This issue has always been at the center of young people’s minds. Which school or university should one go to? What subject(s) should be studied? We have already touched upon some of these issues in our earlier note (“How to Choose a University”). In this note, we shall highlight some relatively recent developments, which may have significant impacts on the choice of institutions of high learning, as well as areas to study.
As background, let us sum up some of the key highlights from a recent article in The Economist (“Going to University Is More Important than ever, but the Returns are Falling”, February 3rd, 2018.)
More young people seek degrees, but economic returns for themselves, and for governments (that are the major sources of funding) are lower
Students are studying far longer, while as many as 1/3 of all university students never graduate
Many recruiters are using degrees to screen applicants
An increasing number of employers are demanding degrees for jobs that did not require them in the past
The author might add: Some degrees are becoming very common, say the MBA degree. This may no longer yield the same economic benefits as in the past
So, we see important forces at play which lead young persons to take up studies and to study for longer periods of time. But, we also see a diminishing economic return from studying. A conundrum!
In order to shed further light on how this dilemma might be addressed, let us first point out several key developments:
Web-based technology has evolved, and is evolving very fast! This means that working remotely on one’s laptop, tablet or smart phone is a reality, with still being part of a larger network, of course! And, to communicate with others, has become relatively easy, primarily via words on screens and mobiles, but increasingly via voice and/or audio-visually. Specifically, this development opens up for more effective ways to study at home. Materials can now be tailored to the individual learners who study via distance, typically shorter pieces, often audio-visual, and with “control” features that ensures that various sets of materials actually have been learnt. And, as noted, a student can interact with others in the network, ask the professor, give comments to follow students, or even form study groups where on-line discussions might take place.
Technology opens up for a lot of flexibility. A student would be free to study when he/she would be motivated to study, and/or have the time. And, he/she might study whenever it might be time for it: at home, on the job, in the bus or car to/from the job, etc.
Furthermore, it would typically still be beneficial to also have physical gatherings as part of one’s program of study. These gatherings would typically be relatively short, but intensive, and held, say, over one or a few days, even over weekends, and at convenient locations.
But, despite of all of this progress, there is no doubt that this way of studying alone, remote, would call for a particular discipline in each individual student. It might be lonely to study this way, perhaps even boring at times! After all, we human beings are social animals thriving in crowds! Thus, it is no surprise that the dropout level tends to be high when it comes to this way of studying. A student may simply not have sufficient motivation! Or, the materials may simply turn out to be too complex to be easily comprehended via distance.
Another key factor that typically impacts the way of studying stems from the increasingly tight labor market. A young prospective student who might be fortunate to have landed a meaningful job, may understandably decide to hang on to this, instead of entering into full-time studies. After all, it might be highly uncertain whether he/she might get a similar type of meaningful job after eventual studies. On the other hand, other young persons might typically realize that continued studies might be required in order to be able to remain in his/her job on a longer-term basis. Thus, he/she might face a true dilemma here: Should I study full time or remain in my full-time job?
Fortunately, modern options regarding studying might help young people out of the before mentioned dilemma. Young professionals might now elect to study virtually, combined with occasional short seminars. This would typically provide this person with sufficient curricular flexibility. He/she would now be able to continue his/her career and study at the same time!
So, what might be some other factors for the young person to consider? Current traditions typically still favor going to university on a full-time basis. Partly, it might be important to receive a degree from an established institution of higher learning that would enjoy some degree of prestige. One might say that the name label of this institution might count relatively more for a young student’s future career than what might have been actually learnt! And, it might be noted that recruiters and employers too may typically impose their preferences for completed degrees from candidates that they actually select for employment. So, there might still be a bias for the more traditional educational option, although, this can be expected to slowly change. Here the increased popularity of the so-called apprenticeship education might represent a good case in point: learning on the job and at school, simultaneously!
So, how should today’s young person plan his/her path of higher education? Here are three pieces of advice:
Choose a distance-learning offering that appeals particularly to you. Pay attention to: • Is the topic of interest and relevant for you? • Is the pedagogy O.K? (try a demo!) • Is the general reputation of the offering institution O.K.? • Does this institution also offer one/several in site workshops, where you might be able to raise additional questions and discuss cutting-edge dilemmas face-to-face?
Choose such “learning modules” from several different academic institutions, so that you might be able to capitalize on each one’s true strengths, as well as getting a boost from the broad effects from several such institutions. Thus, you, in contrast to particular academic institutions would be responsible for putting together your own curriculum! In order to be better able to handle such planning and choices, consider what might be particularly useful and relevant as preparations for various careers. Discuss this with persons that might be further along in such careers, already.
Be very careful with the choice of your first job. Try to find a job setting with ample opportunities of “learning the ropes” of being in a well-managed organization, large or small. Be careful with your choice of boss; an excellent first boss can become a role model and may teach a young person plenty about business and leadership.
Choosing a digital, module-based form of education might entail a higher career risk than choosing a traditional degree from an established university. But, perhaps this is one of the privileges that the NextGen persons with family business backgrounds have – they can perhaps take larger risks than other young people can afford to take. In my view, these opportunities are worth exploring. Furthermore, the above mentioned approach to education might have a greater relevance for a person wishing to go into business or to become an entrepreneur – and less relevance for person wishing to become a medical doctor or lawyer. The learning objectives obviously play a large role.
In conclusion, the overall focus for the young person should be to set him/herself out on a longer-term “learning journey”, to “run a learning marathon”, where effective learning comes from both learning from studies and learning from one’s job. It is the interaction between these two spheres that gives the secret to why the modern way of learning can be so effective!
Comments