I arrived at Singapore American School (SAS) at 8:45am excited to speak about tech and entrepreneurship. My taxi pulled up to two uniformed guards at the gated entrance. One man armed with an explosives detector scanned my taxi while the other one reviewed my picture ID with a skeptical eye. I nervously checked my watch. I was suppose to get class by 9am. My taxi driver told me that entering SAS was harder than entering the US embassy in Singapore. I chuckled.
I felt nervous about talking to international high school students. These were Third Culture Kids (TCK). How would I stack up to a “Third Culture Kid’s” expectations of a product manager? These were worldly kids living with expat parents abroad. TCKs are born in one country (first culture) and raised in a completely different culture than the culture their parents grew up in (second culture). The third culture refers to an amalgamation of the previous two cultures. I guess that makes me a third culture kid too? That thought made me feel better.
I arrived in Ian Coppel’s history class to speak to junior and senior students. His class focused on Malaysian-Singapore history. Ian asked me to talk about how to be a world player in today’s 21st century job market. Big question. Buzzwords like “be agile and adaptable” came to mind but they sounded disingenuous. I defaulted to the best answer I knew — my own nonlinear journey into tech.
I began telling my meandering story from high school to college to Silicon Valley. I found myself dismissive towards college and unable to extract much from the four years. Was I downplaying college’s effects or am I an exception?
I hated college. I was chronically depressed in college drifting from major to major — one minute a Philosophy major, another minute an Economics major. Life only began for me after college. My role as a product manager has almost nothing to do with what I studied in college. Fact: college had little to no real world value for me.
College was a huge let down because my reality versus expectations was so different. American culture conjures the image of college as the best four years of your life. So many people are told by high school counselors, parents, and the overall media what a monolithic experience college will be. You’ll meet the love of your life there. You’ll find yourself. You’ll study abroad. For me, it was all a lie. College was overhyped, underwhelming, and depressing as hell. Of course, this was my personal experience and not representative. However, the amount of debt accrued is representative of most people’s experience.
The majority of millennials finish college with debt, entering an unsure job market. The origin of college is wealthy people naming institutions after themselves and establishing large trusts and foundations. Legend has it there was a competition at USC between two donors on who could build the tallest building. The Von KleinSmid Center Tower stands eye to eye with the Seeley G. Mudd Building thanks to an appended iron globe purportedly added for extra height.
The average college graduate owes $28,950. For people who borrow completely to attend a private college, debt can rise up to $120,000.
College is less valuable and not for everyone.
As a debt averse individual, I think the prestige of college outstrips its cost. The value of college has diminished with the rise of the internet. Anyone with an internet connection can learn how to code, how to produce engaging content, and how to monetize that content. Today if you have a voice, it can travel far. The internet’s laws of physics — produce content, share with the public, create a following base, and monetize your voice applies for anyone. Startups like Gumroad, Etsy, Kickstarter, Indiegogo all help content producers connect with a paying audience.
What you generate is way more telling than your Ivy League college degree. A new concept of “social selling” is making it possible for anyone with a voice, ideas, and content to find economic opportunities without college degrees. Social selling is creating your own brand. By virtue of generating content online you are soliciting sales opportunities. I unwittingly harnessed the value of social selling by writing about product management.
By writing to establish legitimacy, I learned a secret to social selling: if you can generate something of value and make it visible then serendipitous opportunities will find you. I have spoken at international conferences, met interesting people, and found freelance work through my writing.
The internet allows you to build your own track record whereas your degree is just a degree. What you have built, written, shared with the world saids more about you than a piece of paper from an expensive institution.
When I die, I want to look back on the body of work I have produced, lives I have touched, and ideas I have propagated, not the insignias collected.
I finally arrived at my answer for Ian’s class:
In the 21st century, where the internet creates decentralized authority and anyone can gain a following, you need to come up with your owns standards and definition to stay relevant in an ever changing world economy. You don’t need a college degree to be successful.
College is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition to be successful. After my talk, I saw the following tweet:
His Twitter profile read “Hello everyone of all age, gender, and species! I’m a Youtuber that makes video just about anything! Come fly with me.”
I followed Izak back, hoping that he finds his voice on the internet and carves his own path regardless of a college degree.
