Is it common knowledge that school doesn't prepare you well for the real world?

Sure, you can get a good degree, find a well-paying job, work until you're in your 60s, and then retire to enjoy the life you've deferred for 40+ years. However, that may not prove to be a successful life, a secure life, a financially sound life. A lot will depend on your outlook and your goals but know this: School doesn't prepare you well for achieving wealth or becoming an entrepreneur and it downright fails at teaching you how to be rich.

Nevertheless, school is here to stay. For now. Thus, it helps to identify which classes are the most relevant and helpful for those of us looking to become rich entrepreneurs. There are, in fact, several courses that contain critical information and instruction that, if used correctly, will put you on your path to riches.

If you're in college, about to start college, or looking to take some classes, here is a list of college courses that could help make you rich. (I focused on college because (a) college provides the most variety in course selection, and (b) college is generally the time when individuals realize what they want to do with their lives.)

Accounting

Although this list is in no particular order, I think Accounting is, by far, the most important course to take if you want to succeed financially. Today's "credit crunch" illustrates that there are too many people who do not understand a balance sheet. Someone who walks into Best Buy and pays for a 47-inch plasma television with a credit card does not comprehend the difference between an asset and a liability.

Learning the difference between assets and liabilities, as well as concepts like inventory and cash flow, is essential if you intend on keeping your finances in order. Moreover, these concepts are crucial if you want to start your own business. The health of a business is reflected in its balance sheet and financial statement. As those numbers go, so does the business. Accounting will help you understand that cash flow is what helps a business succeed, and it is what helps you as an individual succeed.

Marketing

If you intend on making money from selling something (which, incidentally, is how any business makes money), then you need to learn how to find the right product. Marketing, in and of itself, is not selling. However, it helps you learn how to promote certain products and services. By taking Marketing, you can understand the process involved in figuring out what consumers want, focusing on a product that satisfies those desires, and the attempt at moving consumers toward that product.

Too often, products fail because their creators didn't bother to learn whether a market existed for that product. This process involves research and time, but, in the end, it can save a business thousands, if not millions, of dollars. As an entrepreneur, it can also save you valuable time and money. Find the market first, and then develop the product.

Economics

I regret never taking Economics in college. Understanding the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services is essential if you want to take a big picture approach to business and investing. The current state of the U.S. economy is a combination of various factors (i.e., consumer over-spending, speculative real estate investing, fragile lending practices, a weakening dollar, low supply of oil, etc.).

If you understand how the economy got to the point where it is today, it helps you identify where your money should be. You can pick out the right investments and turn away from the bad ones. You can identify which direction your business should go in, including whether to take advantage of certain trends or cut out excess inventory.

Economics is a vital ingredient in a person's financial education. The world is now a global marketplace, and the supply and demand of goods and services operate at that level.

Finance

It's tax season, and several people you know are probably receiving refund checks in the mail from the Internal Revenue Service. If you're excited about receiving a refund check, you probably never took a finance course. Receiving a refund is a way for you to lose money. The government withheld money from your paychecks and held that money for a year without paying you any interest. It's like giving someone an interest-free loan. Thus, your money sat in the government's hand and lost value during that time.

Finance helps you understand how the time value of money works and how various investment vehicles operate. One of the keys to becoming rich is comprehending how money works when it's not in your hands. A finance course (preferably one geared towards entrepreneurship) will teach you what you need to know to reach this level of understanding. There might be some math involved, but it won't kill you. It'll just make you a stronger and more savvy investor.

Any American History Course

History can be boring. But if you look at history from a different viewpoint, it can open doors for you. The most valuable aspect of history is its ability to convey to us the mistakes of others. Studying history helps you learn from others mistakes so that, hopefully, you won't commit the same mistakes.

American history is filled with mishaps, wrong turns, and terrible decision-making, both at the national political level and at the business level. Look at these errors, and figure out how a better decision could have been made. Then, apply that realization to today's world and to your own trajectory. How can you apply what you learned from these mistakes to your own entrepreneurial experiences?

Writing and Composition

Succeeding as an entrepreneur requires that you be able to express yourself and your ideas. Whether it involves pitching an idea to an investor, writing a press release, or composing a business plan, entrepreneurs need to communicate. More often than not, this communication is done in writing. Basic composition and grammar skills can do wonders for your ability to convey your ideas and your mindset.

Just glance around at the number of blogs across the Internet and you will see a lot of bad writing. It's an instant turnoff and preempts any evaluation of the content of your writing. Good writing, on the other hand, draws in a reader, and it gives you a shot at selling someone on your content. In other words, it helps you get in the door.

Any Literature Course

Literature, like history, contains valuable lessons that emanate from years of experience and wisdom. Why not draw on these sources of information? There is no limit to the topics covered by novels. Ernest Hemingway's books are full of inspirational messages. Oscar Wilde provides brilliant business advice. Henry David Thoreau is the master of teaching self-reliance. These books and others provide timeless principles of personal development and, just as important, wealth creation.

