Internet Marketing College?

I have been asked quite a few times over the years, “what should I study in college to do what YOU do?” (marketing products online)

I’ve heard this question from budding marketers and family members alike. My response always kind of confuses the hell out of them because…I dropped out of college after a year. I found it a complete waste of my time and never wanted to attend in the first place. It was “13th grade” as I often referred to it. It’s a great place to go if you want to be an employee but not so good if you’re looking to start your own career or business. (obviously doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. are excluded from this…but we’re talking about MARKETERS here, right?)

This is not a blanket statement as there are certainly many successful marketers that attended college (although ask them how much of their college education is responsible for their success). The point of this post though, is not whether or not you should go to school. Let me address the original question, which is WHAT should you study if you’re in school and want to be an internet marketer.

First off, believe it or not- stay the hell away from marketing classes. You don’t need to learn what Coke did in 1991.

I’ve personally worked for people who had marketing degrees on three occassions and each and every one of them could not save their failing businesses, but worst of all…they thought they knew what they were doing and did it proudly. Hey, they have a degree in this!

I would also stay away from business classes which are in large respects all about how to be a good subservient employee, not a free-thinking entrepenuer.

What would I recommend?

As far as selecting a major I would look into something like information sciences, computer programming and web design. Despite popular belief, you simply can’t outsource every little thing that needs done to build your business when you first start out unless you’re rich AND are prepared to suffer through a lot of mistakes.

It’s hard to tell a programmer what to do when your understanding of things like PHP, Java, HTML, etc. is limited. I would say that programming with an emphasis on PHP would be a great thing to pick up.

In addition, some video/film classes would serve you well. The web is moving into the realm of video very quickly and the ability to create and edit your own video at a professional level will be insanely valuable. Sound design would be pretty good also.

For the business end of things I already recommended avoiding most actual “business” courses. I would take courses in accounting and bookkeeping instead. The ability to balance the books and quickly assess financials is something I wish I could do more of. I’m exceedingly terrible at almost all areas of math so I pay people to run the numbers for me. Ultimately, the goal is to hire someone to handle this stuff but a working knowledge of it is a good thing.

Finally, some courses in psychology and sociology will be infinitely more beneficial than 20 year old advertising methods that are often taught in college marketing courses. Learning about the human mind is something that will always serve you well.

Overall, I have no regrets about dropping out of college years ago to make it on my own. If I were to go back again I would definitely study PHP and Java programming primarily however, you can also attend technical schools that teach these things just as effectively (if not more so) than a traditional college.

It’s up to you- just never attend school to please others. It has to be your goal.

Tagged as: career, college, internet marketing