The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age
I was having another one of those moments yesterday where I was questioning the value of higher education while reading a HN thread about teaching yourself CS. There was a healthy debate about whether the typical CS curriculum helps a modern software engineer at all. Some thought the degree was stuck back in the 70&#x27;s. Others thought there was value, but had trouble articulating it. It seems that when the information received was divorced from the credential, the value dropped precipitously. And this is a hard sciences degree with many &quot;universal truths&quot; to teach. Things get even more squishy when you get into the humanities which are much more idea, opinion and discussion based.<p>As the linked article points out, employers often look for the degree, but do not believe it is much of an indicator of quality and don&#x27;t expect new grads to walk in the door with the needed skills. As a former recruiter I think that sentiment is pretty spot on. I don&#x27;t think I ever asked a candidate about the details of their education. It was just never relevant in comparison to their experience.<p>So that leaves the on campus experience, which I personally think is amazing. It&#x27;s like living at a country club for 4 years, crossed with a huge expansion in your world from living at home and going to high school. The new ideas from the classes are just a small part of the new ideas you get exposed to from other students and campus events. Plus with the increasing independence, it&#x27;s a great gentle introduction to adulthood. Unfortunately all that is not available during the pandemic.<p>So the content of the classes is in question, the value of the credential is in question, the cost is ballooning and the on campus experience is on an uncertain hiatus. If ever there was a time to disrupt higher ed, that time is now.