What Gen Z Expects from Education
“What we thought we were supposed to do no longer mattered in a state of the world where survival is priority.”
As technology continues to democratize education, and companies are rethinking their college degree requirements, we ask Gen Z; is a college education needed? How do young people look at the future and their various options for education and advancement?
I believe it is safe to say that the pandemic has unveiled the ugly truth that everyone was afraid to admit or even accept about how this world operates; capitalism and the pipeline structure of obtaining the “American Dream.” What we thought we were supposed to do no longer mattered in a state of the world where survival is priority. Unlivable wages, un-payable rent, record-breaking high gas prices, food shortages, deadly viruses, choosing between your health or working, etc. The pandemic showed us that everything we thought we were supposed to do was someone else’s imagination of how they thought the world should operate, how success should be measured and obtained, and what we deserved in life.
From our formative years to adulthood, we were to go to school and use that time to figure out what we wanted to do for the rest of our lives. Next, we graduate college, get our dream jobs, start families to take care of and work till we retire. Whatever free time we have is to be spent at some after-work happy hour to decompress, or if we have time off from work, we’re on vacation traveling and spending time with our friends and family. So simple right? Everything is all figured out for us; we’re all programmed to have the same routine in life; our career paths are the only thing that can make our day-to-day different. However, we have the same routine.
“We figured out that life isn’t a one-size- fits-all experience, what our parents want or what society wants.”
Gen Z is the generation that is breaking free from that conformity by choosing not to do what we were programmed to do. Shaking every foundation of complacency by doing things our way. Not as a collective, but what we see as fit for what we want our individual lives to be and look like. We figured out that life isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience, what our parents want or what society wants. It is what we want it to be. It’s what we make it.
“People were learning skills for free or for an inexpensive fee that would have cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars over 4-8 years to learn at a university using social media at home.”
"Is college needed? That’s up to each person to decide, but it should not be a requirement across the board.”
2020 we were all sitting at home, our future full of scary uncertainties. One of the most positive aspects of the lockdown was skill-building, the sharing of resources, and people having the time to practice and master these skills and turn them profitable and employable. The power of social media and how people choose to use it changed lives. People were learning skills for free or for an inexpensive fee that would have cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars over 4-8 years to learn at a university using social media at home. Even one of the world's biggest companies, Google, offered game-changing free courses through Coursera that taught skills for the jobs they have to offer.
The pandemic and social media presented us with educational options we didn’t know existed. We get to see in real-time the many possibilities we can take. We receive insight from others' experiences, good and bad, and can decide and make a choice if it’s right for us to venture. They also have apprenticeships for people with no experience, no degree to learn and get certifications by working as an employee. The work they do during the apprenticeship can eventually lead to permanent employment.
Many Gen Z’ers no longer want to attend college or attend straight away. We’re looking at alternatives, but most importantly creating our paths and our own version of success. It’s something I, an early Gen Z, have done and am doing. I attended college, but I didn’t complete it. College didn’t stop me from achieving any of my dreams and checking things off my list of goals. I'm still not sure what I want to do in life, but I’m doing everything I love to do right now. I made my dreams come true free of the structure of how I was told I needed to live my life.
Is college needed? That’s up to each person to decide, but it should not be a requirement across the board. You can’t learn how to do surgery, correctly diagnose, study chemicals etc., over social media. We can learn but can’t correctly apply those specific skills. So in some cases, college is essential to the career choice we want. However, it’s not the case for everyone and not every job needs a bachelor's or master's to excel and be capable of doing it. In life, we learn through experiences and by trying it hands-on at our own pace and not through this unrealistic structure and expectation. Gen Z decides if college is the right move for them, not society.
The Takeaway
The pandemic and social media presented us with educational options we didn’t know existed. Through being exposed to the predatory nature of college we’ve realized it’s an unnecessary privilege many can’t afford. The lockdown allowed us skill-building, the sharing of resources, and practicing and mastering these skills and turning them profitable and employable. In life, we learn through experiences and by trying it hands-on at our own pace and not through this unrealistic structure and expectation. Gen Z decides if college is the right move for them, not society.