The New York Times recently ran a story titled The Dwindling Power of a College Degree. This is news to me as someone not quite 30, but at one point, according to The Times, a college degree apparently provided a virtual lock on a well-paying job:
One of the greatest changes is that a college degree is no longer the guarantor of a middle-class existence. Until the early 1970s, less than 11 percent of the adult population graduated from college, and most of them could get a decent job. Today nearly a third have college degrees, and a higher percentage of them graduated from nonelite schools. A bachelor’s degree on its own no longer conveys intelligence and capability.
So according to this, a bachelor’s degree on it’s own previously conveyed intelligence and capability? Simply because someone completed an established educational process demonstrates nothing of their ability to adapt to a changing world and apply skills in an unstructured setting.
As we’ve noted before, your resume, especially aspects within it like educational pedigree are a quaint notion. Things have changed from tell me to show me, and the web provides context to make this easily possible for professionals across industries. In fact, as someone who has helped multiple agencies and friends with start-ups hire (successful) talent I’ve never considered education to mean anything other than be a checkbox section of a resume. Sure it’s needed, but it isn’t really a qualifying factor.
One other piece from the article struck me as a digital marketing professional:
A successful plumber who has mastered all the new water-flow sensor technology and pipe-fitting innovations (and is probably in a union) can make more than $100,000 a year, while other plumbers, who just know the basics, could make less than $20,000.
This is a perfect analogy of a communications professional who has ignored the web. Like the plumber, it is their job to stay at the edge and understand new systems, tools and trends.
Further, the technologies and tools that underpin communications are in flux. And there is no training or certification to stay at the edge (at least in a timely manner). By the time any university or school adapts a program to teach a practice area those skills are generally distributed.
When we live in a world you can easily experiment and run any type of digital marketing program, why go to school for it? Why not just go for it and execute / learn by doing? Your team can stay far ahead of competitors if you embrace this philosophy. While others are always playing catch-up and waiting for a structured package to learn something new, you’ve already “been there, done that” and know how and when to use it.
I think we are continually trending to a world where independent learning wins out over institutional education. Beyond institutions always being behind, (and rallying against technology) for the right person acquisition of skills can happen more efficiently on their own through hands-on application. This also speaks to someone’s initiative.
When creativity and results trump ability to recite facts and follow rules, let’s not lament the lessening importance of a college degree. Let’s celebrate and encourage those willing to take independent initiative beyond it.