I enjoyed my time in college, and I learned a great deal. While I do think that the time helped me grow, I also recognize that I was always a good student and the cost of my working through that degree was far below what today's degrees cost at many universities (even accounting for inflation). What's more, I worked most of the time I was at university to pay for my living expenses.

These days I am torn on the value of a degree, especially when the total cost can easily exceed USD$50,000. Even more concerning is the fact that many people have to drop out with substantial debt and no degree. That's the worst of both worlds. While it's easy to point the finger at people for not finishing or working harder, it ignores the challenges of the real world, which can throw curve balls at all of us.

For a lot of my college time, I had to work to support myself because I didn't have enough scholarship funding, and I was worried about loans. I was worried about post-college, and in the 80s, I was able to work 30+ hours a week and earn enough to pay rent and buy food. Later in my time, I was able to secure an internship that paid me, which was nice. Then I wasn't spending 80+ hours a week trying to learn and support myself.

I saw a note recently about degree apprenticeships from Purple Frog Systems. The idea is that someone is part-time in university while working for an employer. This might require more than 40 hours a week of combined work, but I like the idea of someone learning about both the academic and practical views of an industry and getting mentorship from both co-workers and academics.

While many of us who work for an organization might get tuition assistance, it's not always easy to work out school and work. Managers may or may not work with you, and there isn't really continuous support to help you complete your degree. The quality of your manager often determines if this works. However, the bigger issue is that many people struggle to find jobs in the first place and not many organizations I've worked for have any programs to find people who might be suited for an apprenticeship program.

I don't that our industry, or many industries, really need to require degrees. That being said, I do think there are things universities teach well, and they give a good perspective on a variety of topics. Employers can benefit from motivated individuals who learn their business, learn different skills in school, and bring about energy and fresh perspectives. Plus, employers learn how to train and grow new people at a lower cost. We all struggle to hire well and train people to be effective quickly. Working with interns or apprentices is a good way to embed regular mentorship and training into the culture of your company. That's something everyone can benefit from.

I hope to see more apprenticeships in the future, not just in technology (or marketing as in the post), but in a variety of industries. I don't know if we will, but I do think this might help us get better at finding and training new staff.