Why go to college?
09/09/12 10:40
Q. Why should we go to college if it is so hard to find a job? Everyone says they can’t find enough skilled workers.
A. The more education you have, the more options you will have in the world of work. You will also find it easier to find a job, if that is what you are looking for. The real bonus to a college education is what no one talks about. A college education gives you a confidence as you enter the world of work that is the foundation of success, however you want to define success. You have to wonder why Shaquille O’Neal is pursuing his doctorate degree these days .
But, too many students are headed off too college in pursuit of fun and a degree. You should and probably will have fun in college, but you should stop going to college for a degree. You need “strategic knowledge” – not just knowledge to help you earn a degree, but knowledge that will help you provide value to a company or others. I am a big fan of education, even a liberal arts education, but, let’s face it, a lot of students graduate from college with good learning skills and a degree, but they also have a pile of not-likley-to-be-used knowledge. That isn’t very strategic.
I am also struck by how many college graduates have, after four or so years, developed a comfort level with college life, but very limited skill to approach the world of work. All colleges try to help students grow beyond this cocoonal lifestyle, but few do it very well. Perhaps Northeastern University with its co-op program is the most successful.
And, now that you are giving up just trying to get a degree out of your two or four years of college, I suggest you give up looking for jobs. I think “jobs” are very 20th century. In a challenging economy, companies aren’t looking for employees, they are looking for money, revenues. You should go to college to gain a lot of strategic knowledge that you can offer a company to help them make money, or reach their goal, if it isn’t to make money. Jobs are great. They provide temporary security and a paycheck and benefits, but looking ahead, you may need to think about yourself as the owner of your own knowledge or skill business. While you are in college, you need to buy or build the tools you will need for your business. Hopefully, those tools include “skills” and the knowledge to support, develop, and leverage those skills.
Since I have already told you to stop pursuing a college degree and to stop looking for a job, I might as well add that I don’t buy at all this idea that there is a great shortage of “skilled” workers, which is what many are saying these days. There is a shortage of “skilled” workers willing to work for the pay that these jobs are offering. Raise the pay of these jobs and you will have no shortage of workers. Which brings me back to why I am such a fan of a college education: more opportunities that will make you proud in your future, and better odds of reach them.
A. The more education you have, the more options you will have in the world of work. You will also find it easier to find a job, if that is what you are looking for. The real bonus to a college education is what no one talks about. A college education gives you a confidence as you enter the world of work that is the foundation of success, however you want to define success. You have to wonder why Shaquille O’Neal is pursuing his doctorate degree these days .
But, too many students are headed off too college in pursuit of fun and a degree. You should and probably will have fun in college, but you should stop going to college for a degree. You need “strategic knowledge” – not just knowledge to help you earn a degree, but knowledge that will help you provide value to a company or others. I am a big fan of education, even a liberal arts education, but, let’s face it, a lot of students graduate from college with good learning skills and a degree, but they also have a pile of not-likley-to-be-used knowledge. That isn’t very strategic.
I am also struck by how many college graduates have, after four or so years, developed a comfort level with college life, but very limited skill to approach the world of work. All colleges try to help students grow beyond this cocoonal lifestyle, but few do it very well. Perhaps Northeastern University with its co-op program is the most successful.
And, now that you are giving up just trying to get a degree out of your two or four years of college, I suggest you give up looking for jobs. I think “jobs” are very 20th century. In a challenging economy, companies aren’t looking for employees, they are looking for money, revenues. You should go to college to gain a lot of strategic knowledge that you can offer a company to help them make money, or reach their goal, if it isn’t to make money. Jobs are great. They provide temporary security and a paycheck and benefits, but looking ahead, you may need to think about yourself as the owner of your own knowledge or skill business. While you are in college, you need to buy or build the tools you will need for your business. Hopefully, those tools include “skills” and the knowledge to support, develop, and leverage those skills.
Since I have already told you to stop pursuing a college degree and to stop looking for a job, I might as well add that I don’t buy at all this idea that there is a great shortage of “skilled” workers, which is what many are saying these days. There is a shortage of “skilled” workers willing to work for the pay that these jobs are offering. Raise the pay of these jobs and you will have no shortage of workers. Which brings me back to why I am such a fan of a college education: more opportunities that will make you proud in your future, and better odds of reach them.