TK observes that a university education is simply not relevant for an increasing number of jobs today:
I just spent some time with one of my oldest friends who did electronic maintenance in the army and afterwards designed PCBs. For the past 12 years he’s been driving a cab in San Diego and loving it.
Since since uber, et al., came to town, however, they have destroyed his ability to make a living wage as a cab driver (most uber drivers drive part-time, for drug and beer money (more true than not) and with a zero barrier to entry there are too many cars on the road now. Yay free market – I mean it. I think it’s great!). So he decided to get back into PCB design.
He spent the last six months updating his skills 100% online. In just the past month he contacted a recruiting agency and began setting up interviews. The other day while I was visiting him, from just his second interview, he was offered a job for $32/hr! After he passes his first certification in February he will get a significant bump in pay and when he passes his second certification in October his salary should move into the low six figures.
He is 54 and has been out of the field for 12 years and has NO college degree!
Yet he was able to bring himself back up to speed in less than 6 months using just the internet. His employers didn’t even care that his only formal training was in the army – 30 years ago!
You can always tell the difference between a job that requires real work and a pseudo-job that doesn’t. If they give a damn about university credentials, it’s the latter.