The Mindset List

I am such a mark for Beloit College's annual Mindset List, a look at some of the important and sometimes really surprising changes that have occurred in the last 18 years or so, or expressed differently, just how much differently this year's crop of college freshmen have experienced and view the world compared to us older folks.

Right off of the bat, Beloit reminds us that this new group of students, (mostly born in 1987), have never known a world where hybrid cars were not mass produced, South Park has not always been on TV, and among those who have never been alive in their lifetimes are Princess Diana, Notorious B.I.G., Jacques Cousteau, and Mother Teresa.

The Mindset List is always an interesting read every year, but the odd thing about the list is that while it describes and highlights the world view and perspectives of 18 year olds, they are the ones who are likely the least interested in the actual contents of the list. Their world and world view is just what it is. They don't stop to try and think of or conjure up a time where free Wifi did not exist in every Starbucks in the world. It is the modern version of the classic 'I had it much worse than you' line that every parent in every generation for the entire history of time has at one point leveraged to try to make their children feel guilty about how good they have things.

I am serious, the first evidence of this phenomenon in recorded history was from some primitive cave drawings and inscriptions found in France. Loosely translated, they read, 'Sure kid, it's so easy to kill that antelope with that accurate, sharpened spear. When I was your age, all we had to fight for our lives with was a big rock.'

These kinds of admonitions have only weakened over time. I can recall on more that one occasion lamenting to my son that he did not understand how good he actually had things, since when I was his age my TV remote WAS ACTUALLY ATTACHED TO THE TV WITH A LONG CORD.

Hard times for sure.

There are some real gems on the Mindset List for this year of course, here are a couple of my personal favorites. Incoming college freshmen:

They have never licked a postage stamp.

When they were born, cell phone usage was so expensive that families only used their large phones, usually in cars, for emergencies.

Their proud parents recorded their first steps on camcorders, mounted on their shoulders like bazookas.

There are plenty more gems like that on the list, and I recommend taking a few minutes to take a look at the entire piece.

I know it is a little obvious, and maybe seems kind of unimportant to most of us but it is really, really easy to lose sight of just how much the world and technology and society and work and everything else changes in a relatively short time. 

It is good, no matter how old or young we are, to think about how folks not quite like us see and understand the world.

Could you pass this question from the Chinese version of the SAT?

Pretty interesting story from over the weekend at Business Insider on the lenghts that some test-takers will go to try and get an edge, i.e., cheat, on the test in China that is largely equivalent, (except it seems even more important), to the United States SATs.

The piece, titled Chinese Teens Have Found Remarkable High-Tech Ways To Cheat On Tests, focuses on some of the 'creative' ways that test takers are attempting to use in order to better their chances of passing this hugely important test. While creative and high-tech cheating is always kind of interesting, I thought the most interesting bit of detail in the story was this translation of one of the tests' essay questions. Take a look at this question, then ponder just how you might take a shot at answering.

"You can choose your own road and method to make it across the desert, which means you are free; you have no choice but finding a way to make it across the desert, which makes you not free.Choose your own angle and title to write an article that is not less than 800 words."

A totally fair question, right? And much better than the ones that seemed to dominate the SATs for years. Things like "Crumb is to bread as BLANK is to pencil", or some such nonsense.

But having to drop, in a high-pressure set of conditions, 800+ words on freewill, choice, deserts, roads, and sorting out just exactly what is it that the testers are looking for in your answer seems ridiculously tough to me. Plus, remember these are 18, 19 year old kids trying to figure this out.

Where would you do with that question? 

You are free but also not free. 

Probably, just a little maybe, the way you feel on a summer Monday morning, settling in to a job that you could both walk away from and are chained to at the same time.

Happy Monday.

CHART OF THE DAY: Is College Still a Good Investment?

There are and will continue to be just enough incredibly successful people who did not either attend college at all or did not earn a degree to raise at least some doubt in many parents and students minds regarding the 'Is it still worth it to attend college?' question.

