Sep 2012
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.
Bachelor's degree vs associate's degree
01/09/12 10:42
Q. Do you think that getting a bachelor’s degree is a lot better than getting an associate degree at a two-year college?
A. I do. But, I think that college degrees are overrated. Knowledge is what matters.
The issue in the 21st century is whether you will be smarter than a computer or less smart. You may have noticed that technology is playing an increasingly large role in our lives and economy. Computers are doing the work humans used to do. Computers are even putting some people right out of work. But, you already knew this.
So, that leaves two groups of people in this country; those without knowledge greater than computers, who will see their job opportunities decline in the decades ahead because of the growth of technology; and those you have the mental ability to do what computers can’t.
But looking beyond just who gets jobs, for years there has been the cry for more plumbers and more electricians. “We need them and their job pays well.” True, there will always be a need for plumbers and electricians, at least for another decade. But, when I look at all of the complex issues this world faces today – economic, environmental, political, international, educational, cultural, energy, and education issues – I see a need for very smart people. The great demand in the years ahead will be for people with the thinking skills and reasoning skills and creative thought and interpersonal skills and judgment and broad perspective to address these very complex issues. We may not have a choice about this.
Computer decisions are binary. They are either on or off, yes or no, one or zero. As Bowdoin-graduate George Mitchell struggles to make a better world in the Middle East, his decisions are not binary. As Steve Jobs struggles to create a better iPad, his decisions are not binary, even though his products are. As President Obama struggles to figure out how and whom to support in Libya and Bahrain and Yemen and Egypt, his decisions are not binary. These decisions are neither black or white, right or wrong, on or off. They are complex.
To answer your question. I like a bachelor’s degree better than an associate degree because it is more education. Are two years of post-secondary education great? They are. Four years are even greater. Whenever our economy gets bad, this country loses its courage to believe in the value of a liberal arts education – an education that develops a broad range of knowledge and thinking skills. Two years of post-secondary education may give you the skills to fix a computer. Four years may give you the ability to fix a computer and design a computer that is used in a new way that creates a new demand in new markets around the world. Is one more valuable than another? I don’t know. But, I do know that the real strength of this country is and always has been our ability to create and solve and innovate. Those are not binary. Whenever we lose our courage in this country, we start clamoring for more hard-skill training. “We are losing all our jobs to China or India or somewhere. We need better technical skills!” At the same time, countries all over the world are quietly sending their students to the US to gain the soft and higher level skills that our colleges and universities develop so well.
Can you gain these higher-level skills in two years of college? Of course you can, but more education gives you more ability to build higher-level skills from a solid foundation.
I know. Now, you are going to remind me that college is expensive, and two-year community colleges are usually a lot cheaper than four-year colleges. This country likes to whine about outrageous debt for college graduates. So, let’s talk money. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us that someone with a bachelor’s degree earns on average about $14,000 each year more over a lifetime than someone with only an associate degree. Maybe a year at a community college costs about $4000. Maybe a year at a public university costs almost $20,000. I encourage you to attend whatever college offers the best program to help you pursue the career that interests you most, but before you argue that a two-year college is better than a four-year college for financial reasons, do the math.
Whatever your job, you will spend a lifetime learning. Some people choose to load up with two years of knowledge before they enter the world of work; others choose four or more. The more knowledge the better, and the better chance you have of ending up on the winning side of technology and the better chance we all have of ending up on the winning side of complex local and global issues ahead of us.
A. I do. But, I think that college degrees are overrated. Knowledge is what matters.
The issue in the 21st century is whether you will be smarter than a computer or less smart. You may have noticed that technology is playing an increasingly large role in our lives and economy. Computers are doing the work humans used to do. Computers are even putting some people right out of work. But, you already knew this.
So, that leaves two groups of people in this country; those without knowledge greater than computers, who will see their job opportunities decline in the decades ahead because of the growth of technology; and those you have the mental ability to do what computers can’t.
But looking beyond just who gets jobs, for years there has been the cry for more plumbers and more electricians. “We need them and their job pays well.” True, there will always be a need for plumbers and electricians, at least for another decade. But, when I look at all of the complex issues this world faces today – economic, environmental, political, international, educational, cultural, energy, and education issues – I see a need for very smart people. The great demand in the years ahead will be for people with the thinking skills and reasoning skills and creative thought and interpersonal skills and judgment and broad perspective to address these very complex issues. We may not have a choice about this.
Computer decisions are binary. They are either on or off, yes or no, one or zero. As Bowdoin-graduate George Mitchell struggles to make a better world in the Middle East, his decisions are not binary. As Steve Jobs struggles to create a better iPad, his decisions are not binary, even though his products are. As President Obama struggles to figure out how and whom to support in Libya and Bahrain and Yemen and Egypt, his decisions are not binary. These decisions are neither black or white, right or wrong, on or off. They are complex.
To answer your question. I like a bachelor’s degree better than an associate degree because it is more education. Are two years of post-secondary education great? They are. Four years are even greater. Whenever our economy gets bad, this country loses its courage to believe in the value of a liberal arts education – an education that develops a broad range of knowledge and thinking skills. Two years of post-secondary education may give you the skills to fix a computer. Four years may give you the ability to fix a computer and design a computer that is used in a new way that creates a new demand in new markets around the world. Is one more valuable than another? I don’t know. But, I do know that the real strength of this country is and always has been our ability to create and solve and innovate. Those are not binary. Whenever we lose our courage in this country, we start clamoring for more hard-skill training. “We are losing all our jobs to China or India or somewhere. We need better technical skills!” At the same time, countries all over the world are quietly sending their students to the US to gain the soft and higher level skills that our colleges and universities develop so well.
Can you gain these higher-level skills in two years of college? Of course you can, but more education gives you more ability to build higher-level skills from a solid foundation.
I know. Now, you are going to remind me that college is expensive, and two-year community colleges are usually a lot cheaper than four-year colleges. This country likes to whine about outrageous debt for college graduates. So, let’s talk money. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us that someone with a bachelor’s degree earns on average about $14,000 each year more over a lifetime than someone with only an associate degree. Maybe a year at a community college costs about $4000. Maybe a year at a public university costs almost $20,000. I encourage you to attend whatever college offers the best program to help you pursue the career that interests you most, but before you argue that a two-year college is better than a four-year college for financial reasons, do the math.
Whatever your job, you will spend a lifetime learning. Some people choose to load up with two years of knowledge before they enter the world of work; others choose four or more. The more knowledge the better, and the better chance you have of ending up on the winning side of technology and the better chance we all have of ending up on the winning side of complex local and global issues ahead of us.