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Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Is a college degree worth it?

In 2008, I was told that technological advances were doubling every 18 months, and that it took institutions of education at least 10 years or more to catch up with those technological advances.
    I myself started college in 1977 in pursuit of a degree in computer science. Since that time I have had to change my degree at least three times due to technological advances. I have had to continue to go to school periodically just to keep up with those advances in technology, only to find that the colleges themselves are unable to keep up.
    In one particular year, I took a class in Adobe CS5. The computer lab at the college only had CS4 and as the class was being taught CS6 came out. The college could only afford to update its computers every three years. If I wanted to learn the current version of Adobe CS6 I would have to learn it myself online without accreditation.
My daughter's high school graduation.
    At this point in time technology is now doubling every three months, computer programs are only available in the cloud because they are being constantly updated and revised, and many of the college programs are simply being dropped because the colleges cannot afford to keep up. If you are graduating this year from college with a degree in technology or science, there's a good chance that the degree you just attained is outdated and you now owe several thousand dollars for an education that is obsolete. Although this may not apply to all fields of study it does beg the following questions.
 

  • With technology moving faster than ever before and at some point technology moving so fast that it will be impossible for anyone to attain a degree, why haven't colleges come up with a new system of education and certification? 
  • Donald Trump is being questioned about his college, but nobody is questioning the various universities across the country that are issuing degrees and diplomas in fields of study that are not current with technology, why?
  • If you go to school for 12 years but only get a sixth-grade education should you get your money back ?
  • If the college does not teach you what you need to know to enter the field of study that you've chosen, should you be allowed to sue that college?
  • Is it realistic to expect a student to repay his student loan if the education he received does not help him attain a higher paying job?
  • With universities unable to keep pace with technology, how long before industrialized nations are unable to attain the skilled workers they need?

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