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Definitely correct that the great-recession is structural unemployment - not just lack of demand. The industrial revolution spawned public schools for giving a

Definitely correct that the great-recession is structural unemployment - not just lack of demand. The industrial revolution spawned public schools for giving all of society the ability to take part - now we need another similar revolution. However, whereas before it was the capitalist class doing this to get more workers for their factories, it's now those very people trying to restrict education into the same old mold. We need a model that suits the emerging model: global, info rich, distributed, open-source, democratized, etc. This means we need: basic programming (using FOSS) for everyone, teach stats before, teach FabLab tech, teach media literacy and research at a young age, show them the vast amount of resources at their disposal. Our kids really will be our future...

enjo 16y ago
Or better, we need a generation of kids that are interested in science and math and actually go into professions that make things. I haven't seen any specific numbers that break this down by degree. Given what I've seen in computer science, I'd bet that engineers and other "hard" degrees are doing just fine.
- potatolicious 16y ago
  Generally yes, but not always. The blind belief that getting a "hard" degree is a guaranteed path to gainful employment is fraught with much of the same false logic as people getting "soft" degrees. I saw much of this during my time in college. The majority of the class did the work they were assigned and that was that. There was very little effort put towards professional development, networking with industry people, or building a solid portfolio of past work that is key to succeeding in any enterprise. When I left school, the people who were passionate about the subject - people who pursued applications of their craft above and beyond the paltry requirements of getting the degree, they were the ones who found jobs easily. Of my peers from university, many are still underemployed today, or are employed with poor prospects of either vertical or horizontal movement. This goes beyond "hard" degrees. I'm heavily into photography besides being a coder, and the number of people who go to art school for a photography degree, clearly have not shot enough pictures, or put together a substantial portfolio, but expecting to find employment or contracts is pretty absurd. I see the same problem in CS and engineering - people who are under the incredibly false presumption that just by finishing the degree that they are employable. They're only more employable right now because of the gigantic shortage of qualified coders, but this situation won't last forever.
roel_v 16y ago
"This means we need: basic programming (using FOSS) for everyone, teach stats before, teach FabLab tech, teach media literacy and research at a young age, show them the vast amount of resources at their disposal." And then what? Let's say 5% of people now are in tech (just a guess, maybe a bit too much). Let's say we're short on people in tech by 100% (we're not, but let's say so). That would mean the tech sector could employ 10% of the population. What's the rest going to do? What good will it do when the janitors and assembly line workers have memorized a hello world in Python?

enjo 16y ago

Or better, we need a generation of kids that are interested in science and math and actually go into professions that make things. I haven't seen any specific numbers that break this down by degree. Given what I've seen in computer science, I'd bet that engineers and other "hard" degrees are doing just fine.

potatolicious 16y ago
Generally yes, but not always. The blind belief that getting a "hard" degree is a guaranteed path to gainful employment is fraught with much of the same false logic as people getting "soft" degrees. I saw much of this during my time in college. The majority of the class did the work they were assigned and that was that. There was very little effort put towards professional development, networking with industry people, or building a solid portfolio of past work that is key to succeeding in any enterprise. When I left school, the people who were passionate about the subject - people who pursued applications of their craft above and beyond the paltry requirements of getting the degree, they were the ones who found jobs easily. Of my peers from university, many are still underemployed today, or are employed with poor prospects of either vertical or horizontal movement. This goes beyond "hard" degrees. I'm heavily into photography besides being a coder, and the number of people who go to art school for a photography degree, clearly have not shot enough pictures, or put together a substantial portfolio, but expecting to find employment or contracts is pretty absurd. I see the same problem in CS and engineering - people who are under the incredibly false presumption that just by finishing the degree that they are employable. They're only more employable right now because of the gigantic shortage of qualified coders, but this situation won't last forever.

roel_v 16y ago

"This means we need: basic programming (using FOSS) for everyone, teach stats before, teach FabLab tech, teach media literacy and research at a young age, show them the vast amount of resources at their disposal." And then what? Let's say 5% of people now are in tech (just a guess, maybe a bit too much). Let's say we're short on people in tech by 100% (we're not, but let's say so). That would mean the tech sector could employ 10% of the population. What's the rest going to do? What good will it do when the janitors and assembly line workers have memorized a hello world in Python?