Skill FM: Recent Episodes
Skill FM
Skill FM is your #1 source for today’s innovations in work and education.
We're also the world's first "podstation", with many different shows about work, education, and technology, all on the same podcast feed.
If you are trying to understand how work and education are changing, this podstation is for you.
This select episode of The Isaac Morehouse Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
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Isaac Morehouse is the founder and CEO of Crash, the career launch platform. He previously founded and currently serves as an advisor to Praxis, a startup apprenticeship program.
Bryan Caplan is currently a Professor of Economics at George Mason University and New York Times Bestselling author of books including The Myth of the Rational Voter, Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids, and The Case Against Education.
This select episode of The Isaac Morehouse Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
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Isaac Morehouse is the founder and CEO of Crash, the career launch platform. He previously founded and currently serves as an advisor to Praxis, a startup apprenticeship program.
Penelope Trunk is currently a the world's most influential career counseloraccording to Inc. Magazine, and the CEO of Quistic, which creates online courses designed to help you build a career that supports the life you want.
This select episode of The Isaac Morehouse Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
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Isaac Morehouse is the founder and CEO of Crash, the career launch platform. He previously founded and currently serves as an advisor to Praxis, a startup apprenticeship program.
Chad Grills is currently the CEO of Mission.org, a veteran-owned media company and creative studio that launched in 2018. Mission.org reaches millions of the smartest people in the world with our network of original podcasts and digital media. Their podcasts were awarded "Best of 2018" by Apple.
The HIR(ED) Show is presented by Skills Fund, the leading bootcamp student lender that's helped over 10,000 students get access to career-transforming education. Skills Fund hosted The HIR(ED) Summit in Austin, TX in November 2019. HIR(ED) was the bootcamp industry’s first-ever conference, convening the top coding schools in the country.
About This Episode
Today's episode is a panel discussion called “Agile Education: Are Bootcamps Iterating Fast Enough?”
The panel features:
Will Sentance, CEO & Founder of Codesmith, a software engineering and machine learning residency based in Los Angeles, New York and Oxford. Will is originally from England and now lives in New York.
RC Johnson, Director of Software Engineering for Indeed.com. RC has been managing software engineering teams for 10+ years.
Amir Savar, Founder of Skilled Inc., a community of job-seekers vetted by world class professionals. Amir has built/scaled 3 companies as the head of recruiting. 2 of these companies exited under his tenure and the third has raised over $100MM.
Joe Burgess, Entrepreneur in Residence at Flatiron School, an educational organization based in New York City that teaches software engineering, computer programming, data science, UX/UI design, and cybersecurity analytics. Joe is currently working on a new business line for Flatiron School x WeWork.
Where to learn more about these Companies:
Codesmith: www.codesmith.io
Indeed: www.indeed.com
Skilled Inc.: www.skilledinc.com
Flatiron School: flatironschool.com
Where to learn more about Skills Fund and the HIR(ED) Summit:
Website: https://skills.fund
HIR(ED) Summit 2019: https://hiredsummit.splashthat.com/
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This episode of the HIR(ED) is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
The CLOSE IT Show is presented by the CLOSE IT Summit, a non-profit focused on the transition to a skills based economy, which helps organizations connect to leaders across the globe. The CLOSE IT Summit takes place each October and features thought leaders from industry, workforce, and learning communities.
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Today's show is a talk given at CLOSE IT Summit 2019 by Jeremy Walsh, Vice President of Enterprise Learning Solutions for Wiley Education Services. Jeremy’s driving passion is helping companies position themselves with the emerging skills and agile workforce needed to be considered future-ready. His team is responsible for providing talent and training solutions that enable employers to excel in their market and leave the impact they desire. He believes, “We are fortunate to have a great culture and strong core values at Wiley. Our values are not just words on a wall, but deeply ingrained into the core of who we are as an organization.”
To this end, Jeremy is driven to cultivate leaders and build world-class organizations to make positive impacts in the diverse markets they serve. As a dynamic leader, business developer, small business owner, entrepreneur, and business consultant, he has a unique perspective on the convergence that’s happening between enterprise organizations and educators.
Prior to joining Wiley, Jeremy spent a decade overseeing business development initiatives for organizations such as Apollo Education Group, Kaplan Inc., and Mount Washington College. He sits on several advisory boards including the marketing advisory board for LinkedIn as well as a local leadership development organization called Leadership Broward. Jeremy earned a Bachelor of Science in business from Missouri Southern State University. He currently lives in South Florida with his wife, Giselle, and their two children, Ava and Deklan.
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This episode of The CLOSE IT Show is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
This select episode of The Isaac Morehouse Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
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Isaac Morehouse is the founder and CEO of Crash, the career launch platform. He previously founded and currently serves as an advisor to Praxis, a startup apprenticeship program.
Michael Gibson is a General Partner at 1517 Fund. Michael was Vice President for Grants at the Thiel Foundation and a principal at Thiel Capital. For nearly five years working for Peter Thiel, he has contributed research to Peter’s global macro hedge fund, assisted in teaching a course at Stanford Law School on sovereignty and technological change, and helped run the Thiel Fellowship. He serves on the board of the Seasteading Institute. Before his academic apostasy, he was working towards a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Oxford. He has written on innovation and technology for MIT’s Technology Review, the Atlantic, and Forbes.
Income Share Agreements --- Workforce Development --- Non-Profit Innovation
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What happens when a Workforce Board thinks beyond its limited government resources to find new ways of supporting local students and workers?
Today, a conversation with Peter Callstrom. Peter is the President and CEO of the San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP), the local Workforce Development Board for the City and County of San Diego.
SDWP funds and delivers programs that empower job seekers to meet the current and future workforce needs of employers in San Diego County. Together with community partners, the Workforce Partnership provides targeted employment services designed to help eligible adult job seekers identify, or regain, a career that will promote their success.
In 2019 the Workforce Partnership began offering 9–12-month UC San Diego Extension certificate programs through the Workforce Income Share Agreement (ISA) Fund. Students receive training in Front-End Web Development and Business Intelligence, and the Workforce Partnership provides job placement, internship, mentorship and other support to help students land a job in fast-growing technology occupations.
The program costs nothing upfront. Instead, students who graduate and get a job making above $40,000 will pay 6–8% of their salary for a set period of time back into the Workforce ISA Fund. The Fund re-invests the money in ISAs for new students. The Fund is supported by the James Irvine Foundation, Google.org, and Strada Education Network.
Where to learn more about the San Diego Workforce Partnership and their Partners:
San Diego Workforce Partnership: https://workforce.org/
Workforce ISA Fund: https://workforce.org/income-share-agreements/
The James Irvine Foundation: https://www.irvine.org/
Google.org: https://www.google.org/
Strada Education Network: https://www.stradaeducation.org/
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This episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
This select episode of Academy of Thought and Industry (ATI) is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
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About the Guest:
Danielle Strachman is a Co-Founder and General Partner of 1517 Fund, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco investing in young founders. Danielle has worked with young entrepreneurs for about a decade. In 2010, during the founding of the Thiel Fellowship, Danielle joined to lead the design and operations. She's worked with some of the most prestigious founders like Vitalik Buterin and Ritesh Agarwal. Previous to her work with Peter Thiel, Danielle founded and directed Innovations Academy in San Diego, a K-8 charter school serving 400 students, with a focus on student-led project based learning and other alternative programs.
About the Host:
Michael Strong is the Founder of the Academy of Thought and Industry (ATI), a network of Montessori-inspired schools serving grades six through twelve, with campuses in San Francisco, Austin, New York, and St. Louis. Michael is one of the most experienced designers of innovative school programs in the U.S. His past projects include Montessori secondary school program design at The Judson Montessori School (San Antonio), The Emerson School (Palo Alto), and Hacienda School (Pleasanton). Michael has authored two books including The Habit of Thought: From Socratic Seminars to Socratic Practice.
This select episode of The Isaac Morehouse Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
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Isaac Morehouse is the founder and CEO of Crash, the career launch platform. He previously founded and currently serves as an advisor to Praxis, a startup apprenticeship program.
Zak Slayback is a venture capitalist at 1517 Fund, an author at McGraw-Hill, a former startup-operator, and a coal-country expat living between the coasts on airplanes. Zak has spent his entire career thinking about finding, helping, and connecting world-class talent. Zak is also the producer of a new podcast called Founders First, which explores how founders got started, what they did before starting their startups, and how you can go from an idea to a venture-backed company.
