So, as the 2020 US Presidential election intensifies, one major issue will be education. But unlike previous decades, the focus won’t be ‘stay in school and pull up those grades’. This time, it will most likely be, “How will I pay for college?”. IT support is not immune. Let’s look at education ant IT’s future.
So you have Bernie Sanders talking about giving out free college altogether. Then you have Sen. Elizabeth Warren proposing to eliminate the 1.6 trillion in student loan debt altogether. That’s right: the US student loan debt is at an all-time high of 1.6 trillion dollars. Then you have Republican and Democrat senators working together to push for income share agreements. This would make higher education more affordable for all income brackets.
Maybe these initiatives will work. But maybe they won’t. Still, others are turning to alternative methods of higher ed, like Coding Bootcamp. This is a highly respected program that teaches you the IT skills many employers look for nowadays. Plus, companies like Google aren’t even looking for Ivy League degrees, or degrees at all, really. They’re just looking for people with high tech skills. Organizations like Coding Bootcamp provide that. So are many two-year community colleges and trade schools. They’re offering highly tech skills at a discount price. I hear of some cases where graduates of such schools land a $75,000+ job instantly!
If I had to talk to an 18-22 year old about education and IT’s future, I would tell him/her to be careful. First of all, I would tell them to pick a major they know employers are going to use. Sorry art and philosophy majors; this just isn’t going to cut it in 2019 America. I would tell them don’t be ashamed to go to two year schools or trade schools. Lots of people are coming out of those with good paying jobs and hiring bonuses. What advice would you have for a young person about education today?