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Robert Kiyosaki's books completely changed the way I look at my education. Robert Kiyosaki said that "'A' students work for 'C'" students, so I thought: what's the point in being an 'A' student if I want to make lots of money? I could just drop out of college and spare myself the humiliation from having to work for a 'C' student after all these years of hard work in collage.

Robert Kiyosaki also said:

Most of the people I respect dropped out of school. Then they chose what they wanted to learn. #richdad

I want money and freedom. With the money, I could travel the world and even emigrate to South America or Asia (my life-long dream). I am bored in college. Should I drop out, learn what I want to learn, and make a ton of money?

Lori Santos
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  • How do you intend to get your first job if not by education? – Mast Oct 11 '20 at 08:28
  • If I make a ton of money, I won't need a job! Robert Kiyosaki says that college is useless for making lots of money. – Lori Santos Oct 11 '20 at 08:30
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    How are you going to make a ton of money if not by a job? – Mast Oct 11 '20 at 08:42
  • I could follow Kiyosaki's footsteps. – Lori Santos Oct 11 '20 at 08:44
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    IMO the logic of the question is inherently flawed - implication is not equivalence: He said that of all people he respects, most of them dropped out. That does NOT say, that of all dropped out people, he respects most of them. The quote does not imply dropping out is a receipt for success, it sais succeful people are likely drop outs, but nothing about improving your odds by doing so. – wondra Oct 11 '20 at 14:46
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    People are confusingly voting down the question because "they don't like Kiyosaki". If you very much disagree with a question, answer it and explain why. The question is perfectly well-asked. – Fattie Oct 11 '20 at 17:11
  • @LoriSantos "Robert Kiyosaki says that college is useless for making lots of money" That's not exactly correct. He says that college is useless if you want to be a businessperson (or indeed an investor). – Fattie Oct 11 '20 at 17:47
  • @Mast "How are you going to make a ton of money if not by a job?" that is a fairly bizarre question. Literally nobody, ever, has made a ton of money "from a job". The whole point of becoming an entrepreneur, taking a chance on your garage company, risking it all on a import business or whatever, is to "be rich"; ie the whole point is you can't get rich in a job. – Fattie Oct 11 '20 at 17:53
  • This is not a genuine question. Members are being asked to agree/disagree with a con artist. – JTP - Apologise to Monica Oct 11 '20 at 23:01
  • @JTP-ApologisetoMonica Are you calling the OP a con artist? I think it is a genuine question. I direct your attention to this meta question of yours. – Ben Miller Oct 12 '20 at 02:39
  • Not at all. Referring to Kiyosaki. Was he not proven to be a grifter? – JTP - Apologise to Monica Oct 12 '20 at 02:47
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    @JTP-ApologisetoMonica Even if you think Kiyosaki is a con man, the correct response is not to close and delete any question mentioning his name. Instead, answer the question with logic, refuting the bad stuff. See my meta answer. I do not think that OP is trying to make any point with the question anyway: I think it’s an honest question. Why would we not answer it? If you think Kiyosaki’s advice here is bad, write an answer explaining why (or upvote another answer that already does so). Please reopen the question. – Ben Miller Oct 12 '20 at 03:42
  • Done. All yours, Ben. I’m not a fan of “here’s bad advice from a con artist, should I follow it?”, but I’m also not going to give him credibility by addressing it. You can, it’s opened. – JTP - Apologise to Monica Oct 12 '20 at 03:45
  • @JTP-ApologisetoMonica - food for thought, for those who "hate Kiyosaki!" the idea of just dismissing him as a "con-man" is kind of .. it's like over in the US with politics each side will just dismiss the other guy as a "criminal" or "idiot" or whatever with big slogans. No, he wasn't "proven to be a grifter!", he's an unbelievably successful author who explicitly and openly gives opinions drastically in contrast to the conventions of today. We can't just "shut down" questions about someone we don't like. – Fattie Oct 17 '20 at 16:31
  • BY the way, the "Biden" guy is obviously a criminal and the "Trump" guy is obviously an idiot - but that's different. :O – Fattie Oct 17 '20 at 16:33
  • Put it this way, this site is personal finance and money. By far - there's not even a second place - the overwhelming, utterly #1, nobody - else - even - in - the - running top selling author on personal finance and money is indeed Kiyosaki. (It's a wonder there isn't a question a day on Kiyosaki. It would be like on the "junior fiction" site, Rowling coming up.) So no, we can't just "mention someone said he is a con man and close questions". If he IS a "con-man", if he's a convicted murderer, this site basically exists for Kiyosaki - something to suck up if one hates him, heh! – Fattie Oct 17 '20 at 16:37
  • Not #1, but in top ten. https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/top-10-personal-finance-books-of-all-time.html And you are right. As a mod, I have a responsibility to remain objective, and failed for that moment. The 9 DVs show there are 8 others who might share my opinion. But of course, that's all it is, opinion. Be well. – JTP - Apologise to Monica Oct 17 '20 at 17:19

4 Answers4

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Dropping out of school may or may not be the right move for you, but don’t base your decision solely on on a tweet, or even a book.