While there is no disputing the achievements of people like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, maybe the guy who owns your local chain of car dealerships, who did not actually complete college, it seems these examples are more likely outliers, and that for most people/students, heading down (and completing) the path towards a college degree remains for the most part a sound personal economic strategy.

Here's the chart. from the Federal Reserve of San Francisco, that I want to call your attention to that (Jobs and Gates aside), makes the 'college' case pretty strongly. It shows the earnings premium for college grads, and people with some college over people with just high school degrees.

So the data is pretty clear, college has been and remains a pretty sound investment for most. 

The research summary reads as follows:

Earning a four-year college degree remains a worthwhile investment for the average student. Data from U.S. workers show that the benefits of college in terms of higher earnings far outweigh the costs of a degree, measured as tuition plus wages lost while attending school. The average college graduate paying annual tuition of about $20,000 can recoup the costs of schooling by age 40. After that, the difference between earnings continues such that the average college graduate earns over $800,000 more than the average high school graduate by retirement age.

There are a couple of caveats here - one is that the researchers used about $20,000 as an estimate for annual costs of college - as most parents know this could be really, really low especially for private or 'prestige' schools. And the data is not terribly recent, tapping out in about 2011 or so, not taking into account the latest wave of teenage App Store millionaires.

Sure college still probably isn't for everyone. But if you are a student or you are the parent of a student getting ready to face this decision you'd be wise to keep this research in mind. 

Have a great day!

The obligatory 'Commencement Address' post

It seems that May for the last few years that one or two 'famous person college commencement addresses' gets significant attention from the press, blogosphere, and social media. The reasons that any one of these generally similar and forgettable speeches seems to catch on in the zeitgeist are sometimes different though - it could be that the speech-maker is so famous and powerful that the speech itself begets coverage, or it could be, and I think this is more  interesting, is that it allows said famous person to share his/her thoughts in forum and manner in which we are no accustomed.

I think that reason, largely, was why the commencement address given at Bard College by Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke got so much play over the last few days.

We are used to, and expect, economists like Bernanke to focus on the nuts and bolts of economic policy. Interest rates and inflation. Money supply and surpluses and deficits. The kinds of eyeballs are glazing over topics many of us have last thought about in Economics 101 and then spent years trying to forget. The brain only has so much room for stuff, and did you hear a new season of Arrested Development is getting made?

But what made Bernanke's speech interesting was I think two things - that is wasn't really, primarily what we are used to hearing from him; and secondly, that the essence and importance of the entire message is relevant not just for 21 year-old new grads about to return to Mom and Dad's house, but for all professionals that need to come to terms with how work, workplaces, and careers are changing - mainly driven by technological advances.

Here's Bernanke's money quote:

"During your working lives, you will have to reinvent yourselves many times. Success and satisfaction will not come from mastering a fixed body of knowledge but from constant adaptation and creativity in a rapidly changing world. Engaging with and applying new technologies will be a crucial part of that adaptation."

 I'd suggest that his advice - about adaptation, creativity, and mastering, (or at least coming to terms with), the changing nature of human-technology relationships in the workplace (and in society), are crucial not only for people just starting out in their careers, but perhaps more acutely, for mid-career professionals as well. 

Change, especially change to the definitions, organization, and execution of work and industry impacts the people caught up in the middle much more that the new grad that often is still on outside looking in.

A new grad might spend the next year or three on the sofa at home coming to terms with the fact that the shiny, expensive degree they went $86,000 in debt to obtain doesn't really matter to many employers, or that the all-knowing market and its career-selection process seems to equate their skills, experience, and degree with 'barista'. That kind of stinks, but it isn't, at least not yet, a fatal outcome. When you are that young you still have time to react, to pivot, to try out a Plan B or C even. 

At least until Mom and Dad kick you out, you lousy freeloader.

But if you are say, 44, been working for two decades, have a house, mortgage, big SUV, kids that need new iPhones - well getting caught up unprepared for the kinds of dramatic shifts we are seeing and will continue to see in the workplace is a much more serious matter.

