Higher education is too expensive and I’m not talking about the US
The aphorism “college education in the US is too expensive” is used relatively often to criticise the status quo, however, I will be talking about my personal story combined with various insights.
First and foremost — it is a very high-stakes investment. Therefore, I will do my best to explain often unknown variables: premature optimisation, perpetual FOMO and opportunity costs, which are playing key roles in the process.
Premature Optimisation
20% of students currently enrolled at university say they would have chosen a different course if given the chance, with 18% saying they regret their choice of degree. [1]
How many undergraduate students of Economics had had internships at banks before making the decision? 🤔
The mentioned problem can be defined as premature optimisation* and what can solve this problem — is giving time for yourself to set up the path ⏱️
*premature optimisation is spending a lot of time on something that you may not need. [2]
Let’s take a look at Ray Dalio’s 5 step process (in my own words): 1) find a clear goal; 2) problems arise; 3) analyse problems; 4) design plans to fix the problems; 5) do. [3]
I am now in the process of coming up with the final goal in the academic world.
My ambitions include travelling, being successful at work, participating in the global community, meeting new people and reading.
Once I have gone through ambitions, the goal will become more visible. Then, I will be ready to use formal education without high-risk speculations.
Perpetual FOMO
Bad examples: As a child, I was obsessed with sports and I wanted to become a professional basketball player. Fast forward, I realised that the likelihood of playing in the NBA is nearly absolute zero. Instead, I started trying many other hobbies that I did not do for more than a couple of months.
This was my personal example of perpetual FOMO*.
*perpetual FOMO can be explained as having irrational wishes due to fear of missing out (FOMO).
But little did I know about pre-commitment.
It is about attempting the activity before committing to it. Nowadays, one can try a 30-hour course online to know whether you like the profession or not.
Pre-commit before committing.
For instance, I reached out to a student on LinkedIn, who studies the program that I am interested in. He voluntarily introduced me to the university by inviting me to join an organisation he founded and invited to university events.
And a list of bad and good examples could go on and on, but what I want to say — get your hands dirty first.
Calculate opportunity costs
In 2020, I decided to give a shot to a university abroad that is well-ranked in the Computer Science field. A few weeks later, I was offered to start my studies.
My emotional side is saying woohoo, let’s go! Meanwhile, the rational side (this could be regarded as system 2 thinking) is unclear.
Furthermore, I discussed with my friend Augustinas, who studied in the UK and is a highly skilled person in the education field. Also, we are both involved in the WEF (World Economic Forum).
We decided to calculate the opportunity cost* of the given higher education path.
*opportunity cost is the loss of other alternatives when one alternative is chosen 💵
All in all, this is the reverse engineering we were doing:
University
In the UK, 3 years of bachelor cost would result in around £ 30 K (for EU students) + interest rates.
The key takeaways from university: diploma, a network of students & lecturers and credibility.
Career
Doing the job I do now and expecting my position to grow by 1 step, in 3 years, I should earn more than the whole bachelor costs.
Social life
I actively participate in the Shapers’ organisation, where I have direct access to more than 10 K people worldwide who are pro-active and notable leaders.
I also started a project related to behavioural-science inside the hub and joined AI future lab.
It would have been lost.
Suppose I choose to study.
Wins:
- A conditionally credible diploma
- A network of students & lecturers
- International life
Losses:
- £ 30 K
- 3 years of increasing salary
- Career growth
- Ability to grow together with the community of leaders globally
How do I compensate for the 3 losses of not attending a uni?
- A conditionally credible diploma 📜
Firstly, a well-rounded education can be obtained in different ways. For instance, online courses, boot camps, internships, fulfilling the gaps by reading books, listening to podcasts, etc. Most importantly, many top universities’ curriculums can usually be found on their websites.
Secondly, I truly believe that there are many ways to gain credibility.
2. A network of students & lecturers 🌐
As far as I am concerned, this cannot be reached without actually attending a university. Nonetheless, it is not always essential to be a student to attend local university’s events and being involved in the community. Besides academics, other networks (not academic in this case) come with different “game rules”.
3. International life 🏙️
Easy. Move.