Robert Kiyosaki likes to make points by saying shocking things and using hyperbole. Nothing he says should be taken literally, in my opinion (example).

A college degree does not guarantee success in life, but it doesn’t hurt. The idea that you should avoid getting a college degree to ensure your success is just wrong.

What can hold you back however, is student debt. College is not for everyone; it can be incredibly expensive and doesn’t always give you a useful education.

Some questions you should be asking yourself are:

  1. What do I want to do as a career to earn a living? Will my college degree be useful for that? How likely will I be to succeed in this field with or without a degree?

  2. How am I paying for school? How much debt will I have when I finish my degree? Is there another way to get the degree I need without debt (perhaps by switching to a less expensive school and/or working through school and cash-flowing the tuition)?

  3. How am I doing in school now? Am I likely to graduate, or am I struggling?

There are many successful people both with and without college degrees. Some career fields require a college degree (e.g. engineering, medicine, law), and some do not (e.g. real estate, entrepreneurship, the trades). But even in this second category, a degree does not hold people back (although student loans can).

Ben Miller
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans with college degrees earn more than 50% more than those without and have healthier lifestyles. Now if you're somehow clever enough to buck those statistics, go for it. Otherwise, get used to a life of wanting.

Bob Baerker
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  1. MOST college degrees are utterly, totally, completely, laughably, fully, worthless.

If you spend four years and major in "history" or "psychology" with minors in clichés like set design or basket weaving you have: thrown away four years of your life.

  1. OF COURSE many college degrees are utterly, completely, professional-career oriented. So, if you become a Doctor, specific engineer (say, someone who "builds bridges") and so on - of course, obviously, that is not a useless degree as mentioned in point 1.

  2. If you do one of the "worthless" degrees it won't help you much to get a job. If you do one of the professional degrees, yes of course it will 99% guarantee you get a job, usually a terrific job.

But here's the thing.

The entire point of Kiyosaki is to move beyond having a job to live.

"JOB" stands for "just over break-even". If you wish to be a business-owner, or, an investor, almost all college experience is useless.

But sure, if you "want a job" then college is advantageous (but be highly aware of the difference between "point 1" and "point 2" college time).

Be incredibly wary of "student loans". ("Student loans" for the degrees mentioned in point 1 ... is insanity.)

What did Ringo say?

Ringo Starr, of all people, pointed out that "Education prepares people for the workforce." Nothing can be added to that pearl.

Here's a flow chart of the "college issue":

enter image description here

Fattie
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    Not everything Kiyosaki says is bullshit. He has some very valid points. But these days it looks to me like he's just trying to be dramatic and controversial to grab eyeballs, which btw is what the entire media is doing. – Canute S Oct 11 '20 at 17:58
  • In my opinion, the first four Kiyosaki books are major masterpieces which may be the only thing remembered from this 1000-year period. – Fattie Oct 11 '20 at 21:32
  • I've only read Rich Dad Poor Dad and it was an eye opener. I was a fan till I started watching some of his youtube videos :P – Canute S Oct 12 '20 at 09:59
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    +1 for “wankers like Kiyosaki” in a flow chart. – JTP - Apologise to Monica Oct 12 '20 at 23:22
  • lol good one @JTP-ApologisetoMonica ! – Fattie Oct 17 '20 at 16:24
  • @CanuteS i would urge to read all four of the first four "classic" books". Regarding the videos or whatever .. who knows/cares. I'm the world's biggest fan of Hayao Miyasaki but (even he himself admits!) he's a bit of a "wanker!" (For this recent I sort of enjoyed yet didn't enjoy the recent long doco. about the bloke opn NHK !!) In a word, I urge you to read the #2 book, cheers ! – Fattie Oct 17 '20 at 16:25
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I don't know if there is data available on this but just because a lot of college dropouts are successful doesn't mean you do it too. There are two ways to look at the data, first is the outliers (very successful famous people), second is everyone else other than the first group.

About the first group of successful people there are two points to keep in addition to everything people have also mentioned in other answers:

  1. The number of college dropouts who are successful - If 1 in 1000 college drop outs is successful you will only hear about the 1 pasted in all the media and anecdotes not about the other 1000 - So see if you can find these other people and what happened to them.
  2. Just because someone people dropped out of college and became wildly successful doesn't mean that dropping out of college was related to the success. Many a times these people already have an idea / plan that could have a chance to succeed and they drop out of college to pursue it - So unless you have a good reason to do so concentrate on the studies.

And for the second group, there is also the average data, as already mentioned in other answers where you can simple look at what the average earning for graduates and drop-outs are.

P.S: In your question between the dropping out of college and making a lot of money there is a part missing explaining how you plan to make all that money to get your freedom. If you figure that out then you have your answer.

Canute S
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