Deryk Makgillis a writer, researcher and investor. He recently began working with Bitcoin.com and is also working on projects and businesses in publishing, digital archiving, Bitcoin, and personal defense. During the time of this episode, Derek was the the Director of Marketing at Praxis.
The UpSkill America Show is presented by Skill FM and Upskill America.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
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UpSkill America is an employer-led movement to expand opportunity for America’s workers and allow our economy and communities to thrive. The movement promotes training and advancement practices to help workers progress in their careers and move into better-paying jobs. Led by a leadership team of employer organizations, UpSkill America’s mission is to recognize employers that invest in their frontline workers; promote the adoption of policies and practices used by employers to educate, train and develop frontline workers; and highlight effective local and regional workforce development partnerships and how they educate, train and develop individuals for success in the workplace.
UpSkill America is an initiative of the Economic Opportunities Program at The Aspen Institute, a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Aspen Institute has earned a reputation for gathering diverse, nonpartisan thought leaders, creatives, scholars and members of the public to address some of the world's most complex problems.
About This Episode
A closing keynote address by Nick Pinchuk with his reflections on the fifth anniversary of UpSkill America.
Today's Episode Features:
Maureen Conway, Vice President for Policy Programs at the Aspen Institute and as Executive Director of the Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program.
Nick Pinchuk, Chairman and CEO, Snap-on, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of Columbus McKinnon Corporation, the National Association of Manufacturers, The Manufacturing Institute, the Manufacturer’s Alliance for Productivity and Innovation, and Carthage College. Nick served as the Chair of the Advisory Board for Skills for America’s Future at The Aspen Institute.
Jaime Fall, Director, UpSkill America, an employer-led movement to expand opportunity for America’s workers and to help our economy and communities thrive by promoting training and advancement practices to help workers progress in their careers and move into better-paying jobs.
The UpSkill America Show is presented by Skill FM and Upskill America.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
.....
UpSkill America is an employer-led movement to expand opportunity for America’s workers and allow our economy and communities to thrive. The movement promotes training and advancement practices to help workers progress in their careers and move into better-paying jobs. Led by a leadership team of employer organizations, UpSkill America’s mission is to recognize employers that invest in their frontline workers; promote the adoption of policies and practices used by employers to educate, train and develop frontline workers; and highlight effective local and regional workforce development partnerships and how they educate, train and develop individuals for success in the workplace.
UpSkill America is an initiative of the Economic Opportunities Program at The Aspen Institute, a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Aspen Institute has earned a reputation for gathering diverse, nonpartisan thought leaders, creatives, scholars and members of the public to address some of the world's most complex problems.
About This Episode
Upskilling program graduates from across the country and industries will share their personal experiences, how their program helped them, and what advice they would have for other participants and employers who are considering such programs.
Yenis Blanco, Training Manager, McDonald’s, where she oversees training programs at 15 restaurants in Maryland, Washington, DC and Virginia.
Lisa Gauthier, City Council Member, East Palo Alto, California. Lisa is also the Government Affairs Manager at Study.com, an online education company in Mountain View, where she supports the company’s community impact programs – including Working Scholars, a community-funded free college initiative.
Kimberly Vaughn, IT Project Manager, IT Governance, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, where she has led a variety of initiatives focused on driving innovation and ensuring application compliance.
Moderated by Amanda Newman, Senior Project Manager, The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program where she is focused on advancing equitable outcomes through workforce development and related strategies.
The UpSkill America Show is presented by Skill FM and Upskill America.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
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UpSkill America is an employer-led movement to expand opportunity for America’s workers and allow our economy and communities to thrive. The movement promotes training and advancement practices to help workers progress in their careers and move into better-paying jobs. Led by a leadership team of employer organizations, UpSkill America’s mission is to recognize employers that invest in their frontline workers; promote the adoption of policies and practices used by employers to educate, train and develop frontline workers; and highlight effective local and regional workforce development partnerships and how they educate, train and develop individuals for success in the workplace.
UpSkill America is an initiative of the Economic Opportunities Program at The Aspen Institute, a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Aspen Institute has earned a reputation for gathering diverse, nonpartisan thought leaders, creatives, scholars and members of the public to address some of the world's most complex problems.
About This Episode
The panelists in this episode attempt to answer the following questions:
What can civic and education leaders do to create an ecosystem that encourages employer and education partnerships that lead to upskilling programs?
How do they ensure these programs develop a skilled workforce within a community that will serve existing employers and attract new ones?
Today's Episode Features:
Daryl Graham, Senior Vice President of Philanthropy, Strada Education Network, where he leads strategic philanthropy, putting Strada’s insights into action by investing in organizations and strategies that strengthen the pathways between postsecondary learning and employment.
Reg Javier, Deputy Executive Officer, San Bernardino County California. Reg has worked in workforce development for over 25 years, at all levels ranging from front line staff to executive leadership.
Amanda Winters, Program Director, Economic Opportunity, Center for Best Practices, National Governors Association where she serves as an advisor to state leaders on postsecondary and workforce policies.
Moderated by Lauren Weber, The Wall Street Journal, where her coverage has included the evolution of contracting and contingent work as labor models, legal issues in the workplace, the use of sophisticated pre-hire assessments, controversies surrounding the classification of independent contractors and employees, among many others.
The UpSkill America Show is presented by Skill FM and Upskill America.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
.....
UpSkill America is an employer-led movement to expand opportunity for America’s workers and allow our economy and communities to thrive. The movement promotes training and advancement practices to help workers progress in their careers and move into better-paying jobs. Led by a leadership team of employer organizations, UpSkill America’s mission is to recognize employers that invest in their frontline workers; promote the adoption of policies and practices used by employers to educate, train and develop frontline workers; and highlight effective local and regional workforce development partnerships and how they educate, train and develop individuals for success in the workplace.
UpSkill America is an initiative of the Economic Opportunities Program at The Aspen Institute, a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Aspen Institute has earned a reputation for gathering diverse, nonpartisan thought leaders, creatives, scholars and members of the public to address some of the world's most complex problems.
About This Episode
The panelists in this episode attempt to answer the following questions:
What is driving large employers to invest in new upskilling programs?
What types of programs are they investing in?
What is working well and what needs to get better?
What advice do they have for other companies?
Today's Episode Features:
Eva Sage-Gavin, Senior Managing Director of Accenture’s Global Talent and Organization consulting practice. She leads the team that helps Accenture’s clients harness digital technologies and evolve their workforces to innovate, unlock new sources of value and “lead in the new.”
Shweta Srivastava, Director, Skilling Future Generations at Microsoft, where she has led a variety of initiatives focused on driving skill and employability for Higher Ed individuals in 21st-century growth areas like AI, Data, Cybersecurity, and Computer Science.
Van Ton-Quinlivan, CEO of Futuro Health, a non-profit established to address the allied health workforce shortage in the nation, starting with California. Van previously served as Executive Vice Chancellor for the California Community Colleges.
Chris Trout, Vice President Learning and Development, The Walt Disney Company where he leads Disney’s learning and development practice.
Moderated by Matthew Heimer, Senior Features Editor, at Fortune Magazine. Matt is a Co-Chair of the CEO Initiative conference, where he leads working groups on workforce development.
The UpSkill America Show is presented by Skill FM and Upskill America.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
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UpSkill America is an employer-led movement to expand opportunity for America’s workers and allow our economy and communities to thrive. The movement promotes training and advancement practices to help workers progress in their careers and move into better-paying jobs. Led by a leadership team of employer organizations, UpSkill America’s mission is to recognize employers that invest in their frontline workers; promote the adoption of policies and practices used by employers to educate, train and develop frontline workers; and highlight effective local and regional workforce development partnerships and how they educate, train and develop individuals for success in the workplace.
UpSkill America is an initiative of the Economic Opportunities Program at The Aspen Institute, a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Aspen Institute has earned a reputation for gathering diverse, nonpartisan thought leaders, creatives, scholars and members of the public to address some of the world's most complex problems.
About This Episode
The fifth anniversary of UpSkill America is here! To celebrate this anniversary, UpSkill America brought together leaders in business, researchers, policymakers, and upskilling program graduates to share what they’ve learned over the past five years, highlight innovative approaches to upskilling, discuss solutions to common challenges, and explore the future of the upskilling movement.
Since the founding of Upskill America, momentum for upskilling has continued to grow, with businesses large and small across the country creating new programs and developing innovative approaches to make it easier for employees to access training and education that can help advance their careers. These new strategies for upskilling represent a sea change in businesses’ approach to education, as they see the value of advancing the skills of employees at all levels in supporting opportunity and helping their bottom lines.
