Top 5 Reasons: Higher Ed is the Most Important Industry

This is not meant to be a cheesy love letter to an industry going through the wringer currently, but rather, an honest and deep assessment into why the higher ed industry is the most important one.

Yes, a lot of companies and institutions are making a lot of money through higher ed. If you look at just universities - the largest University endowment of $40 billion shows that clearly. While an endowment isn't 'spending money' - it does signify just how much money an institution has made from its products. But that's not why it's the most important industry.

Higher ed and higher ed institutions are currently receiving a lot of heat and hate and frustration. From everyone - especially prospective students and students.

But everything we do stems from higher ed and that makes it the most important industry. Even as a small percentage of companies are moving away from requiring even bachelor degrees - the majority of the workforce is still required to provide some proof of higher education.

In all honesty, except for the handful of super smart startup founders that dropped out of college, I've seen a distinct difference between someone that has a master's degree and someone that doesn't. There is a different level of mastery and critical thinking skills, as would be expected. Is there a difference between someone with an associate's degree and a bachelor's? Depends on the person. But typically community colleges have a much lower bar in terms of who they accept as faculty, thus, there will be a difference in mastery between someone with a bachelor versus an associate's.

Top 5 Reasons Higher Ed is the Most Important Industry

1) It enables the rapid growth of other industries through development of the right talent & skill set.

Higher ed is the primary supplier of talent to all other industries. It doesn't get more powerful than that. Sure, there are currently some gaps - particularly in tech. However, what some universities, particularly the top ranked universities, are doing is working with employers to identify and intentionally fill in those skills gaps through upgraded and revamped curricula - as well as publicity campaigns to underrepresented demographics. In the instance of tech - providing more outreach to females, as well as incentives such as larger scholarships and funding.

2) Only industry where some of the most innovative research happens - for the benefit of all humanity & not always just for profit. Thus, some of the most pressing issues have been solved & will continue to be solved within higher ed institutions.

These are some of the most important discoveries in history, and they were made within higher ed institutions.

• UCLA has spent an average of $1 billion in research funding
• Stanford has a $1.6 billion research budget
• Georgia Tech - $800 million research budget
• etc.

These are a small number of the vast amount of important discoveries that have happened on university campuses:

• Vaccines
• e-reader for books
• DNA discoveries
• Webcams
• Weather predictions
• No needle injections
• etc. etc. etc.

3) Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is critical to maintaining our humanity, as we move into an era of accelerated AI development.

It really doesn't matter what you believe spiritually - the era we're going into affects everyone. We're already going into a confusing era of gender fluidity and new, previously unheard of identities. Add to that the removal of soul through increased mechanical interactions - things can go really well or really badly. In terms of connection to who we are.

Higher ed, through the pursuit of knowledge and asking hard questions, helps ground us into who we are as humans. That is - we are each here for a very limited time, for a specific purpose, and to learn and truly master specific things, including certain ideals - such as integrity, excellence, commitment, drive, generosity, even love, etc. It is this connection to our humanity that will help us not get lost in the all-consuming AI world by reminding us always of who we are at our core & why we're here.

4) At the bachelor level, this is where a teenager transitions into becoming an adult & understanding who they want to be in the world. This is an incredibly important foundation for our culture and current civilization.

How does someone become an adult? By going out into the world on their own and learning through challenges.

In ancient cultures - boys were sent out at a certain age to go through specific tests and trials - and battle the wilderness alone. If they survived, they were then considered an adult. It was a rite of passage and a test of a person's character and strength.

Today, adults are born in colleges depending on the experience that person chooses. Not only does it provide a transition to adulthood, but college provides individuals a chance to truly understand who they are away from their parents' personalities. What are they drawn to do in life? What are the things they truly enjoy? What do they want to contribute to the world? What matters to them? These and many more questions come up through the daily struggles of college life, and there's a true beauty in that process.

5) Provides a critical link to who we used to be - to understand where we're going.

The oldest university in the world was founded in 1088. It's almost 1,000 years old. While what it is today isn't the exact same as it was when it was founded, historical ed institutions provide a critical link and understanding into our past. So we don't repeat the same mistakes or patterns in the future.

While knowledge is not as suppressed now as it used to be, there is still a history of knowledge being controlled by just a few people and kept from 'the masses.' The educated person who was not part of the ruling class or aristocracy was very much viewed as a potential threat to existing power.

Higher ed institutions that encourage honesty and asking the difficult - though sometimes uncomfortable questions - are those that enable us to grow even faster as a civilization. Those that are disrupters within the industry - which is very hard to find among universities and colleges. It is phenomenal that there are now no boundaries to knowledge to anyone that seeks it or develops it. A 14- year old can solve critical world problems from their room using their computer - and it is tremendous that this does happen frequently now. Anyone can blog from anywhere in the world & let the globe know of things that used to be well-hidden - including video footage from their phone. Our past helps us to remember how significant this is and to encourage even larger leaps of movement forward.

About Me

Edtech sales and higher ed enrollment leader. Only kid in my immediate family with a college education. Only person in my extended families to (a) obtain a Master's degree, (b) move to the US and on my own to build my life from scratch. Insatiable reader (thank you Audible and Kindle!).

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