach innovation and entrepreneurship as part of there MBA programs many people’s ideal path remains that of a high paid wage slave.I believe we should place a higher value on innovation and entrepreneurship.

Personally, my ideal is not to wake up every morning and go to job where my fate is in the hands of my employer.My ideal is to have the freedom to chart my own path, to have ultimate accountability, ultimate reward.

What about you? What are your goals? Are you looking to become truly independent or to remain a ward of company where you work.

In his book “Tribes,” Seth Godin says we need to get to a point where doing what is safe feels risky and doing what is risky feels safe.

I encourage you to take one action today that takes you out of your comfort zone  and toward what YOU really want.

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