Personal Finance Essentials
College is Out. Lifelong Learning is In.
The Only Real Job Security is a Commitment to
Never Stop Learning
No matter which path you choose, the most important education decision you will make is not about which college to attend. It is whether you commit to continuing to learn for the rest of your life.
Why One Degree Is No Longer Enough
In the 1980s, you could earn a degree in a given field and spend an entire career doing that work. That is no longer true. Due to the explosion of information made possible by technological innovation, much of what you learn in your 20s will be outdated by the time you are in your 30s.
In 2016, the CEO of AT&T warned:
“There is a need to retool yourself, and you should not expect to stop – people who do not spend five to 10 hours a week in online learning will obsolete themselves.”
In 2017, the head of NASA said:
“By the time you are a junior in college, what you learned as a freshman is already obsolete.”
The rate of change has only accelerated since then.
Artificial intelligence is already eliminating occupations that once required years of training and expensive credentials – from accounting and paralegal work to customer service and data entry. Goldman Sachs estimates that two-thirds of all jobs in the U.S. and Europe are vulnerable to automation. Oxford University identifies specific occupations with a 90% or higher probability of being eliminated by technology over the next decade. The skills that will persist and grow in value are thinking, creating, communicating and managing – capabilities that cannot be automated.
It is no longer sufficient to say you earned a degree years ago. Your knowledge and skills must remain current, and that requires ongoing, deliberate education throughout your career.
What High Earners Do
High earners – those making $100,000 or more – spend thousands of dollars annually on education. They attend seminars and conferences, complete certification courses in their fields and treat ongoing learning as an investment rather than an expense. College graduates are not only more likely to understand the value of continued education; they are more financially able to pursue it.
You do not need a master’s degree or a doctorate to keep learning. Read widely. Take online courses. Earn certifications in your field. Attend industry events. This is what successful, high-income people do – and it is accessible to everyone, degree or not.
A Degree Is a Waypoint, Not a Destination
Treat a college degree for what it is: a waypoint in an educational journey, not its endpoint. By developing a mindset of lifelong learning, you will have more control over both the cost and the outcome of your degree – because you will understand why you are getting it and what role it plays in a much longer story.
Whatever path you choose, the degree or certification you earn in your 20s will not be sufficient to carry you through your entire career. Treat education not as a purchase you make once but as a practice you maintain throughout your life. That mindset – more than any single degree – is what will determine the quality and security of your future.
