In the advent of MIT's OpenCourseWare, Khan Academy, and Just Math Tutoring (just to name a few), I've been forced to re-evaluate the way I look at my current college experience.
I recently quit my job (and the cushy salary that it entailed). I decided that one more day doing something I hated just wasn't worth the money anymore. Even the prospect of being promoted sounded more like punishment than reward.
I love technology; I spend a good number of hours poring over tech articles on the internet, visiting science museums, and taking on projects like building electromagnetic motors and solar calculators. I'm turning my passion into action and I'm a born-again undergraduate student... and this isn't something I'm pursuing idly; I'm "that guy" in class. I sit in the front row, I record lectures, I raise my hand and ask questions when there's only 2 minutes of class left... If the school knew how much time I spent at the student center library, they'd probably start charging me rent.
Maybe it's because I don't go to a school renowned for engineering, or maybe undergraduate academia just isn't given the same level of attention as graduate/PhD programs are, but I've been discovering that most of my real education is coming from the internet.
I owe the vast majority of my calculus knowledge to PatrickJMT on youtube. My understanding of Electromagnetic theory would be limited to a few study guides that don't even MENTION Maxwell or his four equations if it weren't for Professor Lewin's 1992 lectures. I spent more time editing my chemistry lab reports to make sure the histograms matched the specifications than I did learning what the spectrophotometer was telling me about equilibrium between reactants.
So this raises the question: is the college degree I'm chasing little more than a receipt? Am I paying thousands of dollars just to have a few individuals make sure I keep my learning on schedule, and make sure the conclusions I come to meet their specifications?
I'm not arguing that school is a total waste; If I didn't have these task-makers at my back, I might be getting good at Halo instead of finding limits of integration, but I will gladly make the argument that an educated person isn't defined by the diploma he or she holds, but by the undocumented strides they take towards really understanding the courses they take.
Feel free to leave any thoughts; I'll get back to them when I'm done youtubing in the blanks my "formal" education left on motional electromagnetic force.
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Welcome to what most of us college students learned in school. A LOT of learning is done on your own and our diploma really is a receipt to show employers you completed all the coursework THEY say is needed. However, they often tear down this foundation and then teach you what they what you to know.
ReplyDeleteMany of us go back to school to build secondary foundations because we felt like we haven't learned enough or in order to advance ourselves more quickly at the workplace. It's a vicious cycle that only ends when we raise the little white flag and decide to be happy where we are. Apparently, I haven't learned my lesson because I choose to keep going back for more.
I will say my Master's program was better than both of my undergraduate programs at two different universities, but I've yet to feel that WOW factor. That's probably why I am a constant student and may never be happy with a PhD from just any university.
I met a guy who's a program manager at Goddard Space Flight Center, and is largely responsible for a couple satellite programs. His degree in ParaPsychology wouldn't let him get looked at by NASA now, but it was good enough then, when tied wiht his work experience. Coming out with the "right" receipt is probably more important these days than just having the knowledge. The knowledge will help you get the job, but only after they've ticked off your required receipts.
ReplyDeleteWell, the beauty of the whole situation is that I'm doing EXACTLY what I should be doing. I should have gotten into engineering back when Napster was cool.
ReplyDeleteYa, that scrap of paper saying you are a College Grad. is often more a handy standard of measurement for prospective employers making a statement about you as being someone willing to put in the effort and having the smarts to do even more - and, as you so eloquently pointed out...often just a starting point for real learning...Good job!
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