Today's Episode Features:
Maureen Conway, Vice President for Policy Programs at the Aspen Institute and as Executive Director of the Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program.
Dan Porterfield, President and CEO of The Aspen Institute. Previously, Dan served for seven years as the President of Franklin & Marshall College.
Eva Sage-Gavin, Senior Managing Director of Accenture’s Global Talent and Organization consulting practice. She leads the team that helps Accenture’s clients harness digital technologies and evolve their workforces to innovate, unlock new sources of value and “lead in the new.”
Ellie Bertani, Senior Director and Portfolio Owner of Digital Transformation and Reskilling within Walmart US, responsible for modernizing our ways of working and preparing for the future of work.
This select episode of The Isaac Morehouse Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
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Isaac Morehouse is the founder and CEO of Crash, the career launch platform. He previously founded and currently serves as an advisor to Praxis, a startup apprenticeship program.
Steve Patterson is a Philosopher and Author working outside of academia. He is also an award-winning video producer and the creator of The Truth About…animation series. Since he works outside of academia, and because he doesn't have classes to teach, papers to grade, or academic bureaucracy to deal with, he gets to spend a lot of time researching, writing articles, producing videos, books, and podcasts – all with the goal of creating the most accurate worldview.
You can reach Steve through email, Twitter, or Facebook. He also has a Youtube channel.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
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Another great week here at Skill FM.
First, we posted another great Isaac Morehouse interview with Black Boles, Founder of Unschool Adventures, and an author with a new book coming out called Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids to School, which has a Kickstarter until Feb 20th.
Second, we posted our first episode of the HIRED show in collaboration with Skills Fund, a talk by Liz Eggleston, Co-Founder of Course Report. Thanks again to Skills Fund for helping us make this happen!
Third, on Skill, I shared a conversation with Warren Shaeffer, the co-founder of Knowable, a startup taking the best elements of podcasts and audiobooks and combining them into audio courses. This is yet another example of Empowered Education, where a company is providing tools for people to achieve their personal learning goals.
And last but not least, we're excited to announce that next week, we’ll begin airing special new content...(listen to this episode to find out!)
Learning --- Work --- Entrepreneurship
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Is audio the next frontier for learning? Listen, and decide for yourself.
Today, a conversation with Warren Shaeffer. Warren is the Co-Founder of Knowable, an e-learning startup based in Los Angeles. Knowable sprang out a desire to quickly learn about important topics, without the time required to find relevant, but rambling, podcasts, or the attention span to listen to an entire audiobook.
Imagine bite-sized audio lessons, personalized to your current skill level, about topics as diverse as how to Launch a Startup, or Start a Podcast, or Buy Your First Home.
Knowable launched in October, 2019 with investments from Andreessen Horowitz, Upfront Ventures, and Initialized Capital. Warren explains how Knowable works, why audio is an untapped medium for structured learning, and tells us why the necessary elements to guide listeners on a learning journey.
Where to learn more about Knowable:
- Knowable Website
- Introducing Knowable on Medium
- Follow Knowable on Twitter
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This episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
The HIR(ED) Show is presented by Skills Fund, the leading bootcamp student lender that's helped over 10,000 students get access to career-transforming education. Skills Fund hosted The HIR(ED) Summit in Austin, TX in November 2019. HIR(ED) was the bootcamp industry’s first-ever conference, convening the top coding schools in the country.
About This Episode
Today's episode is a talk by Liz Eggleston, the Co-Founder of Course Report. Course Report is the most-visited resource for students researching coding bootcamps online. At Course Report, she defines and executes their product and content strategies and conducts leading research about the bootcamp industry. Prior to Course Report, Liz held multiple roles at Living Social, an online marketplace that allows its registered users to buy and share things to do in their city. In addition to Course Report, she is a breakfast taco connoisseur, and bootcamp advocate.
Course Report was founded in 2013 by Liz and Adam Lovallo. While at LivingSocial, Liz and Adam saw the Hungry Academy come to fruition and were inspired by the program’s success in transforming bright employees into entry-level developers in six months. As the bootcamp model gained steam, so too did the need for a third-party resource for their students. Course Report launched in December 2013 and is fortunate to be advised by Jay Weintraub, Aaron Batalion, and Tim O'Shaughnessy.
Where to learn more about the Course Report:
Twitter - @coursereport
Course Report - https://www.coursereport.com
Where to learn more about Skills Fund and the HIR(ED) Summit:
Website: https://skills.fund
HIR(ED) Summit 2019: https://hiredsummit.splashthat.com/
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This episode of the HIR(ED) is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
This select episode of The Isaac Morehouse Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
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Isaac Morehouse is the founder and CEO of Crash, the career launch platform. He previously founded and currently serves as an advisor to Praxis, a startup apprenticeship program.
Blake Boles is the founder and director of Unschool Adventures and the author of The Art of Self-Directed Learning, Better Than College, and College Without High School. He hosts the Off-Trail Learning podcast and has delivered over 75 presentations for education conferences, alternative schools, and parent groups. Blake and his work have appeared on The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, BBC Travel, Psychology Today, Fox Business, TEDx, The Huffington Post, USA Today, NPR affiliate radio, and the blogs of Wired and The Wall Street Journal.
Blake is currently running a Kickstarter to fund his next book: Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids to School?
You can support his Kickstarter until February 20th, 2020 where you can pre-order his new book and save.
Another great week here at Skill FM.
First, we posted our second episode of the Isaac Morehouse podcast, an interview with his 10 year old son about his unschooling experiences. As one of our listeners on Facebook put it: "Pure Gold!"
Second, we posted the first episode of our exciting collaboration with the CLOSE IT Summit, one of the premier workforce conferences in the U.S. that takes place every fall. The first episode featured a talk by Steve Cadigan, one of the early employees at LinkedIn, about global trends in hiring and their implications.
Third, we shared an interview with Lambda School Chief of Staff, Trevor McKendrick, who shed some light on the inner workings of Lambda, one of the most well-known and fastest growing code academies in Silicon Valley.
Finally, on the Skill podcast, we shared a conversation with Alec Resnick, the co-founder of Powderhouse Studios in Somerville, Massachusetts. Powderhouse was nearly the first self-directed, public, in-district high school in the country. Over the course of more than five years, the Powderhouse team (with support from a wide variety of community organizations, foundations, experts, and policymakers) worked closely with Somerville Public Schools to develop a detailed, practical, and piloted plan to open a new high school…which was thwarted at the last minute by Somerville’s Superintendent and School Committee.
And last but not least, we're excited to announce that next week, we’ll begin airing episodes of...(listen to this episode to find out!)
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Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
Self Directed Education --- K12 --- Entrepreneurship
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Is innovation possible in the traditional K-12 system? Listen, and decide for yourself.
Today, a conversation with Alec Resnick. Alec is the co-Founder and Director of Powderhouse Studios in Somerville, Massachusetts. Powderhouse Studios sprang out of an education non-profit called sprout & co., which Alec founded along with Shaunalynn Duffy in 2009.
Conceived of as a radical take on making a creative, R&D organization with youth, Powderhouse was nearly the first self-directed, public, in-district high school in the country.
The school began with an invitation from Somerville's Mayor. Over the course of more than five years, the Powderhouse team (with support from a wide variety of community organizations, foundations, experts, and policymakers) worked closely with Somerville Public Schools to develop a detailed, practical, and piloted plan to open a new high school.
Unfortunately, in March 2019, their efforts were thwarted by Somerville's Superintendent, Mary Skipper, who suddenly reversed her support of their proposal on the eve of the vote, leading to a unanimous rejection by Somerville's School Committee (which up until that point had supported the Powderhouse initiative).
Alec explains his team's radical ideas for re-inventing high school, interwoven with shedding some light on the strange tale of trying to start a new, in-district district public school.
Where to learn more about the Alec and Powderhouse Studios:
Powderhouse Studios Website: www.powerderhouse.org
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alecresnick
Twitter - @AResnick
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This select episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
Trevor is the Chief of Staff at Lambda School, where students graduate and get the job because they got the skills - and it’s free until they get a job paying over $50K. In this podcast, Trevor goes to the heart of “the customer experience” and details how everything they do is framed in light of reducing the risk and elevating the satisfaction of the customer - their students.
Education is transforming, whether we are ready or not. With a steady eye on mastery-based progression and competency-based learning, Lambda School is trail-blazing an education model that begins with the end in mind. As they design skills training, they start by determining available jobs and target their program to prepare qualified candidates. In contrast, the traditional university model offers a more static curriculum, without the same regard for whether or not it ultimately prepares students for the market they will enter.
