“But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).
According to a survey Freelancing in America, freelancers put more value on skills training: 93 percent of freelancers with a four-year college degree say skills training was useful versus only 79 percent who say their college education was useful to the work they do now. In addition, 70 percent of full-time freelancers participated in skills training in the past six months compared to only 49 percent of full-time non-freelancers.
The fifth annual survey, conducted by research firm Edelman Intelligence and co-commissioned by Upwork and Freelancers Union, polled 6,001 U.S. workers.
This new data points to something much larger. Rapid technological change, combined with rising education costs, have made our traditional higher-education system an increasingly anachronistic and risky path. The cost of a college education is so high now that we have reached a tipping point at which the debt incurred often isn't outweighed by future earnings potential.
Yet too often, degrees are still thought of as lifelong stamps of professional competency. They tend to create a false sense of security, perpetuating the illusion that work — and the knowledge it requires — is static. It's not.
Twenty million students started college last fall, and this much is certain: The vast majority of them will be taking on debt — a lot of debt. What's less certain is whether their degrees will pay off.
For example, a 2016 World Economic Forum report found that "in many industries and countries, the most in-demand occupations or specialties did not exist 10 or even five years ago, and the pace of change is set to accelerate."
And recent data from Upwork confirms that acceleration. Its latest Upwork Quarterly Skills Index, released in 2018, found that "70 percent of the fastest-growing skills are new to the index."
The future of work won't be about degrees. More and more, it'll be about skills. And no one school, whether it be Harvard or Andrews, can ever insulate us from the unpredictability of technological progression and disruption.
Skilled Trades
There is also a significant need of skilled trades workers in America. People with the ability and desire to work with their hands have diminished over the last 30-years, concurrent with the rise of computer technology. And as with all phases, times change while the need for basic skills remain. Houses don’t build themselves, wood doesn’t split itself, and automobiles will always need the hands of skilled mechanics to maintain and repair them periodically.
Instead of accumulating a large load of college debt, you might consider buying a dump truck and hauling a load of gravel to customers. Instead of four years of college indoctrination, you might try these four principles of entrepreneurship: Solving problems, determination, vision, and serving people.
Entrepreneur Opportunities
Far too many Adventists are being raised to be employees. Work for the Church, work for the health system, work in the educational department. We need some people in those areas, but we need Adventist entrepreneurs even more. Uber should have been started by two young Adventist men in their father’s garage. Home Fresh should have been started by SDA’s, with vegetarian and vegan options. There’s still time for more inventions. Let’s find them.
Starting your own business can teach you things about yourself that you might not learn anywhere else. It can provide opportunities to serve people, in the process serving God by sharing biblical truth with them.
America still has plenty of opportunity, and the Advent Message is still worth sharing. Go fill those opportunities. And use them to serve God and share the Three Angels’ Messages.
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