College is not for everyone, and while tuition and fees have increased over the past year by 14.1% for public institutions and 6% for private ones, there is a growing need for individuals to assess whether or not college is the best route to go (over the past two decades, these prices have doubled). Simply spending $20,000 a semester for a degree you won’t ever use is not always the best use of your time and resources. My goal in this post is not to persuade you one or the other what you should do, but to provoke you to ask fundamental questions before making a decision that will impact the rest of your life and career.
Before we start, there are some career options today that absolutely require graduate studies. If you want to become a doctor, psychiatrist, lawyer, dentist, or physicist (among other similar jobs), your only route is to immerse yourself in the college life, submit into a graduate program, and eventually get some kind of masters degree or Ph.D. With our current social institutions, there are no other ways to get these jobs without formal education at a higher learning facility. Before deciding not to go to college, make sure you have chosen a career path that doesn’t mandate it.
As the economic recession continues to prolong, many of those in the workforce, both employed and unemployed, are wondering if now is a good time to further their education in order to get a hedge in the job market. But spending another 2 years in the classroom may not be the best use of time, money, and labor which you could otherwise be spending learning on your own, networking with others, and starting your own productive endeavors. Today these alternative options are more available to us than ever before.
An article written last year in The Chronicle warned that graduate college may not be the best path to build careers in the humanities and arts. A lot of the information and advice can also be applied to businessmen, entrepreneurs, and other career choices that require more creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, which cannot always be fostered in an environment designed for standardized education. While most graduate programs integrate independent work and hands-on training, much of this can also be replicated in the work force through internships, entry-level jobs that have upward mobility, and our own self-directed studies – often achieved at a fraction of the price.
One major benefit of self-learning over formal education is that individuals can adapt a curriculum that fits their specific interests, and modify this curriculum as their studies progress. Here are some resources I have found particularly useful over the past year:
1) iTunes University (this is a direct link to the plug-in): This resource has literally thousands of video and audio lectures from over 100+ universities all over the world, including ivy leagues like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn State, and Cornell. They also have material for grades K-12 as well as “Beyond Campus” curriculum from other educational institutions. This is a truly indispensable resource for anyone who loves learning and never wants to stop. The biggest problem is that there are too many interesting lectures, and not enough time.
2) YouTube: Despite a lot of the nonsense and trash that gets posted by amateurs, there is also a lot of quality content here (if you are willing to search for it). OpenCulture.com has a great article called “70 Signs of Intelligent Life at YouTube” which has a large list of informative YouTube channels including videos from TED.com, Fora.tv, Google Talks, BigThink.com, National Geographic, New Scientist, among others. YouTube also has some full-length documentaries you can stream, and it’s a great place to search for interviews if you discover a new scholar, artist, businessman, or philosopher who you want to learn more about.
3) Wikipedia: Wikipedia is the largest encyclopedia on the web. This is one of the first places I go whenever I hear of a new theory or concept. It is a resource best used to build breadth in a field or topic you don’t know anything about. One caveat, however, is to make sure that you follow-up on your sources at Wikipedia to see if they are valid, or to learn more about the subject. This is important because anyone can edit Wikipedia and insert wrong information. Although, studies have shown that Wikipedia has proven to be just as accurate (or have just as many errors per submission) as other reputable encyclopedias like Britannica. While college professors are often known for discouraging its use, Wikipedia is a valid resource.
4) News and blogs: I’ve found that having a diverse array of news sources and blogs is also a great way to stay informed about current events, politics, economics, science, health, business, etc. Over the past two months I have created three different feeds (NewsRoundup, PsychNews, and Libertarian Minds) to help stay up-to-date on my favorite websites. I like to wake up every morning and browse through the latest headlines, opening up new tabs on my browser, and then reading through the articles in between sips of coffee. This is a good way to build breadth, get introduced to new things that I wouldn’t otherwise know about, and just keep my mind sharp. As I discover new sites that I enjoy I add them to the feed.
5) Forums and social bookmarking: One not-yet-mentioned component of learning is being able to discuss these ideas with others and get new perspectives. Ever since I first discovered the internet I have been a part of one forum or another. These provided me with an avenue to talk about interests that I don’t usually share with friends or family. Social bookmarking sites are a way for users to post interesting links from all over the web and then discuss (or argue) about them. I currently spend a lot of my time using Reddit.com, but there are also other sites like Digg, Newsvine and Delicious. Don’t underestimate the utility of these sites. Knowledge without communication is just a bunch of ideas sitting in your head with nowhere to go. Being able to articulate what you have learned is a great step toward more effectively putting that knowledge to action.
Conclusion
The best part about all of these is that they are absolutely free. While some ideas you may find more useful than others, together I bet you can put together a very comprehensive educational program specifically designed to meet your goals.
My main point here is that there are alternatives to the blueprint provided to us by modern education. College and graduate school can seem like logical and safe-bets, but they also come with costs and limitations. Of course you won’t have a degree to show after listening to 30 lectures on iTunes, but you will have knowledge that you can hopefully apply to the real world (and often that is more important).
We are in an always evolving world in the midst of very fragile economic times. Following old blueprints may give us a sense of security, but they don’t always offer us the tools we need to move forward in the direction we want. Steering away from formal education is risky, and those who do it need to be motivated and self-directed if they want to be successful. It’s not for everyone, but it is an option that we don’t often hear about.
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