Business school students are turning to entrepreneur courses during the recession rather than working toward landing a job with a Wall Street firm or a hedge fund, another sign that the U.S. has entered into a so-called new economy.
With a $787-billion stimulus package and the second part of an enormous financial bailout both set to offer benefits to small businesses and entrepreneurs, the trend could persist for some time.
The Kauffman Foundation, which touts itself as one of the world’s largest foundations devoted to entrepreneurship, has observed that prior to the recession that started just over a year ago, there had been a great expansion in interest on college campuses in entrepreneur courses.
There are signs, though, that students are turning their focus to small business and entrepreneurship programs to get a quicker start. Hyuk-Jeen Suh, Ph.D. and a member of Yale School of Management’s class of 2009, said that entrepreneurship courses have been so attractive due to the cross-functional skills required to run a business.
“I believe taking entrepreneurship classes is the best way to prepare myself to be a CEO someday, whether it is at a small company or a Fortune 500 company,” Suh said. “Despite the risk and challenges of entrepreneurship and starting a business, I also find it an extremely rewarding thing to do, especially if you can succeed.”
Photo by woodsy.