Listen and consider how the student experience in your school could be improved by starting with an innovative outcome in mind.
Quotes:
2:48 “When we are thinking about how to design an experience for our students, it always comes from the point of view of - how can we eliminate that risk?”
6:55 “The point of school is not to get through it as fast as you can; the point is to actually learn the material that you wanted to learn.”
21:40 “We think about - what are the jobs that employers actually want (to fill)? And let’s start from there and design the programs and get the students who are interested in those things.“
28:27 “The idea is - if the student experience is as good as... if you had as much confidence in attending Lambda and getting the job as you did when you order on Amazon or got on Uber, then nothing else matters. ...that’s why it’s the main thing we focus on.”
Where to learn more about the guest:
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevormckendrick
Twitter - @TrevMcKendrick
Lambda School - https://lambdaschool.com/
Trevor’s newsletter - https://www.howitactuallyworks.com/
Where to learn more about Enrollhand:
Website: www.enrollhand.com
Our webinar: https://webinar-replay.enrollhand.com
Our free Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolgrowth/
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This select episode of the Enrollhand Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
The CLOSE IT Show is presented by the CLOSE IT Summit, a non-profit focused on the transition to a skills based economy, which helps organizations connect to leaders across the globe. The CLOSE IT Summit takes place each October and features thought leaders from industry, workforce, and learning communities.
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Today's show is a talk given at CLOSE IT Summit 2019 by Steve Cadigan, a highly sought-after talent advisor to leaders and organizations across the globe. As Founder of his own Silicon Valley-based firm, Cadigan Talent Ventures, Steve advises a wide range of innovative organizations that include Twitter, Google, GoPro, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and the BBC. He is also regularly retained by some of Silicon Valley’s leading VC firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, Sequoia, and Greylock Partners for his counsel on a wide range of talent topics.
Steve speaks regularly to conferences and major Universities around the world and his amazing work in helping shape the unique culture at LinkedIn led Stanford University to build a graduate- level class around this ground-breaking work. Steve is frequently asked to appear on global TV and is a regular guest on Bloomberg West and CNBC, and he is also a regular contributor to Forbes.
Prior to launching his own firm, Steve worked as an HR executive for over 25 years at a wide range of companies and industries including Cisco Systems, Electronic Arts and capped by serving as the first CHRO for LinkedIn from 2009 through 2012, taking the company from a private firm of 400 employees, through an IPO and into the powerhouse that it is recognized as today.
In addition to running his own firm while speaking and teaching around the world, today Steve also serves on the Board of Directors to three organizations and sits on the Advisory Board of several others. Steve graduated from Wesleyan University with an BA in History and received an MA in HROD from the University of San Francisco.
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This episode of The CLOSE IT Show is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
Isaac Morehouse is the founder and CEO of Crash, the career launch platform. He previously founded and currently serves as an advisor to Praxis, a startup apprenticeship program.
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This select episode of The Isaac Morehouse Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
It’s been a great second week back on the air here at Skill FM.
First, we posted our first episode of the Isaac Morehouse podcast, an interview with Zak Slayback, an investor at 1517 Fund, back when Zak and Isaac worked together at Praxis.
Second, we posted the first episode this year of the Skill podcast, an interview with Tim Spurlock, the President of American Diesel Training Centers. I was really excited to speak with Tim, because American Diesel is a shining example of taking the condensed training model and applying it outside of the world of software engineering. Skill academies are going to become a huge force in education in the coming years, and it won’t just be for programming computers.
And last but not least, we're excited to announce that next week, we’ll begin airing episodes of...
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Most skill academies today focus on teaching software development skills. However, not every student is interested in learning how to code. That's OK, because as it turns out, if you like to work with your hands, there are no shortage of great jobs across America.
On today's episode of the Skill Podcast, Micah shares a conversation with Tim Spurlock, Co-Founder of American Diesel Training Centers in Columbus, Ohio. ADTC is a mechanic academy that trains students from any background to become diesel engine mechanics in 12 weeks.
Throughout this conversation, Tim and Micah cover the following topics:
- The founding story of ADTC
- Why aren't Community Colleges serving the market need for diesel mechanics?
- Why aren't employers training people for these roles?
- How ADTC designs its training to serve employer needs
- The difference in completion rates for hands on vs. classroom training
- The problem with overtraining students in traditional higher education
- How ADTC recruits "impossible to find" students to train for these jobs using social media
- The importance of ISAs for ADTC's programs
- What the future has in store for ADTC
Links:
- American Diesel Training Centers
- edly - The ISA Marketplace
You can connect with Tim Spurlock on LinkedIn
You can connect with Micah at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @MicahMerrick
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This episode of Skill is a production of Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
This select episode of The Isaac Morehouse Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
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Isaac Morehouse is the founder and CEO of Crash, the career launch platform. He previously founded and currently serves as an advisor to Praxis, a startup apprenticeship program.
Zak Slayback is a venture capitalist at 1517 Fund, an author at McGraw-Hill, a former startup-operator, and a coal-country expat living between the coasts on airplanes.
It’s been a great first week back on the air here at Skill FM.
We’ve re-launched our website, www.skill.fm
We've posted 3 new shows about some key trends in work and education today:
- The Age of Individuality
- Empowered Education
- Exceptional Selection
And last but not least, we launched the first podstation we know of, in the world, Skill FM.
As you know, the entire concept of a podstation is have multiple shows, not just one.
That’s why I’m excited to announce that next week, we’ll begin airing episodes of...
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Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
Imagine you want to start a new College from scratch. How do you choose the 1,000 students you’ll invite to enroll?
Imagine you want to hire someone to work at your cereal company as a Marketing Analyst. How do you choose someone to hire?
Historically, schools and employers have developed a set of objective criteria in order to try and rank each applicant on a scale. This simplifies the selection process, because if everyone is ranked, then you can choose the so-called best applicants from the top of the ranking. This is the “Exclusive Selection” model, and is the way most schools and employers select applicants. However, it’s very difficult to know that the so-called “best” applicants are in fact the “best” for your school or company. Even worse, many of the institutions that have used supposedly objective Exclusive Selection models, have also been corrupted by nepotism and bias.
The response has been to focus on a concept called “equity”, whereby nepotism and bias are assumed to be widespread. However, this model, like the Exclusive Selection model, has its own set of problems. Why? Because, in addition to cases of overt nepotism and bias, which do exist, there are also differences in group representation that exist for many other reasons having nothing to do with these factors. Whether or not we like it, not every group that is under or over represented is being discriminated against in the selection process based on nepotism or bias. These differences could also be explained by differences in professional interests or differences in cultural attitudes towards different educational paths. Worse, if little nepotism or bias exists, then Equitable Selection can also lead to unfairness, but this time against applicants that were in a group previously favored by the Exclusive Selection process for completely justified reasons.
How then do we select students or workers, based on their individual tenacity, capability, and skills, rather than falling back on the old models of exclusive or equitable selection?
The answer is Exceptional Selection.
Exceptional selection is different in the following ways:
- The selection process is based on completion of specific tasks in the real-world in real-time, not historical performance or other proxies for the real-thing.
- Exceptional Selection strives to accept as many exceptional candidates as possible.
Two modern examples of Exceptional Selection processes in both education and business are the Navy Seals and Y Combinator.
As we move forward in the Age of Individuality, and more and more educators begin to empower their students to achieve their personal learning goals, each of us will have the ability to further enhance our uniqueness and reach our full potential. Ultimately, every individual has the potential to be Exceptional in a domain of their choosing, and in turn, to be selected for applying their Exceptional skills in the real world.
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The story of humanity is propelled forward by our unique ability to convert imagination into reality. We take the things we imagine and create them, whether out of curiosity, necessity, or desire. Each creative act requires us to learn new knowledge, skills, and tools. During this iterative process of creation, we imagine new possibilities based on our newly gained technology, and begin the cycle again.
The imagination to reality conversion process is fueled by the curiosity and desires of each individual, and so necessarily, learning occurs at the level of the individual. If there is no desire to achieve a goal, or a curiosity to explore, there is no learning, only passive participation. The more curiosity or desire, the more learning.
An “education” in the strictest sense of the word is the accumulation of learning over time, whether the learning occurs in a kitchen, a library, or a classroom. Someone who walked across the United States over the course of a year would obtain an “education” in American Sociology better than any Sociology class at the most elite college. However, when people say “education”, this type of learning is not really what they have in mind.
