In some ways, it's not better. I agree that the shift is now going towards more real-world experience rather than academics. Part of the motivation for me to cr

In some ways, it's not better. I agree that the shift is now going towards more real-world experience rather than academics. Part of the motivation for me to create the program was to introduce more self-direction and real-world problems[1]. In addition, I think it's useful to separate education from schooling. What we often confound is the actual acquisition of useful knowledge (fundamental meaning of education) and our institutions (education systems). Learning on your own is very much education! However, I think employment etc are more complex than just education. There are other factors, like social acceptability, political risk, etc. I've talked to managers who are just risk-averse when it comes to non-degreed students. They'll privately accept that this person has all the skills, maybe even more so than other candidates, but they can't accept them because if this candidate messes up, they will get blamed for hiring them. The political risk is too much, and would be much less if the candidate has more degrees. The systems of accountability is messed up but that's the reality young people have to navigate. They have to understand the markedness of not having a degree. It's sorta like the social version of "the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent." Depending on what they want to do, the degree won't matter. If you start your own company, obviously no one will care if you have a degree. Some investors see it as a plus. You can argue that putting a 4-yr university tuition as startup capital will teach more useful skills than a degree, even if they don't pursue entrepreneurship later. But most people are not willing or can't take those risks. [1]https://www.divepod.to https://www.divepod.to