Information is cheap these days. The facts we need to memorize to make it in school? I can look them up on my phone right now.
Once upon a time, professors knew facts that were rare. Those facts were exclusive, and providing them would mean paying up. In exchange, a degree made it appear as if you had that exclusive knowledge, and you could help a company grow via that information.
Not anymore. Now, I can pay a minuscule price (compared to that of a college course) to learn how to cook like Gordon Ramsay, hustle like Gary Vaynerchuk, and learn about modern and political government from Shapiro, Klein, Rubin and so many others.
I can do all of that without having to memorize absurd content, take a test, worry about a grade or being forced to take something I don't want to. I can learn as long as I want, as often as I want. I also don't need to ask anyone to use the restroom, take my headphones out or be limited in regards to how many questions I can ask.
Technology is the new route toward serious education. It offers well-priced, amazing instructors and unmatched flexibility. Compare that to college, and the actual educational value that college has is explicitly shallow.
I can get all of that free, high-level information, all while paying dramatically less and dealing with less absurdity. On top of that, I get to learn from instructors who have really made it — I mean legendary status.
Let's be real. The value of college is in the degree, and that's what institutions are currently marketing themselves for.
What colleges forget is that the "gig economy" is here. Freelancing has taken over in a majestic fashion. In fact, Forbes reported that, in 2017, 28 percent of Baby Boomers, 34 percent of Gen Xers, 43 percent of Gen Yers, and a stunning 47 percent of those between 18 and 21 freelance in some way.
In that case, it's all about raw content making, marketing, networking and producing like mad. It's about experience and gaining people skills. A degree doesn't even come into the picture.
But if you wanted to get a job — one that does more than just pay the bills — things get even dicier.
A little while ago, from following some of my top YouTubers, I found an interview with the educator T.K. Coleman, who was making the case that the assumption of the failing dropout is not a good one to make. He worked at a program named Praxis, an apprenticeship program that's creating an alternative to college: work experience.
Praxis is a (technically) tuition-free program. The CEO reported that nearly 95 percent of the program's participants had a job offer before they graduated. By contrast, Yale reported that 93 percent of their MBA graduates got a job offer — three months after graduation.
That's an Ivy League school — a top tier school. Then, there are those student loans you can't default on. When you are done with Praxis, you make — not lose — $2,000.
That's right. In today's day an age, joining an apprenticeship program could actually be less risky than going to an Ivy league. Of course, that's if your main goal is to have something reliable — as opposed to having a job you can lose and taking loans you can maneuver your way around paying off.
The degree was meant for the job. But now, there's GitHub. There's Instagram. There's YouTube. There's My Practice Now. We're in the age of crafting, experience and being able to think. That's where the economy is headed.
So now, it's time for higher education to become more practical and stop solely relying on a degree. That's not going to last forever. If college is going to charge, it needs to give its participants a real advantage — one that can genuinely impact the relationship between education and the economy.