Instead, an “education” commonly refers to the process of learning knowledge, skills, and tools that have been chosen, sanctioned, and certified by a school, college, or university. As a society, we have largely, and unconsciously, delegated the burden of personal learning to institutions that are granted the authority to certify whether a topic is worthy of being called an “education”.
In the past, schools have taken advantage of their monopoly on information, to only certify and teach the knowledge, skills, and tools that were interesting to the schools, administrators, and teachers, themselves.
However, in the Age of Individuality, schools must serve the learning goals of individuals. After all, schools are places where individuals choose to spend their time and their money in order to achieve their own learning goals.
In the Age of Individuality, the ideal school is one that enables an individual to pursue their specific goals: this might be to build a model airplane or learn about spiders (for children), or to gain the skills necessary to work as a nurse, accountant, or welder (for adults).
I call this new model of education, Empowered Education, because the educators are empowering individuals to achieve their own, personal goals.
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Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
On today’s show, I talk about a trend that I believe is integral to the innovations in work and education taking place today. I call this trend, the Age of Individuality.
Companies can now use tools to create precise, real-world tests and experiences, to assess job applicants for their unique abilities. These tests and tools are often so compelling, that using clumsy selection mechanisms such as whether or not a job applicant has a college degree, is irrelevant.
Similarly, schools can now precisely match the interests of each student with courses, projects, and real-world experiences, that can help each individual student learn and grow. Children can now learn from a suite of resources, mimicking the experience of having their own private tutor. Adults can now find targeted courses and credentials that provide them with the knowledge, skills, and tools to achieve their own personal goals, such as finding a new job, or learning a new skill.
Ultimately, the same technology and tools that are enabling companies to provide individuals with highly personalized products, are also available for employers and schools. Today, the most innovative employers and schools are using these new technologies to enable people to work and learn what, when, and how they want. This is why I believe work and education are entering a new Age of Individuality.
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Today, I’m excited to be announcing the creation of the world’s first podstation, Skill FM.
Last year, I hosted 24 episodes of the Skill Podcast. I’m proud of the guests that I’ve had on the show, and the progress that’s been made to highlight the new worlds of work and education that are being unleashed by technology. However, there is so much more that can be said on these topics, and we need more voices to help spread the word that the “future of work and education”, is now.
To do this, one show isn’t enough. One podcast isn’t enough. To create a community of people that are changing the way we work and learn, we need more voices, and more shows. Just like the world of television has stations with many shows dedicated to news, travel, history, or entertainment, we need a station too. And now, we have one: Skill FM.
Skill FM is a podstation, that will have many different shows about today’s innovations in work and education. If you subscribe to the Skill FM podstation, you’ll soon see many different shows that you can download and listen to, all within the same feed.
I’ll soon be announcing the first show that will be hosted on Skill FM. In the coming weeks, you’ll see more and more shows appear in the Skill FM feed, including my own show, Skill, which will start up again next week.
Moving forward, you can download the shows that look interesting to you, or skip the ones that don’t. However, every show that appears on the podstation will be related to today’s innovations in work and education.
If you want to be a part of this community moving forward, then Skill FM is the place for you.
Please check out our new website at: www.skill.fm
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Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
We talk a lot about the fact that "lifelong learning" is a required trait in an age where workers need to constantly learn new skills in the face of rapid technological change. However, how does our education prior to college and the world of work affect this ability?
On Episode 22 of Skill, Micah shares a conversation with Kerry McDonald, Author of "Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom". Kerry argues that giving children the freedom to guide their own education process yields the skill of "lifelong learning" we need in the 21st Century.
Kerry's research interests include homeschooling and alternatives to school, self-directed learning, education entrepreneurship, parent empowerment, school choice, and family and child policy. Her articles have appeared at The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, NPR, Education Next, Reason Magazine, City Journal, and Entrepreneur, among others.
Throughout this conversation, Kerry and Micah cover the following topics:
- Kerry and Micah discuss one of the greatest children's books of all time
- Kerry explains the key concepts of Self Directed Education (SDE) and the difference between "school" and "education"
- The link between "lifelong learning" and SDE
- The impact of technology on education and the world of work
- Kerry's optimism about alternatives to traditional schools
- Kerry's own experience with SDE with her 3 children
- Why people feel uncomfortable giving the freedom to learn to children
- How Kerry resolves the tension between instilling "grit" in children, and Self Directed Education, where children have the freedom to "quit" at any time
- SDE and raising children that are a "success" in eyes of modern society
- The anecdote to rapid technological change
- Will change in K12 come from without, or without
- The most promising experiments in alternative education models, outside of traditional "school"
Links:
- Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom
- Sign up for Kerry's newsletter, LiberatED.
- More articles by Kerry, hosted at the Foundation for Economic Freedom
- Free to Learn, by Peter Gray
- John Holt - Growing Without Schooling
You can connect with Kerry on Twitter @kerry_edu
You can connect with Micah at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @MicahMerrick
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This episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
Most skill academies today focus on teaching software development skills. However, not every student is interested in learning how to code. That's OK, because as it turns out, there's another on-ramp to great paying jobs in tech: sales.
On Episode 21 of Skill, Micah shares a conversation with Shaan Hathiramani, Founder of Flockjay, an education startup based in Silicon Valley. Last month, Flockjay raised nearly $3M from investors, including Serena Williams and Will Smith, to grow its training program to help students gain entry-level sales jobs with Tech companies in only 12 weeks.
Throughout this conversation, Shaan and Micah cover the following topics:
- Shaan's unique preferred location to go for a swim
- How Shaan first became interested in teaching
- The student debt crisis and the underemployment problem
- The need for alternative ways to get good jobs, aside from coding
- How technology has changed for sales reps and customers from the days of Glengarry Glen Ross
- Why sales is the most accessible on-ramp into tech
- The common traits Flockjay looks for to ascertain success in the program
- Student outcomes to date in the program
Links:
- Flockjay
- "Always Be Closing" scene from Glengarry Glen Ross (NSFW)
You can connect with Shaan on Twitter @shaanh
You can connect with Micah at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @MicahMerrick
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This episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
The benefits of working in corporate America include health insurance and a 401(k). But, what if employers also offered thousands of dollars in "education benefits" to spend at online universities and skill academies, and were OK with you taking these classes AND working at the company?
On Episode 20 of Skill, Micah shares a conversation with Josh Scott, President at Guild Education, a startup based in Denver. Guild partners with companies such as WalMart, Chipotle and Disney to offer education benefits to over 3 million employees.
Prior to working at Guild, Josh was the co-founder and COO at Craftsy, an online education and eCommerce community for passionate makers. Craftsy was acquired by NBC Universal in 2018.
Throughout this conversation, Josh and Micah cover the following topics:
- Excel: great tool, or greatest tool?
- Josh's career in marketplace companies, including eBay and HomeAdvisor
- How Guild works and what they do
- Why employers partner with Guild to offer education benefits to their employees
- Some employees leave once they've learned new skills, so why should employers offer these benefits to them?
- How online schools are universities are responding to the new opportunity to participate in the Guild marketplace
- The most important elements to make education succeed for working adults
- The student journey with Guild
- The importance of coaching
- The future for Guild and the future of work
Links:
- Guild Education
- Michael Dearing, Founder of Harrison Metal
- Walmart Earn a College Degree for a Dollar a Day Program with Guild
- Chipotle & Guild Partnership
- Disney & Guild Partnership
You can connect with Josh on Twitter @josh_scott
You can connect with Micah at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @MicahMerrick
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This episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
Imagine a project-based environment where students start their own projects, choose their own timeline, and set their own evaluation metrics. Imagine a school where teachers serve as "learning experts", providing topical expertise to students as needed and collaborating with students on their projects. Is this the high school of the future?
On Episode 19 of Skill, Micah shares a conversation with Garrett Smiley, the Co-Founder of Sora Schools, an education startup based in Atlanta. Sora is an online, project-based high school where students explore their interests, learn however is best for them, and gain exposure to future careers and fields of work. Sora students work online for four days a week, then come together with every student in their region's cohort once per week.
Prior to co-founding Sora, Garrett co-founded a charity that built wells in developing countries and taught financial literacy to foster kids. He is also a Venture Partner at Contrary Capital, a pre-seed, university-focused VC firm made up of a nationwide network of over 50 universities.
