Ed. U.
ca.tion.
A few months ago, a really good friend of mine wanted to pivot professionally. He asked me (and a few of his other friends) for advice. He wanted to completely switch careers by getting into corporate America. Having never worked in a corporate setting, he was deliberating over the idea of going back to graduate school to get his M.B.A.
I'd like to preface this by stating that I absolutely hate giving people advice. I don't believe that it's warranted. It's absolutely impossible to extricate yourself from the advice you give. This is what psychologists call theory of mind complex. What I actually end up doing is giving the advice I'd give to myself absent of complete contextual information of the actual subject involved. For instance, if my daughter asks me if she should play basketball or go to Bucknell for college, how on Earth do I remove myself from that advice?
So my main question to him:
What will going to school do for you?
The truth of the matter is that an education serves more than one purpose. It's one large bundle of value propositions. An investment in an education is highly dependent on one's needs. Therefore, a diploma serves many purposes depending on who you are. Here are the features I believe exist in the education bundle.
Learning
This one is the most obvious. Outside of the chest information you get in the books, there are advanced concepts, insights and information provided by professors who have digested the subject matter over and over. There is also an incredible value add to learning from other students. This should be the only reason any of us get an education. But it's just not the case today. Historically, a student is to hone their literacy and numeracy skills for a specific domain. It not only helps you learn but to also teaches you how to learn.
Signaling
I once had a job where I was assisting the hiring manager for a position that would report to me. We had a candidate who had a degree from a prestigious university. We had another candidate who interviewed well, but got their degree from a lesser known university; she also had a work history that was primarily out of the country. The hiring manager put a premium on the first applicant's resume primarily because of his degree. This occurrence is not out of the ordinary. Just about every hiring manager falls victim to the allure of a potential hire like this. The assumption is that if they've been through the a prestigious program that has all it's requisite challenges of sorting, they could undoubtedly survive in just about any professional setting. The degree alone is a proxy for exceptionalism and mastery. It signals to employers what you are capable of.
Networking
Higher Education is a large socialization project as well. An unforeseen benefit (at least for me) has been the incredible friendships and connections I've made through colleagues and alumni. To some, in a college setting, relationships are the most valuable takeaway. A good friend of mine looked to raise $4 million for his startup a few years back and successfully did that by solely seeking investors that were alums from his school. Another good friend of mine makes it a point to hire 12 alumna from his alma mater every single year to his company. There's an incredible value in network formation and an in intense tribalism dynamic.
Immigration
This is probably the least popular reason to get an education, but it is the most important to me. Education in the United States has and always will be a pathway to a country where there is more opportunity. The United States has a really good skill development ethos. This is why visas of all kinds are highly coveted (including student visas). In the backdrop of the higher education experience, what many have discovered is an alternative pathway for being a permanent resident. There are other ways to get into this country, but they are far more selective. For instance - China, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brazil, India, Nigeria and Mexico are responsible for over 90% of all EB5 visas that are administered by the United States. These are immigration loopholes that allow international investors to invest in American projects (usually real estate) in exchange for green cards for their families (usually college bound children). What is bothersome is that EB5 is only applicable if you're wealthy, otherwise your chances of learning in the land of the free is slim. Education is the de facto lottery ticket for some. Were it not for the student visa, my parents wouldn't have made it to America and therefore I would not be an American citizen. To ignore the fact that higher education serves the purpose of saving immigrant lives highlights a flaw in our humanity. To ignore the fact that universities benefit from these students in a multitude of ways highlights a flaw in our perspective .
Employment
When once asked about why he skipped college, Kobe Bryant simply replied:
“You go to college to get a job”
What he was highlighting was the last purpose of an education: Job training. There are specific prerequisites outside of the occupational licensure that some specific professions have. For the NBA, you would need to either be tall, fast, athletic, supremely skilled with the basketball, and incredibly motivated to compete. All of which Kobe Bryant had, so why go to college? For others there is no other way to attain the requisite skills without the required curriculum for doctors, lawyers and engineers etc.
I ultimately told my friend that if I could do it all over again, I probably wouldn't have gotten my MBA. I did it for the bundle, but the fact of the matter is that there are other services that exist for much cheaper prices that could've helped me satisfy every need in the bundle.
Learning: The internet has taught me more than any professor has. And it's free.
Signaling: Ivy league schools are now giving away certificates and courses online now like hotcakes.
Immigration: To my knowledge, there is not a better alternative solution attempted at unbundling this.
Employment: I was never skilled enough to get a job without a college degree. But I have friends who are thriving in the professional world without one.
Higher education is highly disruptable. There are some colleges that hemorrhage money. The number of MBA applications has shrunk dramatically in the last decade. The return on investment can't be justified across the board. I say all that with a bias. I'm sure if I had a different experience, I would think graduate school served a greater purpose than what it served to me. So I didn't tell him any of the above. Hence why this was all I said to him at the end:
“If you believe you need it, don't let me tell you otherwise”