While it seems like the game is more and more getting rigged to the detriment of the new college grads at least they have something that the mid-career pro doesn't - lots and lots of time. And also, often, the luxury of being able to make a mistake or two.

Bernanke's address really isn't that remarkable on it's own. But instead of giving it to the class of 2013, it should be read at all the 20 and 25 year class reunions coming up. Those folks need the advice more.

Have a great week! 

The skilled trades need a famous commencement address too

May is commencement time in the USA, and in conjunction with the hundreds if not thousands of college and university commencements taking place across the country we are treated to reports and videos of numerous commencement addresses delivered by a wide range of speakers ranging from famous business people, media personalities, politicians, and more. And each year one or two of the college commencement addresses resonates in some way, whether from the message itself, or from the combination between the message and the speaker him or herself, perhaps making the story more powerful by virtue of their obstacles overcame and ability to reach and inspire the graduating students. Jaime Escalante

My cynical nature tends to mostly ignore these commencement speeches each year, because to me, if you peel back the outer surface layers that differentiate the 'speaker life story/type of personal achievement' from each other and get to their core message, well, that message seems pretty much the same. Again I am a cynic, but after a while and the fourth or fifth re-telling, the admonition to 'be true to yourself, follow your dreams, everything is possible, follow your passion....' message seems to get a little bit stale. I spent enough time in higher education to understand why colleges hire, and make no mistake, most of the commencement speeches are highly paid gigs, a big time inspirational and famous speaker to give the same message the local public school principal gave in 5th grade, it's because the parents want to be entertained and feel like they are extracting the last shred of value for the hundreds of thousands of dollars they have shelled out for Junior's education.

I'll tie this back to two college commencement addresses way back in the day to see if the point can be better made with specifics. When I was just finishing my Junior year in college I hung around to attend commencement as I wanted to take advantage of all the parties witness many good friends of mine receive their diplomas. The commencement speaker was the legendary actor Jimmy Stewart. Most of the parents were really excited to see Mr. Stewart, as he was one of the most famous actors of the parent's generation and the one just prior. I am sure he said some interesting things, he had a great voice and delivery, even at that later stage of his life, and I seem to remember people being pleased with the choice of speaker.

The following year at my graduation the commencement speaker was the high school teacher made famous by the movie 'Stand And Deliver'. Not the famous actor, Edward James Olmos, but the actual teacher who inspired the story, Jaime Escalante, who was not very well known at the time, although via the moderate success of the film at least the story had some familiarity. Mr. Escalante's speech was excellent, and most importantly for then, as indeed for today, I think in many ways the choice of someone like Mr. Escalante more appropriate and relevant, (assuming you can make any kind fo argument for the value of any commencement speaker).

I was thinking about this for another reason as well, the recent release of the Manpower 'What Jobs are Hard to Fill' survey, (I know that is not the real name, but you know which one I am talking about). In the survey we see that some of the Top 10 hardest jobs for companies to fill today are in skilled trades, sales reps, drivers, mechanics, nurses, and yes, teachers. The Top 10 list is mostly those kinds of completely necessary, important for a modern society to function properly, are unglamorous, and typically are not the populations from which fancy college commencement speakers are chosen from.

And that is kind of too bad. While Mr. Stewart was a fine speaker and a good-natured guy, he, and most of the other commencement speakers don't really hold up too well as role models in the sense of graduates' career aspirations and plans.  The country doesn't really need many more aspiring actors or singers or Reality TV stars. 

According to the Manpower report however, the country does need lots more tradespeople, teachers, mechanics, and accountants. Maybe we should be hearting more from these kinds of professionals at commencement time.

Sadly, Mr. Escalante passed away in 2010, so he is no longer able to try and inspire young people to follow down this path.

Edward James Olmos is still alive though. Maybe he can play that role made famous in Stand and Deliver again. He at least still has some name recognition.