The Death of Higher Education

It’s no longer necessary to go to college. Please think before you enroll.

Google recently announced that they would be offering $300 certifications that when completed, would be considered on par with a college degree by their hiring managers.

Please let that statement sink in. A 4-year degree is now worth $300 and up to six months of studying. Google, one of the best companies in the world to work for, is letting you qualify for jobs on equal footing with those who paid $40,000 per semester to get a piece of paper. Yes, people actually pay that amount to go to college. I know people in their 30’s with over $100k of debt, still! This is a devastating reality for many.

Did you know most people enrolling in coding, UI/UX, management, data science, and design bootcamps already have bachelor's degrees?

I know English majors that make jewelry out of rocks, theater majors who work as servers, communication majors that are restaurant managers, criminal justice majors that are firefighters, and a whole slew of chemistry and biology majors that are now working as software engineers and data scientists (these are actual people I know, not random examples for the sake of argument).

You might be tempted to think that these individuals needed to attend college in order to gain the skills needed to do all these career paths. That college taught them “how to learn”. That’s a tempting argument, and one I’ve told myself to make me feel better about all the money and time I wasted attending college.

It’s easy to look back on college and remember the great times spent with friends and even the camaraderie of studying endless hours on tests, quizzes, and projects. But the reality is, none of that necessarily has to do with college. You could have had just as many fond memories and learning experiences (probably more, since you didn’t have to waste countless weekends studying for Organic Chemistry) if you had just done something else.

The problem is that most people go to college because they don’t know what else to do. It’s a simple herd mentality. Everyone else seems to be applying to colleges and all your high school classes seem to be designed to help you get into college, and your parents expect you to go to college. All signs probably point to college.

But I kid you not, nobody I know is using their college degree. NOT A SINGLE PERSON (Ok I know one person who is a doctor, he did use his degree). I even know a lawyer who is a cinematographer now, he didn’t even practice law for more than a year.

Let’s just talk about money, do you perhaps have a college fund your parents have put together for you? If so, you're one of the lucky ones. But get this, you’ll be paying anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000 per semester. Let’s call that $40,000 per year. Did you know you can invest that money in the stock market and have almost a guaranteed 10% return per year? Did you know that if you just invested that money in tech companies you love over the last few years you would have seen returns of over 100%? Yes, you could have doubled your money. Yes, if you skip college and start working and investing, you will be miles ahead of anyone else that goes to college.

What sounds better to you: Having $40k to $160k invested and earning interest plus skill sets and certifications that are guaranteed to get you a job? Or a degree in history or biology with $40k to $160k in debt and nothing on the guy that skipped college to invest in themselves instead of in the business model of a university.

But before you decide to not attend college, make sure you are someone who will do the following things:

2. Have hobbies that you love, like music, sports, or writing.

3. Be curious about the world and never stop reading and learning.

If you’re the right kind of person, and by right kind, I mean intelligent and creative, then college is almost certainly not the best choice for you. Think of all the people in the world that are amazingly successful, maybe some of them are your heroes, maybe they're your idols. Do some research online, or reach out and ask them through social media, did they even go to college? did they even complete the full four years?

And that's not because they were so exceptional that they didn’t “need to” but more so because they had a passion and a dream and most of all, they realized that college at the end of the day just leaves you with a piece of paper that day-by-day becomes more and more obsolete.

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