Management

One of the problems with "bosses" is that they don't know how to manage people. If you want to own and run a business, you need to manage that business effectively and efficiently. This process requires dealing and communicating with people and delegating tasks and decisions to employees. An understanding of management concepts and learning different techniques and skills will not only make you likable, but they will also help you make more money.
-Robert
   學(xué)生通過學(xué)校的學(xué)習(xí)并沒能掌握應(yīng)對(duì)殘酷現(xiàn)實(shí)世界的技能，這是否已經(jīng)成為所有人的共識(shí)了呢？

當(dāng)然，你可以通過上大學(xué)獲得一個(gè)高學(xué)位和一份高薪的工作，接著工作到60歲，然后開始享受退休的生活，享受遲來了40余年的那份安逸快活。但是，這并不能保證你就能過上成功，穩(wěn)定并且金錢寬裕的滋潤生活。你要明白學(xué)校不會(huì)在讓學(xué)生變富裕或成為一名企業(yè)家方面下很大功夫，可以說，在教授學(xué)生如何變富裕方面，學(xué)校算是徹頭徹尾地失敗。相反地，在很大程度上這都要取決于你的人生觀以及你所制定的目標(biāo)。

不過，目前學(xué)生還是要待在學(xué)校里學(xué)習(xí)的。尤其對(duì)于那些想要成為富人的學(xué)生來說，學(xué)校可以幫助你選擇一些最有幫助的相關(guān)課程。實(shí)際上，有些課程能夠提供十分關(guān)鍵的信息指導(dǎo)。如果你能把它們充分地利用，那么財(cái)富就會(huì)在不遠(yuǎn)處向你招手。如果你想要選修一些課程以開始自己的大學(xué)生涯，那么以下的一系列大學(xué)課程都會(huì)幫助你發(fā)財(cái)：

（在此，我主要針對(duì)大學(xué)課程，一是因?yàn)榇髮W(xué)課程可選擇的范圍很廣，二是因?yàn)槿藗兺ǔＶ挥械搅舜髮W(xué)階段才開始意識(shí)到自己今后想要做些什么）

● 會(huì)計(jì)學(xué)

雖然排列的順序沒有特殊的意義，不過我覺得如果你想要獲得經(jīng)濟(jì)上地成功，那么會(huì)計(jì)必是首選的課程。當(dāng)今的信用危機(jī)不正好說明了有很多人對(duì)保持收支平衡都很不在行嗎！人們?cè)诤觅徫锼⒖ㄙ徺I一臺(tái)47英寸等離子電視的時(shí)候還是分不清財(cái)產(chǎn)和負(fù)債的區(qū)別。

如果想要使你的財(cái)政狀況保持有序，你就需要對(duì)這兩者間的差別，還有貨物清單及現(xiàn)金流這些概念有所了解。此外，當(dāng)你想自己創(chuàng)業(yè)時(shí)，這些概念也很重要。生意的好壞都會(huì)在它的收支平衡表和財(cái)政結(jié)算表有所反映。如果這些表上的數(shù)據(jù)不夠理想，那么你的生意也不會(huì)好到哪兒去。通過學(xué)會(huì)計(jì)，你會(huì)知道現(xiàn)金流的保有能使你取得生意上的成功，還能取得人生的成功。

● 市場(chǎng)營銷

如果你想要從銷售（這也是絕大多數(shù)公司賺錢的方式）中賺到錢，那么你就得學(xué)會(huì)找到合適的產(chǎn)品。市場(chǎng)營銷從本質(zhì)上來說并不等于銷售。不過它會(huì)讓你學(xué)會(huì)怎樣去推銷產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)。通過學(xué)習(xí)市場(chǎng)營銷，你就會(huì)明白消費(fèi)者想要什么樣的商品，把精力集中到能讓消費(fèi)者滿意的商品上，并試著讓他們對(duì)那件產(chǎn)品有購買的欲望。

產(chǎn)品不暢銷，通常都是因?yàn)槠渖�產(chǎn)商事先沒有調(diào)查，確定這件產(chǎn)品的市場(chǎng)前景。雖然在這個(gè)過程中既要做市場(chǎng)調(diào)查又要消耗一些時(shí)間，不過這樣做卻能幫公司省掉上千，上萬，甚至百萬千萬美元的損失。對(duì)于一名企業(yè)家來說，它還可以幫你節(jié)省很多寶貴的時(shí)間和金錢。重要的是先要對(duì)市場(chǎng)做個(gè)考查，然后才著手產(chǎn)品。

● 經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)

我后悔自己在上大學(xué)時(shí)沒有修經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)。如果想要對(duì)整個(gè)金融與投資地大環(huán)境有個(gè)全面的了解，那你就得對(duì)貨物，服務(wù)，生產(chǎn)，分配以及消費(fèi)這些方面有所了解。當(dāng)前美國的經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況使由多種因素造成的，例如消費(fèi)者的過度消費(fèi)，房地產(chǎn)的投機(jī)猖獗，過于脆弱的借款機(jī)制，美元的疲軟以及石油供應(yīng)不足等。

