I dunked a biscuit in
my coffee today. It is an act that may seem trivial but it is the
reason for the act that matters rather than the actual earth
shattering news that I placed the end of a cookie into a piping hot
beverage. My dunking endeavour was inspired by the glorious
description of the experience in the film 'The Best Exotic Marigold
Hotel', a wonderful movie depicting the trials of a group of elderly
British pensioners in India. The dunking description scene takes
place as Evelyn, superbly portrayed by Judi Dench, attempts to get a
job at a call centre. It is pointed out to her that the group of
young people busy fielding and making calls are all university
graduates. That point hit home more than the bit about tea and
biscuits. A group of university graduates and the best they can
manage is a job answering the phone and making scripted sales calls.
Apologies to call centre workers everywhere, but it does not take a
degree to answer the phone when all you need is common sense and a
good take on the language being spoken.
More people than ever
are pursuing a university or college career. More and more places are
demanding paper behind your name before they will employ you. More
and more people are looking at the letters after your name as a sign
of your credibility. But is it really all worth it? Does a university
degree set you up for success, especially when there is a glut of
university graduates on the market?
There is a very
powerful statistic bandied about showing that, as recently as 2009,
income levels were strongly correlated with education level in the
USA. However, as many analysts are quick to point out, correlation
does not equal causation. It could just be that the drive and work
ethic required to get a degree is the same work ethic that gets you
to a place of success in life. I know a number of recent graduates
from college both locally and overseas who cannot obtain a job in
today's crunch economy.
People who are quick to
promote the 'no-degree' path eagerly point out a long list of
successful college dropouts who went on to make it big, including
people like Bill Gates. What you may miss is that Bill Gates dropped
out with the idea to start a company, he already had the idea and a
fair amount of the skills, and was positioned at the right place and
time to achieve the success he did. I also know a few people locally
who have managed just fine without completing a tertiary education.
It has not been easy for them; they still needed a vision, strong
work ethic and desire to succeed.
The style of education
offered in the USA and UK is so expensive that you can graduate with
a massive debt hanging over your head that will take you a lifetime
to pay off. Yes your degree may get you earning more, it also has you
paying off more to the people who funded your degree. At the end of
ten years I am not sure if the person who has a four year start on
the working pathway will be any worse off than the post-graduate.
Fortunately tertiary education in Zimbabwe is still cheaper than
most, for now.
I would like to
introduce you to the idea of Full Sail University. Specialising in
entertainment industry education (think music, film, computer game
design), they operate modular, full-time, online and classroom based
education. When I say full-time I mean 24-7 operation with two weeks
off for good behaviour over Christmas. You graduate with a degree
after 2 years of hard work with eight hours of lectures a day. None
of this summer break nonsense for three months, you do not get that
in the working world so why get it at University.
The world is in a state
of flux. Economies are under strain, the corporate system is under
criticism, connections and relationships are coming to the fore. With
this change comes great opportunity and a need to adapt. Education
styles are shifting (or should be) to compensate for the new ways of
obtaining information.
So where does the
answer lie? Perhaps the answer lies in more thinktank, mentorship
style practical programs akin to the apprentice system. Perhaps
universities need to rethink their current options. Ultimately
education should teach you how to think, how to obtain and process
information, how to problem solve based on first principles. For some
there will always be a need for skill acquisition, doctors for
example will need to practice surgery somewhere. More than skills
though it is the impartation of an attitude that will set you on the
path to success. It matters not so much whether you get a degree or
not, nor how you get it, but hard work will always be required to
obtain success. Hiring for attitude is way more important than hiring
for qualification. You can have a nice set of letters after your
name, but if you are basically lazy or unwilling to serve clients I
am not interested in employing you. If your degree has meant that you
have spent the last three years of your life attending four lectures
a day and doing little else constructive I may worry, just a little,
that you expect the working world to be that easy.
Regardless of your
education, if you think that you can set up a company and just walk
away without attending to it on a frequent basis then you are either
gifted or seriously deluded. Growing a vision into reality, building
a reputation, setting up systems, monitoring and correction all take
an effort that stems from the right attitude. Sure you can buy a
'kombi' and set it on the street with the demand for a hundred
dollars a day from the driver and have it run around without you
thinking about it till day end and call it a business. All you have
to do is take a ride on the joke of a public transport system we have
in Harare to realise the result of an uncontrolled system. All it
will take is a well operated, friendly, reliable system that cares
about its travellers to be introduced and bang will go the kombi
business (of course it is easy to write that, the reality is much
harder). Attitude matters.
Learning should be a
lifestyle regardless of formal or on-the-job training. Read. Write.
Debate. Learn to argue a point. Learn to question the status quo, to
explore and come up with alternatives. If the only job you can get
with your degree is a call centre operative it better be a stepping
stone for you to greater things, not the final destination.
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