I Don’t Care About Signal Strength.

Hey there, hero!

Getting a college degree used to be a very very big deal.

Not just for the knowledge one would gain, but also for the “stamp of approval” you’d get from potential employers.

It was important. It carried weight. It had signal strength.

And unlike most universities and colleges today, I couldn’t care less about creating signal strength, because our clients don’t care where you learned your craft.

There’s something far more important to me that I give you, and, If I do my job right, that your clients get from you.

Hope this helps!

David

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  1. David, I think that you just summed up why I came to you and Dan O’Day. Pretty succinctly, really and there is not much to embellish.

    One word does come to mind, and I only mention it because you glided over it—so do many of us, and that may help explain why what you are saying is so true. That word is, “practical.”

    Practical, is a most powerful word, especially when it comes to education. Even more so in the modern day entrepreneurial approach to living and working.

    The concept needs to be a larger part of education in the new world.

  2. After high school I had dead-end jobs for 10 years and decided to get a college degree so I’d have a better future. I graduated college at age 32 with a BA in Graphic Design and I was woefully under qualified for jobs in my field, and I had college debt hanging over me. I got a job in a completely unrelated field. It’s a great of example of higher education having no signal strength.

    However, I minored in Theater in college, which is the part of college that is still with me, helping me, benefiting me, particularly as I am now pursuing a career as a performer. For those reasons alone, I don’t feel my college education was a complete waste, but the debt I’ve incurred is certainly a burden to bear. Overall I agree with you David that higher education has little or no signal strength.

  3. Amen. “Be so good they can’t ignore you,” and nurture a community of powerful, fruitful relationships. These were probably the first lessons I learned when I got to LA. Nobody cares where you got your training—not really. Can you do the job? And is your tribe there to celebrate, coach, support, and ground you?

  4. My “day job” is in higher education, but in the Continuing Education “faculty”… adult learning, languages, community courses and the like. Something that has been coming up again and again is that people want more practical learning, “micro-credentials” for courses that people can take while working that will improve their skills and give them a certificate of completion. They can use the certificate for CE credits for their job. It’s like moving the Titanic though – universities have been around so long, doing the same thing it’s going to take them time to change.

  5. David, my college education was a game-changer for me. I began college, but married young, so I left school and worked numerous jobs to support my family. These jobs were low paying and physically demanding. Over time, I worked my way up to a managerial position, but without a college degree, but I was still not earning the kind of salary that would offer a really comfortable life for my family.
    In my thirties, I committed to completing my college education. I took out some loans but mostly paid for classes as I could afford to and worked full time, This extended the length of time it took me to graduate, but I did earn a BBA with a concentration in business information systems. I was recruited right out of college and embarked on a 30 year rewarding, well paying career in Information Technology. So yes, college was the right choice for me.
    That said, college is not right for everyone. Learning a trade to become a highly skilled professional or acquiring expert coaching in the performing arts may be the right choice for others. There is no one path to success, and neither degrees nor certifications guarantee it. Both must be accompanied by hard work, perseverance, a bit of luck (that old saying about preparation meeting opportunity), and it doesn’t hurt to accompany all that with trying to be a good person, care about others, and to give back generously.