Is the Modern Degree becoming Obsolete?

Skill is the unified force of experience, intellect, and passion in their operation - John Ruskin

Having pondered this topic countless times for several years now, I decided to write this post today. As I look at my two baby boys (Fillip & Hadrian), I wonder what advice I will give them once they become adult men and begin to find their way in life. For context, I come from a family that has placed higher education quite high on their priorities. I have a degree myself, as does every member of my family, primarily in the STEM field.

With that being said…

I feel there are several factors leading to the notion that the traditional University degree may be on a path of obsolescence. We’re in such a fast paced, rapidly evolving world, and if the shortcomings of higher education do not meet this rapid evolution, we could very well see an implosion in the modern degree. We’re seeing more and more of this sentiment being preached in industry & commerce than before; and let’s be honest, how many people can say we’re currently in a career that is directly aligned to our post secondary education. In fact, there are many people I’ve personally worked with who never attended University of College and are still extremely successful.

Now, I don’t want to shit on education or post secondary institutions, because that is not my intent - I myself am a lifelong learner and have a Degree. I think continuous learning is at the center of societal improvements and we must improve as we evolve. I also believe the modern university degree still holds value in our society because there is enough data that could make a counter argument. This would however be primarily in certain fields and professions that require extensive theoretical knowledge, academic research, or generally have a linear path when approaching a profession - such as a Medical Doctor, Electrical Engineer, Chartered Accountant, etc. However, the dominance of the degree is being challenged as a primary indicator of knowledge, employability, and success. As the world becomes more dynamic and industries increasingly prioritize practical skills and experience; alternative paths to learning and development that offer agility, immediate applicability, and affordability are gaining traction.?

Unfortunately, we’ve seen the coming of many degrees that have very low employability and offer no tangible ROI upon completion. Not to offend anyone, but there are plenty of impractical degrees out there. When I say impractical, I’m referring to the simple economic principles of supply and demand here. If society needed more of a supply of Dance Theory/Theater majors, then premium employability would be shifted to those people. We all know that this is not the case though. Our society needs people who build things, grow businesses, solve problems, and help people. In fact, when you look at the top 10 least-regretted university majors (according to Zip Recruiter’s large data set) you’ll see that the following degrees would once again be chosen by students if they had to do it all over again - and this is primarily being driven by compensation factors that lead to better jobs and a more sustainable life:

• Computer & Information Sciences (72%)
• Criminology (72%)
• Engineering (71%)
• Nursing (69%)
• Health (67%)
• Business Administration & Management (66%)
• Finance (66%)
• Psychology (65%)
• Trades (65%)
• Human Resources Management (58%)

Would it be surprising if I told you that Canada’s most in demand jobs had a direct correlation with the above?

• Account Manager
• Software Developer (not to be confused with engineers)
• Registered Nurses
• Truck Driver
• Electrician
• Welder
• Engineer
• Accountant
• Cloud Architect
• Human Resources Manager
• Project Manager
• Mechanical Engineer

With this being said, the interesting thing to note is how low some of the satisfaction percentages are for even the TOP 10 least regretted degrees. You can imagine what some of the numbers were for countless other degrees - but we won’t go there to spare some people the hurt. So let’s dive into why this slow trend of dissatisfaction and obsolescence is plaguing university and where the shortcomings actually are.

1. Lack of Emphasis on Competencies & Skills: I’ll tell you right now as a fact - employers have been for a long time shifting their focus from “credentials” & “prestige” to demonstrable skills, competencies, grit, attitude, and values. With the rise of the gig economy and project based work, employers are prioritizing those individuals who can perform very specific tasks and contribute immediately.
2. Rising Costs & Debt: This is primarily a North American problem, but also prevalent in other places across the globe. It has become an increasingly expensive endeavor to pursue a degree that clearly doesn’t guarantee a future for all. With the availability of bootcamps, vocational training, online courses, etc. students are questioning whether it’s worth it. Imagine spending $80,000 - $200,000 on an impractical Degree that takes you nowhere when you can earn $75,000 as an entry level plumber in Canada ($150,000+ for the entrepreneurially spirited ones) through vocational skills training.
3. Lack of Relevance: The pace in which technological advancements and industry disruptions surface has rendered many university curriculums outdated and disconnected from real-world needs. What you learned in first year university may not be relevant towards your graduation.
4. Access to Learning: The digital revolution has transformed the way we learn and access to learning is closer to us than ever before. Open platforms, peer-to-peer learning, personalized experiences, open educational resources, etc. are challenging the notion that a physical campus and a degree are essential for acquiring knowledge. Technology-enabled alternatives offer flexible, accessible, and oftentimes more affordable educational opportunities which are eroding the monopoly held by traditional universities.
5. Kaizen - Lifelong Learning & Upskilling: The notion of obtaining a degree and relying on it for a lifetime is not realistic. Continuous learning through condensed & targeted programs or “micro-credentials” is gaining more prominence, allowing professionals in all fields to acquire new skills and adapt to changing demands accordingly. Personally speaking, this is critical for me and from my experience - if I stopped aggressively learning after my degree, my life would be drastically different.

