Justification for Higher Education

Growing up in the 1980’s in a lower income suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia, I remember staring at my bedroom wall where a poster hung with the words plastered on the top ‘Justification for Higher Education’. The oversized picture showcased five high-end sports cars parked in a multi-car garage of a luxury home on a bluff that looked like one from California. The intent behind this marketing message was to motivate and hold young teenage high school students (such as myself) accountable to study hard in high school achieve excellent grades and get accepted into a post-secondary program. Where if we got further education, we would set the stage to get a great job that has incredible earning potential which then would pave the way to live the life we always dreamed of…the so-called  “American Dream”

The motivation & accountability worked but unfortunately, for most, the outcome wasn’t living the American Dream that they hoped for. Coming out of post-secondary programs with a misunderstanding of who we are, what we want, no applicable job experience, average ‘entry level’ positions and a massive amount of financial debt most certainly brings on financial stress and anxiety. Servicing that debt on top of the other ‘stressors’ that Millennials face is one of the largest issues we see in today’s job market.

So where did we go wrong?

It started with the influence of the parents, the Baby boomers, and their focus on driving their children to get further education. For some boomers, they grew up with nothing, working a 9-5pm blue-collared job and doing what it takes to make ends meat to put food on the table and support their family. For others, they had first hand experience on what post-secondary education provided because of the secured well-paying jobs that included careers as wealth managers, accountants, lawyers, and doctors to name a few. In essence, a part of this generation didn’t have the fortune to have further education and the benefits that came with that…and the other part of the generation directly benefited from what education provided. However, that was before the invention of one key platform – the Internet.  

Prior to the Internet, we never had access to the unlimited information like we do today. If we wanted to advance our knowledge, improve our competency in something, develop our skills, or specialize in a profession, we had to enroll in a formal education program and it was that post-secondary education that made all the difference. Hence why the Baby boomer generation grew up thinking this was the Holy Grail for their children. Now the stage was set. Education provided a life of luxury.

The result: a level of social influence, pressure, and expectation that forced late teens and young adults to go to post-secondary education for the sake of going to school. They entered programs that they were “passionate about” without doing the necessary due diligence around career opportunities in those respective fields. There was no real thought put into gaining job experience in their early 20’s to determine who they are and what they want (let alone what they are good at), and perhaps save some money before diving head first into debt and a program that will provide them little to no value when they graduate. There is also some significant opportunity costs associated with this path at a critical time in a young adults life. Instead of getting job experience, traveling the world and gaining perspective…they are left with a certificate that doesn’t give them any of it and the outcome is disastrous.

Time and time again we see mid 20-year olds coming out with an undergrad degree, with very little job experience (if any), no applied knowledge to maximize their education, and significant debt attached to them. Let alone an undergrad degree in areas such as art, history, kinesiology, and psychology that provide limited career pathways, if they choose to apply the knowledge they just went to school for!  On top of this, we see many of these Millennials delusional around what the work environment really looks like with misconceptions of what it takes to be successful, what they are good at and what they aren’t. The one thing they are definitely clear on is they want to earn over 6 figures so that they can drive a nice car, buy a nice house, and live the life that is appreciated through likes on Instagram and shares on Facebook. They want to find the gold at the end of the rainbow that truly doesn’t exist. Make more, work less, have balance – and achieve all their goals in a 4-hr workweek!

Unfortunately, the myths around the bean bag chair & foosball oriented work place isn’t a common thing. These seekers quickly realize that the colorful and playful work environment is harder and harder to find, that working is actually hard work and that they can’t make the money they were once promised or convinced they could make. The initial reaction to this dose of reality is to blame their employer or job environment and then quickly proceed to find another place where the grass is hopefully greener. Only to cycle through jobs and eventually decide to go back to school (once again) in hopes to ‘earn more’. The result is usually only more debt, more stress, and less clear on the path they need to take. Whatever happened to “doing what it takes” or “toughing it out” and applying basic physics that the straightest thing between two points is a straight line. Instead of jumping from job to job in hopes to find the ‘right fit’ there is something to be said about time & patience – which might actually be the secret ingredients to the success recipe.

As business owners, parents, and peers, let’s encourage the alternatives. Let’s affirm that diploma programs with applied work experience can be equally as good as an undergrad degree. That getting job experience prior to subscribing to further education can influence our path and teach us what we want and what we are good at. That entrepreneurship has its benefits but it’s hard work, there’s risk associated with it, and not everyone will be a winner. And reinforce the stark reality that it usually takes hard work, patience & consistent efforts to achieve a level of success.