Throughout this conversation, Garrett and Micah cover the following topics:
- How Garrett and his family founded Drops of Love, a non-profit to help build clean water wells in developing countries
- Garrett's first foray into education, with a project called FLiP
- How Sora works and what they do
- How Sora deals with parent questions around "frivolous" projects, socialization, and sports
- What students think about Sora
- What's next for Sora
- A vision for a new future of high schooling
Links:
- Sora Schools
- Contrary Capital
- Bloom's Law
- Self determination theory
You can connect with Garrett on Twitter @gw_smiles
You can connect with Micah at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @MicahMerrick
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This episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
Over 16 million American students attend a higher education institution each year with the primary goal of obtaining a better paying job. However, more than 50% of higher education institutions left the majority of their students earning less than $28,000—the typical salary of a high school graduate.
On Episode 18 of Skill, Micah shares a conversation with Michael Itzkowitz, a Senior Fellow in Higher Education at Third Way, a center-left think tank that Reuters calls the “the future of think tanks”, and the New York Times calls a bunch of “radical centrists”.
Michael is responsible for shaping Third Way’s higher education advocacy agenda. He works to develop and implement policies to ensure that more low- and moderate-income students are earning degrees from quality programs that will equip them to succeed in the 21st century economy.
Prior to joining Third Way, Michael served as a Presidential Appointee for six years in the U.S. Department of Education, most recently in the Obama Administration as the Director of the College Scorecard. The Scorecard, announced by President Obama in September 2015, is the largest release of higher education data ever by the Federal government.
Throughout this conversation, Michael and Micah cover the following topics:
- How Michael first became interested in higher education
- The history of the DOE College Scorecard
- The reason why program-specific information is not included in the Scorecard and when we can expect this information
- A review of Third Way's recent report, Higher Ed’s Broken Bridge to the Middle Class.
- The shocking number of schools that provide certificates and associate's degrees that are failing students
- What's next for Michael and Third Way, in light of potential renewal of the Higher Education Act
Links:
- Third Way
- Higher Ed’s Broken Bridge to the Middle Class
- U.S. DOE College Scorecard
You can connect with Michael at mitzkowitz "at" thirdway.org OR on Twitter @MikeItzkowitz
You can connect with Micah at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @MicahMerrick
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This select episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
How does Holberton School produce Computer Science graduates who earn more money after graduation than Stanford or MIT, all while using no teachers or professors? How do they run programs in 4 different continents, with a staff of less than 50 people?
On Episode 17 of Skill, Micah shares a conversation with Sylvain Kalache, Co-Founder of Holberton School, a community driven school offering a two-year program to become a Full Stack Software Engineer in San Francisco, New Haven, Tulsa, Bogota, Medellin, Cali, and Tunis.
Sylvain and Micah unpack the unique learning methodologies that Holberton uses to create highly skilled software engineers, who are, critically, also trained to be lifelong learners of their craft.
Throughout this conversation, Sylvain and Micah cover the following topics:
- Sylvain's early life growing up in France
- His early journey as an adult, moving to China, and ultimately to Silicon Valley
- Sylvain's early career in Tech at Six Apart, SlideShare and LinkedIn
- His first experience starting a tech community with his future co-founder, Julien Barbier
- The hiring problem that got Sylvain and Julien first interested in education
- The 2 key elements of Holberton's educational methodology
- The link with Progressive Education philosophy and Holberton
- What "lifelong learning" means to Sylvain
- The similarities and differences between Holberton and traditional College
- The importance of problems and projects
- The real way to develop "10x engineers"
- How Holberton handles grading and project review
- The reason why Holberton is 2 years long vs. 1 year or less
- The amazing student outcomes of Holberton graduates
- Student story: from homeless to 6-figure job in NYC
- How Holberton is addressing diversity and access in Tech
- Holberton's plans to scale up to even more cities and countries
- Why having a physical campus is an important part of Holberton
Links:
- Holberton School
- Progressive Education
You can connect with Sylvain on Twitter @SylvainKalache
You can connect with Micah at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @MicahMerrick
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This select episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
What's it like to have to pawn your laptop to pay the rent? What does it feel like to get accepted in a program that feels like your last chance to achieve success?
On Episode 16 of Skill, Micah shares a conversation with Tramane Hall, a recent graduate of Lambda School's Full Stack Web development program. Tramane shares his personal journey from getting his first job in IT, to struggling to pay the bills, to finally getting accepted into a code academy to learn new skills. Tramane now works as a Software Engineer at Nexiant.
Quotes:
"Find the crawl space. If you are still breathing. If you are still alive. Keep fighting".
"Closed mouths don't get fed. If you need help, speak up!"
Links:
- Lambda School
- Nexiant
You can connect with Tramane on LinkedIn
You can connect with Micah at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @MicahMerrick
.....
This select episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
What are the pressing challenges we face in reforming higher education? How are accelerated learning programs, like coding bootcamps and skill academies, changing the game? Does it matter how students finance their education? And, what is the future of accelerated learning?
On Episode 15 of the Skill Podcast, Micah shares a conversation with Rick O'Donnell, Founder and CEO of Skills Fund, a company that provides students with loans to attend vetted, quality skill academies such as Galvanize, Hack Reactor, and Thinkful.
Rick and Micah discuss how Skills Fund is trying to solve a part of the puzzle traditional accreditors are failing to address: school quality. They also discuss the tight link between school quality and student performance in the job market after graduation. Finally, they imagine a world in the near future where students have multiple funding options to attend accelerated learning programs at Universities, bootcamps, and skill academies across the country.
Throughout this conversation, Rick and Micah cover the following topics:
- Their mutual affinity for the word "skill"
- Rick's early career as a public servant and policymaker in Colorado
- The numerous challenges facing higher education
- Would a new type of degree solve any of these challenges?
- Rick's entrepreneurial career after his time in Government
- The genesis behind Skills Fund
- The misaligned incentives in higher ed, and the role accreditors play
- It's not "accreditation", it's "quality assurance"
- The innovations in quality assurance that Skills Fund has introduced to the market
- The greatest moral travesty in higher ed
- The Return On Education (ROE) concept
- Accelerated learning: 0 to 40,000 students over the last 8 years
- The opportunities for skill academy entrepreneurs today
- The Council on Integrity in Results Reporting (CIRR)
- The relationship between Skills Fund and CIRR
- Are Universities and Colleges becoming more concerned about outcomes?
- The barriers that Congress has put in front of higher education reform
- How the Federal Government could help spur change in higher ed
- The unresolved debate regarding Income Share Agreements vs. Student Loans
- The future for Skills Fund
- Are bootcamps competing with colleges or with graduate schools?
- Are skill academy graduates being accepted by employers?
- Why aren't more bootcamps funded by the Department of Labor vs. the Department of Education?
Links:
- Skills Fund
- HIR(ED) Summit
- Council on Integrity in Results Reporting (CIRR)
You can connect with Rick at rick "at" skills.fund
You can connect with Micah at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @MicahMerrick
.....
This episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
What's the worst part about looking for work? The time? The endless resume revisions? The coffee chats? No. It's loneliness and isolation. So, what if instead of searching alone, you launched a job hunt as a public event, and invited all of your friends to support you and cheer you on? Think, Product Hunt, but for People. You show the rest of the world what you've done, and let the world come to you with opportunity.
On Episode 14 of the Skill Podcast, Micah shares a conversation with Isaac Morehouse, Founder and CEO of Crash, a "reverse jobs board", where hiring managers are there to look at your profile, instead of the other way round.
Isaac and Micah discuss the myriad ideas about work and education that Isaac has packed into this simple idea, and uncover how Crash is changing the feeling of hunting for a new job, from isolating, to exhilarating.
Throughout this conversation, Isaac and Micah cover the following topics:
- Their shared experiences being homeschooled as kids
- What are the benefits of homeschooling, compared to public schools?
- How the nature of work may change how many kids are homeschooled in the future
- Are homeschooled kids, "socialized"?
- Isaac's experiences in high school and college, and how they influenced his thinking on higher education
- Why Isaac chose the private sector to pursue social change, despite spending time in the non-profit, government, and higher education worlds
- The founding story of Isaac's first company, Praxis
- Why students choose college over other, more compelling, options
- What should we call students and their experiences who don't go to college right away, if at all?
- The idea that might help fewer students choose college in the future
- Be Your Own Credential
- How you can build a signal that is more powerful than a college degree
- The founding story of Crash
- How Crash helps people find new opportunities
- The early tweaks that Crash made to its initial product that rapidly improved growth
- Crash's early results helping people find work
- The difference between "waiting for your chance" and "winning in the market"
- Isaac's nefarious super villain plot
- How Isaac harnesses serendipity with Crash
- The difference between "personal marketing" and "authenticity"
- How Crash works for hiring managers, and not just for job seekers
- Isaac's parting words of wisdom
Links:
- Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Taleb
- Praxis
- Isaac's newsletter, Inner Game of Startups, about building Crash in real time
You can connect with Isaac on Twitter @IsaacMorehouse
You can connect with Micah at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @MicahMerrick
.....
