5 ms·

Re: cost of education getting cheaper. That's only true for some fields. Try to become a doctor or a vet via opencourseware-type programs. Even ignoring the

Re: cost of education getting cheaper. That's only true for some fields. Try to become a doctor or a vet via opencourseware-type programs. Even ignoring the certification aspects, a lot of fields of study still require physical access to equipment that is prohibitively expensive for individuals. For people interested in fields other than CS, pure math, etc, the cost of education is still a huge problem and one that is getting worse, not better.

barry-cotter 15y ago
He said education, not certification. University education normally bundles instruction, examination and certification but it's not a necessary feature.
- georgemcbay 15y ago
  I already eluded to this in the post you're replying to, but even ignoring the certification angle there's still a bunch of things online/opencourseware can't do. It can't give you access to a state of the art high-energy physics lab in which to do hands-on learning, or access to real hospitals in which to do residency, etc, etc. These aren't simply aspects of being certified, but are essential bits of education in those fields. If you're a programmer, who cares about expensive equipment or access, all you need in a compiler and a text editor, but there are plenty of fields of study where you need access to a lot more than that and thus the population of people that want to go into those fields will continue to be at the mercy of the cost of higher education.
nickik 15y ago
There is a huge bubble in higher education. In CS we battle it harly and more and more people realise that just because you have CS batchalor you cant programm shit. There are not only IT and CS things in coursera. Sure if you want to study medicin you need lots of stuff but medicin is mostly sitting and studing too one could slash the cost way down.

5 ms·

Re: cost of education getting cheaper. That's only true for some fields. Try to become a doctor or a vet via opencourseware-type programs. Even ignoring the

by georgemcbay 15y ago

barry-cotter 15y ago
He said education, not certification. University education normally bundles instruction, examination and certification but it's not a necessary feature.
- georgemcbay 15y ago
  I already eluded to this in the post you're replying to, but even ignoring the certification angle there's still a bunch of things online/opencourseware can't do. It can't give you access to a state of the art high-energy physics lab in which to do hands-on learning, or access to real hospitals in which to do residency, etc, etc. These aren't simply aspects of being certified, but are essential bits of education in those fields. If you're a programmer, who cares about expensive equipment or access, all you need in a compiler and a text editor, but there are plenty of fields of study where you need access to a lot more than that and thus the population of people that want to go into those fields will continue to be at the mercy of the cost of higher education.
nickik 15y ago
There is a huge bubble in higher education. In CS we battle it harly and more and more people realise that just because you have CS batchalor you cant programm shit. There are not only IT and CS things in coursera. Sure if you want to study medicin you need lots of stuff but medicin is mostly sitting and studing too one could slash the cost way down.