In 2017 I wrote the article College Don't Waste Your Money as a response to the huge problem of college debt in the United States. In the time of COVID-19, I question the value of college "experience" even further. In my article, I provided several alternatives to university education for those who would need to go into debt to finance their education. As you might expect I am hopeful based on the recent announcements by Google that they will disrupt higher education help reduce student debt in the United States.
A recent article in Inc Magazine does a great job of discussing the Google certificate program announcement. A few things stood out to me about the certificate programs. First, they take 6 months to complete. Second, they cost $300 dollars ($49 per month) and are hosted on Coursera. Third, they are for in-demand careers such as IT Support, UX Designer, Project Manager, and Data Analyst. All of these careers pay over $50,000. Fourth, they are from a recognized brand and Google already has several partnerships with Fortune 1000 companies looking for people with these certificates. Finally, they have access to resources to help with their job search.
John Beckham feels that while a college degree is not needed for software developers it does provide some value. In a LinkedIn post, he says, "My primary background is in Software Development. Did a 4-year degree help me learn to develop software? Not really. Did it teach me how to understand problem-solving and logic through all the mathematics and logic classes I had to take? I would say yes. So, it is a two-edged sword, but in today's world most new developers I have met don't have solid business acumen and therefore tend to overthink the plumbing during development."
I think it is a mistake for companies to require a four year degree in their job announcements for software developers. I recommend that announcements could a state degree is preferred and that employers should consider paying those with a 4-year degree more. In an article in The Washington Post, Tom Greiner of Accenture Federal servers says he is hiring people from Revature, a unique boot camp program offered by an employment agency.
It may be time for Harvard to decrease the $49,700 annual price tag for an education that in the year 2020 is 100% remote. At a minimum, I would like to see many of students who are getting loans for college rethink their plan. One route could be to get a Google certificate first and earn the money for a University instead of going into debt. Recently I received good news from Nicolas Challain, Chief Software Officer of the U.S. Airforce, that president Trump is working to elevate skills over college degrees for federal hiring. An article in Inside Higher Education links to the recent Executive Order.