Education, Yes. Diploma, No.

As does much of my inspiration, today’s post comes via Twitter. More specifically, a retweet that led me to a wonderful post by Sarah Austin (why don’t any pretty, geeky girls live in ND?).

I’m torn on the issue of whether or not a diploma is necessary. On one hand, my level of geeky knowledge is enough to start out nearly anywhere, and my ability to learn can quickly advance me. On the other hand, it seems no level of geeky knowledge is enough for anyone in ND to outright hire you off the street without a diploma, you need to get your foot in the door some other way. Of course, not all educations are created equal. I learned more about computers and technology reading magazines after school in 5th grade than I did in 3 semesters at college. What I learned back then was more advanced too. Of course, there were still kids in college who struggled with what was being taught. This is the benefit a ND High School has given me.

Most disturbing to me about diplomas is just how little some of the graduates actually know. They can study all they want, memorize everything they need to know for the test, but they need to remember it when they leave. I had a friend who graduated with a business degree after 5 years of school. In a casual conversation with him, I discovered he didn’t know what ROI meant (Return On Investment). That’s an #EPICFAIL for a business student, it’s the basics. I challenge you to find a business magazine that doesn’t refer to ROI, much less an actual business environment.

The internet has opened doors. Graphic Design, check. Typography, check. Web Development, check. Social Media, check. Marketing, check. Blah Blah Blah, check. I can learn more essential information, more easily, more quickly, and remember it better with a couple hours spent online than by spending a month in a classroom. If I have a perplexing question, someone on Twitter or Linkedin is bound to have an answer for me sooner rather than later.

The internet is still a bit behind in some areas though. You can study the Bible a lot on your own, go through numerous studies, watch a plethora of podcasts, but you’re still better off learning Greek and Hebrew and how to translate at seminary. Likewise, I’d prefer the guy drawing up blueprints for my house have more formal training than a 2 week course he did in his basement.

But for many things, especially technology and any creative arts using a computer, a diploma is becoming increasingly worthless. Everything is changing so quickly, that half of what you learned in your first year of school is irrelevant by the time you’re in year 3.  As pointed out by Esther Schindler, if you couldn’t see the name on the resume, many of the brightest minds of the last few decades couldn’t teach a class on subjects they pioneered because they didn’t get a college degree. Names that spring to mind include Steve Jobs (revolutionized 4 industries), Steve Wozniak (brought the Personal Computer to the masses), Bill Gates (developed some of the most widely used software in the world), and Mark Zuckerberg (key player in developing an industry that knocked porn off as the #1 use of time online). HR departments need to spend less time looking for reasons not to hire you and more time looking for the diamond in the rough.

Furthermore, as culture has changed, the University System largely does things the same way they did 500 years ago. Consider the contrasting by openeducation.net.

“Students are inside a classroom (tethered to a place), using textbooks and handouts (printed materials), they must pay tuition and register to attend (the experience is closed), talking during class or working with others outside of class is generally discouraged (each student is isolated though surrounded by peers), each student receives exactly the same instruction as each of her classmates (the information presented is generic), and students are students and do not participate in the teaching process (they are consumers).”

…..

“From her dorm room / the student center / a coffee shop / the bus a student connects to the Internet using her laptop (she is mobile), uses Google to find a relevant web page (a digital resource which is open for her to access). While carrying out her search, she chats with one friend on the phone and another using instant messaging to see if they can assist in her search (she is connected to other people), she follows links from one website to another exploring related information (the content is connected to other content), she quickly finds exactly the information she needs, ignoring irrelevant material (she gets what is important to her personally), and she shares her find with her friends by phone and IM (she participates in the teaching process).”

As Steve Wozniak told Sarah Austin, “…the only reason I should get a degree is so I can tell my kids to get a degree.” It’s all about the education. The kid you just decided not to hire may be poor, unable to afford school, but spent his down time going through a 4 year program on MIT’s OpenCourseWare. Same education, but no diploma. Or maybe he’s just brilliant and you don’t realize it yet, just as one of Zuckerberg’s old professors admits to trying to talk him out of the pointless Facebook concept.

So what are your thoughts? Is a diploma still worth it?

• Bookmark :
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Stumbleupon
• Redit it