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Author Michael Ellsberg wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times last weekend titled "Will Dropouts Save America?" that created quite a stir. He argued that students are not learning the skills they need in order to become entrepreneurs, which could lead to job creation.
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"America has a shortage of job creators," he wrote. "And the people who create jobs aren't traditional professionals, but start-up entrepreneurs." He later adds the following: "And while most people who end up starting businesses likely have college degrees, those degree-bearers should be well aware (as they learned in their freshman statistics classes) that correlation does not equal causation. Assuming that college was responsible for their success gives higher education more credit than it deserves."
The piece has garnered some criticism, as has Ellsberg's new book, "The Education of Millionaires: It's Not What You Think, and It's Not Too Late."
In an interview with IB Times, the author spoke about his new book, education, job creation, and the student loan crisis.
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What is the book's background?
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Ellsberg, 34, began working on his book in the fall of 2009.
"I was in a place where I really liked my life," Ellsberg said, adding that he was in a good relationship with the woman to whom he is now married and had overcome personal issues and health problems.
"None of that learning happened inside a formal institution," he said. "It was all informal learning, self-teaching. I think that a lot of people realize that the things valuable to them in their career and personal life they learn not through academics, they learn out in the real world."
His own wife, he pointed out, was a college dropout who ended up starting her own business.
"She exemplifies the spirit of my book," he said.
What was your educational experience?
Ellsberg attended the prep school Deerfield Academy and graduated with a bachelor's degree in international relations from the Ivy League's Brown University. He was also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.
"I'm not at all an example of the people I write about," Ellsberg said. "I had tons of academic credentials and no street smarts in my 20s. I went through the system and my 20s were a complete mess. Financially, emotionally, I was a mess. I think that is true now for many many 20-somethings. People are very lost and confused now when they get out of college and I was one of them. [College graduates] in droves are going right back to the rooms we grew up in. Something is wrong with this picture, and I'm not the only one so something's wrong here and we've got to raise the hard questions."
What do you think are some antiquated aspects of U.S. education?
