Non-higher non-education

Let’s talk about education. About what it really is. And also about what it is not, contrary to what most people think.

For most people, education is primarily associated with universities that you enter after school. It is believed that a good education received at a worthy and respected university practically guarantees a person a stable, well-paid job in the future. But with each passing year, faith in higher education as a way to secure a decent profession and a comfortable life for the rest of one’s life weakens and collapses.

More and more people realize that 5 years at an average university will not bring them one centimeter closer to a decent, well-paid job. And the problem is not only in universities as such, but also in our attitude toward education in general. It is gradually changing, but not fast enough to keep up with the rapidly globalizing and competitive world of today, which sometimes develops at simply unimaginable speed.

To avoid falling behind, you first and foremost need to learn. And in this case we are not talking about studying at universities, but about the ability to reassess values, change established thinking patterns, and get rid of the burden of misconceptions that pull us to the bottom.

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn and relearn,” — said Alvin Toffler. An extremely accurate observation by the American sociologist and writer.

What’s wrong with the traditional system of higher education? Let’s examine a number of misconceptions related to studying at universities and education in general.

1. A diploma does not equal a successful career

Many people still think that studying at a good university leads to a well-paid, highly qualified job. In fact, that is not true. By and large, this statement never matched reality; it’s just that in the past, getting into a university was almost the only possible way to enter some profession, because there simply were no other options for obtaining the necessary theoretical knowledge.

But times have changed, the Internet has appeared, and the barriers in the path of a knowledge seeker have not completely collapsed, but they have become noticeably lower. Online education at universities, specialized courses to boost professional skills and learn tools that have only just appeared in a particular field; breaking down complex disciplines in an interactive format and remote mentoring from top specialists — there are plenty of opportunities for growth. The world is completely different now, yet many continue to believe that the path to a good job lies exclusively through university.

2. A flawed benchmark for comparison

All the way up to the moment they finish their studies and start looking for a job, most students are captive to a misconception called a flawed benchmark for comparison. Simply put, they compare themselves to their classmates and feel proud if they are doing better in their studies than others.

This illusion persists until a person starts thinking about work and looks in another direction. Because if students compared themselves to people who are already working in their future profession, they would see that they are approaching the goal in millimeter steps. And given how quickly technology develops in many fields, they might even be standing still.

So you shouldn’t compare yourself to your classmates. The best criterion for your knowledge and success will be the projects you’ve completed and your achievements at work, in real practice. Comparing yourself not to the gray mass around you, but to the market and the level of specialists who actually work in your profession — that is much more correct.

3. Professional training is only a small part of what is taught at university

When you come to work, you will be asked about what you can already do, not what you were taught. Your manager will be interested in what you know and can do in terms of the skills in demand for the position you are applying for. Unfortunately, the educational system used by universities is aimed at putting as much general knowledge as possible into a student, turning them into a fairly erudite and well-rounded person (if you’re lucky), but by no means an important specialist.

Therefore, for most graduates, learning the profession directly—the one whose diploma title they devoted about five years of their life to—happens after graduating from university. At their first job, which also won’t be easy to find. Although it would seem that university is precisely the place where yesterday’s school students are made into professionals. So why does life turn out differently?

4. A university does not aim to turn you into a top-notch professional

That’s because most universities don’t even try to train professionals who can work as specialists immediately after graduation. It’s too difficult and complex a task—one that most educational institutions, except for the very top ones, simply cannot handle even in theory (at least within the traditional approach to education).

Therefore, instructors do only what they can: they provide students with a broad range of general information and instill the ability to memorize and process data. It’s a valuable skill, but you will have to apply it to learning the profession itself on your own.

5. Lack of focus

If a person studies more than two subjects at the same time, they are wasting their time. Yesterday’s school students and university students may find this statement mistaken. But more experienced people are more likely to agree with it.

In school, lessons are so short not because it’s more effective, but because it’s hard for children to maintain concentration for more than an hour. But frequent switching between tasks prevents the brain from thinking effectively. And at work, you will be held to an adult standard, and frequent switching between tasks will start to significantly reduce your productivity.

Why do you think we are able to prepare effectively for an exam on the last night before it, or finish most of a big project in the two hours left before the deadline? We simply don’t switch to other tasks. Hence the sharply increased efficiency. Mastering different subjects and sciences in small pieces is often completely ineffective compared to studying one topic with full focus on the process.

6. Years of university study are used extremely inefficiently by most people

Suppose you study something for two semesters. You have two lectures and two practical sessions per week. A serious approach by university standards. How many hours is that? 4 classes at 2 academic hours (1.5 regular hours) — that’s 6 hours per week. In the first semester, we study for 4 months: September, October, November, December. In the second—another 4: February, March, April, May. Total: 8 months at 4.5 weeks each and 6 hours per week. 216 hours per year. And the average month has 180 working hours.

It turns out that any year-long course can be mastered in just a month and a half, and if you want to (or need to)—in just a month. So multi-year university study, which for most people falls in the years that are actually the peak in terms of the ability to absorb knowledge, is one of the least efficient periods of our lives.

— What’s good about studying at university?
— You’re an unemployed alcoholic, and your parents are proud of you :)

7. Lack of practical skills, which are many times more valuable than theory

In life and at work, the key thing is always the result, which must be achieved through practical actions. And knowledge of theory is worth almost nothing without practice. This is one of the weakest aspects of modern higher education—the foundation of any university program is teaching theory, which students will then have to apply on their own.

That is why brilliant students who graduate from university with excellent grades often do not achieve noticeable results in life, while slackers and C students, who often do not have higher education at all, end up becoming super successful.

Only practice matters in life. The more knowledge you have at the expense of skills, the less use it is. A huge stockpile of theory that is never applied in practice often turns out, in real life, to be a liability that drags you down. It’s sad, but that’s how it is.

8. Universities teach general and outdated knowledge

But even the theory that traditional education inevitably emphasizes often turns out not to be of the right quality. The world is arranged so that theory follows practice, not the other way around. Therefore, the knowledge taught in universities often turns out, so to speak, not the freshest—especially in those universities that frankly do not claim spots in the top rankings of the best educational institutions in the world.

Instructors, even the most successful among them, spend most of their own careers developing the skill of teaching students rather than practicing the profession they teach, and do not have—and cannot have—the depth of knowledge that an experienced, in-demand market professional practitioner has.