Collage Degree: Worth it?

Background

Right around the time I joined high school, I was highly exposed to some videos on YouTube, videos that highlighted the weakness in the current education system by using the art of spoken word. They were well crafted, well presented and for a sixteen-year-old, their arguments also made a lot of sense. One of the most popular ones was titled “Why I hate school but love education” by Suli Breaks, A masterpiece really. It would be an understatement if I said that I was taken under their influence. Here are a few of the points Suli and the others made:

• The school system is outdated, it is not constantly being updated and the progress is stagnant
• School doesn’t account for the personal difference students have. In their perception, comprehension speed, mode of learning, background and more
• Creativity and out of the box thinking is punished rather than nurtured and appreciated thus producing typical and unimaginative workers (even going as far as calling them ‘robot producers’)
• We spend way too much time learning things that we won’t use or apply in the real world
• Success is the result of hard work and education, not necessarily a school.
• And more

Some quotes I heard are still stuck with me.

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.

- Albert Einestein

and

Test us with tests, but the finals are never final. Because they never prepare us for the biggest test which is survival!

- Suli Breaks

What gave these ideas more power in my mind was the fact that these guys were complaining about the western modern educational institutions. If all this can be said about international institutions, what would be said of the local national ones?

What I did

Despite my beliefs, I didn’t go ahead and quit high school, Of course not. My parents wouldn’t allow it and I didn’t even have a viable alternative I could present. Nevertheless, it affected my grades and the focus I gave to my studies. I started seeing school as just a burden I had to carry. I was well satisfied with scoring just enough, enough to pass the grade gracefully and to just make my parents happy.

Skill building

I shifted my attention to skill building and since I was really into art and design, I started taking online courses. Graphic design, photo editing, video editing, motion graphics and VFX I tried them all. I can’t say I pushed any of them far enough at least at the time, but it made my conviction against schooling even stronger. Seeing these immensely educating videos, accessing them for free.

Teachers vs Online mentors

And then there’s the instructors, masters of their craft breaking down complex concepts, teaching them, giving them away. It all just belittled school in my eyes. All my years at high school were spent this way, spending 8 hours a day at school without even believing in it.

So, does that conclude it then? I mean should we even consider Universities?

Verdict

Well, it’s not that simple. Here’s the thing, let’s say you decided not to join Uni, what alternative are you going to take? Which path will you take to enrich yourself with knowledge and make yourself valuable? Valuable enough that someone will be willing to spend money on you and your expertise.

Two of the most popular alternative options being Self-paced learning (online) and Private Colleges and considering colleges are mostly a similar experience to universities, I want to mention some of the points that show the biggest difficulty one might face while learning online:

1. Too many Choices

There are hundreds of online learning sites and within those sites, there are again hundreds of courses you can take and even more professions you might choose from. While the availability of options is usually a good thing, in this particular case It can be paralyzing. It can also lead you to jump from one thing to another without getting a good grip at any particular field. So, unless you are a someone who already knows their interest and has a clear end goal, you are going to have to carefully analyze some options maybe even try them out for some weeks then decide which path you are going to follow.

2. Self-discipline

Learning and education in general can be exhausting at times, you might feel like just sleeping in and skipping the day. On these occasions, it is much easier to be “lazy” if you’ve taken the self-paced option. Examinations, deadlines and other time limiting factors are more enforced in proper institutions like universities. The only one accountable for you is YOU. So, before dropping out or filling that withdrawal form, make sure that you can be absolutely harsh on yourself and take your courses very seriously.

3. The Isolation

Since our KG days, we have been learning in a classroom environment. Where everyone is there for the lessons. You see all your friends taking notes, doing some classworks, and working hard to submit their assignments in time. You miss out on all this and there won’t be a friend here who can help you out when you have a hard time understanding a concept in class. Online sites try are always trying to provide alternatives but they are not quite there just yet.

When you start learning online and the only people you see on a daily basis are ones that have proper jobs and responsibilities, it can be a little daunting. Having online groups of people with similar learning style and interests can make it manageable. But still, you should consider how your everyday life will look like and whether you will be able make it through.

4. The Credentials - or lack there of

Of course, I am going to mention the paper. That nice shiny degree paper considered to be your golden ticket into any job listing. Well, we all now those days are way back in the past. Still however, Having your bachelors or masters on hand, especially if it is from a well-respected institution, can help win over some potential employers. I believe this one will heavily depend on the industry you are trying to penetrate. For example, the computing industry doesn’t seem to give that much care for you ‘on paper’ qualifications but rather wants to see practical examples of projects you have contributed for. Research on your particular industry and how much value traditional degrees are given there.

This list is by no means exhaustive and more could be added, but I think it gets the point across.

Conclusion

My final decision ended up leading me to the infamous Bahir dar University. For my campaigner type personality (I always take part in or organizing an event of some sort or take part in media activities), University is the perfect training ground. I can and am already involved with several campus-wide and even national and continent-wide exctacurricular activities.

I am mentioning this to make a point how much of a personal decision this is. What you like, what you excel at, where you see yourself in the future and other subjective situations have a major role to play here. Take some time, analyze your situation and make the choice and more importantly, whichever one you choose, give it your absolute best. Don’t ever let others opinion (myself included) have an adverse effect, cause after all it is YOUR life, not theirs.

Good luck!