This paper studies the role of business and economics training on willingness to compete and confidence for young adults using lab experiments conducted with Vietnamese students. We find that business and economics training does not associate with young adults’ competition preferences and confidence. However, family background explains differences in the willingness to compete. Mother’s education has large effects on students’ willingness to compete. Students who have mothers with higher education level are more willing to compete than others, even when controlling for confidence and other characteristics.