A LITTLE STORY FOR YOU…

For the many of you who've been following me for some time now understand that I favor extreme examples to get my point across, but this is not one of those times (Sorry!). Regardless, it is still very interesting and thought provoking, taking examples from my parents.

Let’s start with my brilliant mother’s journey. She emigrated from Macedonia (then the Socialist Republic of Macedonia) at the age of three to a small farm town in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. My mother’s education was entirely in Canada, and her experiences seem to reflect similar experiences which I had, which is interesting because that demonstrates how little change there has been in higher education structure. For context, my mother was a Registered Nurse. She was on the Dean's list and held a 98.5% average. She was near perfect in all the medical/scientific courses - she is a bookworm and incredibly intelligent when you consider book smarts. She has a high degree of intellect, understands complex problems, and has a university level degree - at a time where it was not as common. The problem was, my mother didn’t actually have the skills to be a successful registered nurse - she had the theory, science, empathy, and communications down; but my mom didn’t like needles, didn’t do well with other people’s blood & other bodily fluids, more prone to panicking in emergency situations, couldn’t handle medical equipment & tools as well as other, etc. She wasn’t as skilled for the actual job as she was for understanding the science. She would have likely been an amazing accountant, but chose a path to raise her three children full time instead, which in itself was an extremely difficult job.

Let’s flip it to my legend of a father. He’s been a lifelong learner through and through but his path was more based on learning specific skills, rather than the classical methods through a modern university degree. For context, my father was in automotive engineering for Ford Motor Company; he speaks four (4) languages fluently; was a marathon swimmer; played 2nd division professional soccer in Germany; was a successful musician; was in the Special Forces (military); and owned and operated a successful home improvement business – no degree from a North American institution. Why do I highlight all of this? He was always focused on developing specific demonstrable skills that propelled him towards his goals. My father immigrated to Canada when he was 26 years old from the Socialist Republic of Macedonia (a constituent Republic under Yugoslavia & nation state for Macedonians). After serving in the military under the special forces branch, my father then went to a technical school in Germany, so his perception was obviously quite different and his mindset molded from military leadership & the German system / culture. From my understanding, outside of learning some formal scientific methodologies, his learning was more skills based and based on his passions. He additionally had a lot of opportunities for hands-on experience, which developed his practical skill set on how to problem solve, build, operate, and service machinery and vehicles. This is why his advice was geared more towards that train of thought when it came time for advice on my journey. Although he PUSHED for higher education, his experience was different, and that’s why he thought that only “practical degrees” (in his thoughts - Engineering, IT, Finance, Management, etc.) were useful.

It’s interesting because a University degree didn’t help my parents and yet they still both pushed all their children to pursue higher education. Are we all glad we pursued higher education - you bet your ass we are; but it was only one small variable and we’re lucky we fell within our fields of study. I mentioned earlier that it wasn’t my degree alone that got me to where I am - in fact it’s probably only ten percent of the equation. Same with my brother - he’s an electrical engineer by trade and heads up some of the vehicle electronics programs at Dodge/Jeep/Ram. But there is a lot more to his success / career journey - particularly the numerous skills he learned afterwards.

WHY THIS MATTERS…

I think it’s important that we now look at the structures and what is being taught in universities and what the value of a degree means in our modern age. I am still a massive supporter of higher education and continuous learning - but we have to ask ourselves what this means in our society today. I’ll tell you right now, the past several companies I’ve helped grow do not put a massive focus on degrees like companies did early in my career. I think that the modern university degree, with it's traditional structure and focus on theoretical knowledge (as you saw in the case of my mothers journey), faces significant challenges in meeting the needs of our rapidly changing world and the expectations of up and coming students. I don’t believe the university degree is dead. However, I do believe its monopoly as a primary measure of career success is depleting significantly. I think we need to embrace alternatives and shift learning more towards the development of practical skills that will address our needs as a society. Although certain professions will still require extensive theoretical knowledge, what will change in the future - should we re-evaluate the structure of universities? What about course material? Should we stop treating education like a business? How should we test knowledge and competency in the future? I think we’ll be hearing a lot more about this topic in the near future.

So… is the University Degree dying?