This select episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
Is there a “skills gap” for manufacturing talent? Is unemployment the largest problem facing American industry? Kim tackled these questions by talking to over 100 executives across the country. Eventually, she not only answered these questions, but started her own company, Cluster, to help solve them.
On Episode 13 of the Skill Podcast, Micah shares a conversation with Kim Taylor, Founder and CEO of Cluster, a venture-backed marketplace that matches engineers to jobs and training in the industrial sector. Cluster was inspired by her family’s history in advanced manufacturing in Wisconsin and her background in online learning.
Micah and Kim discuss the impact of Industry 4.0 on the manufacturing sector and how Cluster is helping employers and talent adapt to these major changes.
Throughout this conversation, Kim and Micah cover the following topics:
- Micah tells a tale about how Wisconsin entrepreneurs do product development
- Kim’s early life in Waukesha County and early experiences
- The early era of Michael Crow at Arizona State University
- How Kim almost ended up as a journalist
- Kim’s first job in the early days of online higher education
- The “Jesus Factor” in online higher ed advertising
- How “Regional Bias” affects online enrollment
- The origins of the idea for Kim’s first company, Ranku
- The Ranku story from initial idea to exit
- The exploration process Kim used to come up with the idea for Cluster
- There’s more to the “skills gap” than meets the eye
- Is unemployment, or underemployment a bigger problem?
- Kim explains the concept of “vertical labor marketplaces”
- Why Kim doesn’t use IPEDS or BLS data to understand the labor market
- Why screening for soft skills and values is actually harder than screening for hard skills
- How Cluster develops the best profile of a candidate AND of the job itself (Hint: it’s not about keywords)
- Why Kim feels work portfolios are unnecessary for more experienced hires
- How Kim thinks about success for Cluster and for the workers using the platform
- How Industry 4.0 is impacting manufacturing
- The enormous change that is about to hit the manufacturing sector
- The largest manufacturing sector in the U.S. isn’t located where you think it is
- Why automation isn’t necessarily a bad thing for workers (Hint: because it gets rid of the three “D” jobs)
- Why employers need to embed learning into the work of their employees every day
- The reason that manufacturing spends 4x on employee training compared to other industries
- Cluster’s future plans to help workers acquire new skills
- What Elon Musk has done for manufacturing in the U.S.
- To make the best hires, don’t focus on keywords or skills, focus on this instead (hint: you’ll know the answer if you listened to the last episode of the Skill Podcast!)
- The most important thing companies can do for their workers
Links:
- Cluster
- Cluster’s weekly newsletter sign up
- Steve Blank’s customer development process
.....
This select episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
On today’s bonus episode:
- Introducing a new type of episode, the Community Update. Please let me know what you think by emailing me below!
- Chuck's financing announcement
- The new skill academies raising capital
- When is the launch date for edly's ISA marketplace?
Mentioned today on the show:
- Education Finance Conference
- Life Capital Conference
- Bottega
- V School
- Sabio
- American Diesel
- Advanced Welding School
You can connect with Chuck about his work at edly on Twitter @chucktrafton OR at www.edly.info
You can connect with Micah to share your thoughts about the Skill Podcast at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @micahmerrick
.....
This select episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
The causes of unemployment around the world share similar causes. Mona helps us to understand these causes, and explains the breakthrough ideas needed to address them.
On the 12th episode of the Skill Podcast, Micah shares a conversation with Mona Mourshed, President and CEO of Generation, a non-profit incubated and spun-out of global management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company. In addition to her role at Generation, Mona leads McKinsey’s global social responsibility agenda and the non-profit McKinsey.org.
Throughout this conversation, Mona and Micah cover the following topics:
- A shared connection over Egypt and the Middle East
- The powerful personal story that connects Mona to the education sector
- The failed connection between students, employers, and educators
- The “80% are above average” problem in higher education
- How to connect industry to education (hint: it’s not industry advisory councils!)
- The genesis of Generation
- The 7 factors standing in the way of connecting students, educators, and employers
- The Generation Way
- The difference between "skills" and "activities"
- How mastering activities leads to qualified workers
- The importance of employer involvement
- The amazing student outcomes that Generation has achieved in the last 5 years
- How Mona envisions Generation scaling in the future
- How Generation handles affordability and student access
- What’s next for Generation?
- 2 Key Performance Indicators that anyone in higher ed can use to make better decisions for students
Articles and Organizations mentioned on this podcast:
- IFC Education for Employment Report
- The 7 components of connecting student, educators, and employers
- Generation's most recent Annual Report, highlighting their incredible student impact
- McKinsey.org
You can connect with Mona at mona "at" generation.org OR on Twitter @Mona_Mourshed
You can connect with Micah at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @micahmerrick
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This select episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
Understanding how Veterans shift careers, can help us understand how any American can do the same thing.
On the 11th episode of the Skill Podcast, Micah shares a conversation with Mike Slagh, CEO of Shift, a venture backed career change program for military veterans. Mike is a graduate of the Naval Academy and the Kennedy School of Government, and a veteran of the Navy's Military Bomb Disposal program.
Mike and Micah discuss their shared experiences living in Boston, and explore how Shift is using fellowships with tech companies to help veterans transition to new careers.
Throughout this conversation, Mike and Micah cover the following topics:
- How Micah and Mike both found themselves in Boston in 2010.
- Mike discover the world of Boston tech.
- The challenges of moving from grad school to bomb squad disposal.
- The rewards of a career in the military.
- The challenges any veteran faces when leaving the military.
- The founding story of Shift.
- The "do things that don't scale" career newsletter.
- What is "skill translation" and how does it help veterans find jobs?
- What is Industry Specific Context?
- How you acquire industry specific context.
- The three elements necessary in order to have a solid work transition.
- Shift’s core offering to veterans.
- The surprising barrier that Shift encountered when they tried to recruit vets for the program.
- The education barrier with employers, and the employer lightbulb moment.
- The challenges with scaling apprenticeships with employers.
- How to overcome these challenges.
- The future for Shift.
- The problem with time in higher ed.
- The future of work isn't so far away. In fact, it's today!
Articles and Organizations mentioned on this podcast:
- Shift's Fellowship Program
- Expa
- Do Things That Don’t Scale, by Paul Graham
You can connect with Mike on Twitter @MikeSlagh
You can connect with Micah at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @micahmerrick
.....
This episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
Your history lesson in skills-based hiring, and roadmap to the future of skills based learning and work.
On the 10th episode of the Skill Podcast, Micah shares a conversation with Jamai Blivin, CEO and Founder of Innovate + Educate, a non-profit based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Jamai has led I+E for over 10 years, following a 15 year career in investment management. Jamai serves on the national board of the Future of Work coalition.
Jamai and Micah discuss their shared experiences growing up in the Southwest, and explore how skill-based learning and work has evolved over the last 10 years.
Throughout this conversation, Jamai and Micah cover the following topics:
- Jamai’s childhood history in the Southwest and educational background in the South
- "Don't come home until you sell them all"
- “You cover your salary, or you don’t have a job”
- Why sales is such an important skill in life
- How the North Carolina Tech Association changed everything for Jamai
- How the idea of Innovate + Educate was born
- The difference between chasing money and chasing your passion
- An amazing Wikipedia story
- An amazing Obama administration story
- The first pilot project of Skills-based hiring in Albuquerque
- A BIG announcement is coming in October
- Why the bachelor's degree has been so sticky with employers
- The mindset shift happening regarding the perceived value of college
- Who are the early adopters in skills-based hiring?
- Who are the leaders in higher ed focused on serving employers demand for skills, including the
- Do employers care about credits?
- Just-In-Time learning
- The future of Innovate + Educate and the future for Jamai
- The Preacher and The Teacher
Articles and Organizations mentioned on this podcast:
- Innovate + Educate
- The Close It Summit
- Spudnut Donuts
- Philadelphia Central Bank, "Opportunity Occupations Report"
- University of Georgia
- Pima Community College
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
- “A Nation Upside Down”
You can connect with Jamai on Twitter @JamaiIE
You can connect with Micah at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @micahmerrick
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This episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
It's time for colleges to share financial risk with students, and cosigning student loans is the logical place to start.