對(duì)經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展的態(tài)勢(shì)的了解會(huì)讓你看清投資的方向。你就可以避免錯(cuò)誤投資并找到正確的投資領(lǐng)域。此外，你還能清楚地了解自己生意今后前進(jìn)的方向，例如是否有必要就者當(dāng)前的某種趨勢(shì)，或是大幅消減超額的貨物清單呢。

經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)在個(gè)人的金融教育中是一個(gè)不可或缺的因素。當(dāng)今世界已經(jīng)變成了一個(gè)全球市場(chǎng)，所有的貨物以及服務(wù)的供求都在這個(gè)大市場(chǎng)中進(jìn)行。

● 金融學(xué)

又到了交稅的時(shí)間了，你可能會(huì)從身邊的朋友那里得知他們會(huì)從稅務(wù)機(jī)關(guān)那里得到一些退款單。如果你也為此而激動(dòng)不已的話，那么你從來沒有上過金融課程。事實(shí)上，收到退款的同時(shí)你也在賠錢。政府會(huì)從你的收入中扣取一些錢，期限是一年，而且不付任何的利息。這就像是你把自己的錢無償?shù)亟璩鋈ヒ粯印Ｄ敲矗�你的錢就會(huì)因?yàn)楸豢墼谡�府那里而失去了生錢的價(jià)值。

金融學(xué)會(huì)幫你理解錢的時(shí)間價(jià)值還有不同的投資機(jī)構(gòu)的運(yùn)行方式。要想發(fā)財(cái)，關(guān)鍵之一就是要了解當(dāng)錢不在你手上的時(shí)候它們是如何運(yùn)作的。一門關(guān)于金融的，最好是針對(duì)于如何管理企業(yè)的課程會(huì)教你怎樣達(dá)到那樣的理解層次。或許這會(huì)涉及到數(shù)學(xué)，但還是難不倒你的。相反地，它會(huì)讓你成為一個(gè)更強(qiáng)更有悟性的投資者。

● 任意一門美國歷史課

歷史可能會(huì)很枯燥。但是如果你能從一個(gè)新的角度去看待它，你就會(huì)得到很多有用的啟示。你能從歷史中看到他人所犯的錯(cuò)誤，這是它最有價(jià)值的地方。此外，通過對(duì)歷史的學(xué)習(xí)能夠讓你避免再犯前人所犯的錯(cuò)誤。

美國歷史是由許許多多的災(zāi)難，錯(cuò)誤的轉(zhuǎn)折以及可怕決定充斥而成的，不論是國家政治上的或是經(jīng)濟(jì)上的。研究這些錯(cuò)誤并找出更好的解決辦法，然后把之付諸實(shí)踐，最好是把這些經(jīng)驗(yàn)應(yīng)用到你的企業(yè)中。

● 寫作

要想成為一名成功的企業(yè)家，你必須具有表達(dá)自己觀點(diǎn)以及表達(dá)自己的能力。因?yàn)闊o論是要向投資者表述一個(gè)構(gòu)思，寫記者會(huì)文稿，還是擬定一份商業(yè)計(jì)劃書你都需要與別人溝通，大多數(shù)情況下，這種溝通都是通過書面形式完成。當(dāng)你向表達(dá)自己的觀點(diǎn)和想法時(shí)，對(duì)基本的寫作以及語法技巧的掌握就能讓你事半功倍。

瀏覽網(wǎng)上的博客，你就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)有很多的文章都寫得很糟糕。這樣的文章讓人一見生厭不說，對(duì)其內(nèi)容的含金量也會(huì)大打折扣。一篇好的作文除了能吸引讀者注意力，對(duì)于推銷你的觀點(diǎn)也是一個(gè)絕好的契機(jī)。換句話說，好的作文有助于獲得成功。

● 任意一門文學(xué)課程

文學(xué)和歷史一樣，飽含了前人留下的寶貴經(jīng)驗(yàn)和才智。鑒于此，為什么不把這些寶貴資源充分汲取呢？小說所涵蓋的主題是不受任何限制的。厄內(nèi)斯特·海明威的小說所包含的內(nèi)容能激發(fā)人們的靈感。奧斯卡·王爾德會(huì)提供十分獨(dú)到精辟的商業(yè)建議。亨利·大衛(wèi)·梭羅卻是教人自助自立的大師級(jí)作家。這些書能夠提供的原理古今通用，不僅促進(jìn)個(gè)人發(fā)展，而且還能幫助你創(chuàng)造財(cái)富。

● 管理學(xué)

老板不知道如何管理好自己的員工，這是他們的通病之一。如果想要經(jīng)營一門生意，你必須能高效高速地處理問題。在這個(gè)過程中，你必須要處理的事情很多，例如與職員的溝通，談判，有時(shí)還要做出些決定。不過當(dāng)你對(duì)管理的理念有所了解，又掌握了多種應(yīng)對(duì)方法和技巧之后，你這個(gè)老板就會(huì)變得人見人愛，而且還能賺到更多的錢。