On the 9th episode of the Skill Podcast, Micah shares a conversation with Carlo Salerno, education economist and author of the article "Colleges Should Cosign Student Loans", published at Inside Higher Ed in June. Carlo has over 20 years of experience in Higher Ed as a researcher, entrepreneur, and now VP of Research for CampusLogic.
Carlo and Micah discuss his idea in depth, and explore the degree to which colleges have "skin in the game" today, and why that isn't enough to drive the student outcomes we want.
Throughout this conversation, Carlo and Micah cover the following topics:
- Micah shares a surprising connection with Carlo
- Carlo talks about his early studies in Economics & Education
- Carlo talks about the early days of Income Share Agreements with Pave in 2012
- Has “the moment” for Income Share Agreements finally arrived?
- Federal loans vs. ISAs.
- Is more higher ed student loan "skin in the game" inevitable for higher ed?
- Carlo's idea to increase “skin in the game” for higher ed’s federally backed loans
- Does higher ed already have “skin in the game”?
- If so, is it a dial that we need to turn harder more?
- Does higher ed today have the ability to control student outcomes?
- Why colleges should be more like gyms and less like car factories
- Translating educational experience to a job is extremely difficult
- We need to ask hard questions about why universities struggle to achieve student outcome goals
Articles and Organizations mentioned on this podcast:
- CampusLogic
- Carlo's 2016 Inside Higher Ed article, entitled "Skin in the Game"
- Carlo's 2019 Inside Higher Ed article, entitled "Colleges Should Cosign Student Loans"
You can connect with Carlo about his research on Twitter @edanalyst OR at carlo DOT salerno AT campuslogic.com
You can connect with Micah to share your thoughts about the Skill at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @micahmerrick
.....
This episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
It's time to tell the story of how ISAs level the playing field for students.
On the 8th episode of the Skill Podcast, Micah shares a conversation with Chuck Trafton, Co-Founder and President of edly - The ISA Marketplace. edly connects accredited investors to skill academies, coding bootcamps, and colleges that are providing ISAs to students for financing their educational goals.
Chuck and Micah discuss the ISA landscape in depth, and uncover the fact that ISAs are not only an innovation in student financing, but a vehicle to enable untapped student groups to access educational opportunities, even if they don't have strong credit histories or wealthy parents.
Throughout this conversation, Chuck and Micah cover the following topics:
- Chuck's first job in higher ed and his transition to a higher ed investor
- The difference between the student debt crisis and new forms of education
- The importance of skin in the game
- The macro-economics of student loans and higher education that will shock you
- The ISA landscape and the two major demographics of ISAs
- Why bootcamps have been the early ISA adopters
- Do ISAs lead to adverse selection?
- Are students choosing new majors because of the salary data available to them?
- How schools maintain their skin in the game
- How ISAs level the playing field
- Holberton School's amazing example of serving
- The ugly history of for-profit education in the U.S.
- Why does a bachelor's degree still take 4 years?
- The parallel between online education 10 years ago and ISAs today
- A fresh update on the pending legislation in Congress to regulate ISAs
- The future of ISAs and the missing entrepreneurs in the ecosystem
Organizations mentioned on this podcast:
- edly
- Holberton School
- Make School
- Lambda School
- Purdue University
- Noodle Partners
You can connect with Chuck about his work at edly on Twitter @chucktrafton OR at www.edly.info
You can connect with Micah to share your thoughts about Skill at micah "at" skill.fm OR on Twitter @micahmerrick
Thanks for listening!
.....
This episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
On the 7th episode of the Skill Podcast, Micah shares a conversation with Trace Urdan, Managing Director at Tyton Partners, a global investment bank and management consulting firm serving the global knowledge market.
Trace and Micah discuss the profit motive in higher education, a topic which is approached with hesitation and even disdain in many parts of the industry despite the fact that it has driven many of today's innovations in higher ed, including: Income Share Agreements (ISAs), bootcamps, and online education models serving adult workers.
It's time for higher education to rethink its discomfort with the profit motive.
Throughout this wide-ranging conversation, Trace and Micah cover the following topics:
-
Twitterlife: What are the pro's and con's of interacting on Twitter?
- Why is the profit motive an ideological point of contention in higher education, similar to global climate change in the energy industry?
- Is the distance between education for skills vs. a brand shrinking?
- Trace's own "Rethink the MBA" experience at Harvard Business School
- LinkedIn's missed opportunity
- Tyton Partners work serving low-skilled workers
- Did you know about the hidden voucher system in higher ed?
- Have student outcomes finally "won" as the goal of higher ed?
- Trace describes the Holy Grail of ISAs
- Will bootcamps finally force colleges to compete on time to completion?
- Trace's own experience sending his kids to college
- Micah's ulterior motives for podcasting
- Homeschooling and online charter schools
- What is the role of risk capital in higher education?
- Trace's pet peeves when it comes to Silicon Valley EdTech culture
You can connect with Trace about his work at Tyton Partners at turdan "at" tytonpartners.com OR on Twitter @trace_urdan.
You can connect with Micah to share your thoughts about Skill at micah "at" skill.fm or on Twitter @micahmerrick
.....
This episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
On today’s bonus episode:
- The story of how my venture into education started out as Meritmark, and ended up as Skill
- The Signal to Skills theory of hiring and education; a theory that embodies the theme of the Skill Podcast
- What makes this podcast unique, and what you can expect to hear and learn on this podcast moving forward
Mentioned today on the show:
- Taylor Stockton and his blog, Robots Are Coming
- Micah's article, Why Is A College Degree Valuable?
- Bryan Caplan's book, The Case Against Education
- Future U podcast, with Jeff Selingo and Michael Horn
.....
This episode of the Skill Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
This is the 6th episode of the Rethink Education Podcast.
On this episode, Micah reads Part 6 of his book "Rethink the MBA", and talks about the mental mistakes that you have to avoid if you want to win the MBA game. He also tells you the 3 things you must do before you apply to business school.
This episode includes the following chapters from Micah's book, Rethink the MBA, Why Business School is Riskier Than You Think:
PART 6: MENTAL MISTAKES
Chapter 31: Take the Easy WayMicah explains how there are a lot of mental mistakes you have to avoid in order to get an MBA for the right reasons. Of all of these, the single greatest mistake is to believe that the MBA is the “only way” to obtain your Dream Job. Be careful. You probably feel that way because an MBA is actually just the easiest way to obtain your Dream Job.
Chapter 32: Go to LearnMicah warns students who think they'll be learning a lot in business school that the mountains of homework, readings, and two to three hour daily meetings with classmates, make this extremely difficult. When you add the need to spend time with your family, and of course, go drinking with your b-school buddies, it begs the question: who could possibly "learn" all that material in this environment? Simple. No one. And no one even pretends to.
Chapter 33: Confuse Luck and TalentMicah has an insightful warning about applying to top MBA programs without understanding why you want to go. If you get into a top program, you’ll probably think that you were uniquely chosen for your business acumen, leadership experience, and track record of academic excellence. That’s total bulls**t. There are thousands of amazing people that apply to the top schools and don’t get accepted. They’re equally as talented as you; they just weren’t equally as lucky.
Chapter 34: Ignore the NumbersMicah explains that there’s a big problem with ignoring the MBA table stakes before you attend b-school. Once you get your first bill for $50,000, this newfound knowledge gives you a mental excuse to re-examine your original motivations for attending b-school. This problem is even worse because your self-doubt will be occurring at the exact same time as the start of recruiting season (also known as “the first day of school”).
Chapter 35: Want a BreakMicah warns about having “resume gap” thinking...going to business school to take a break from work, rather than taking an actual (productive) break. The problem with this "resume gap" thinking is that it discourages you from being more creative and adventurous about taking a sabbatical from work, and instead puts you in a hugely expensive environment where you don't have much time to pursue your other interests in the first place.
Chapter 36: Rationalizing AlumniMicah explains that if you want to learn more about business school, avoid rationalizing alumni. These MBA grads fail to account for the many non-MBA factors that contributed to their success. They also discount the alternative ways they could have gotten to the same level of success without an MBA. Instead, they have a lot of bumper stickers, hats, and sweatshirts plastered with the name of their alma mater. They will make you feel like you’ll never be successful if don’t have an MBA.
Chapter 37: Ignore the CounterfactualMicah leaves you with a fun thought experiment: Imagine a pair of twins who are equally capable, who went to the same college, had the same GPA, and now work in the same industry after graduation. The first twin decides to get an MBA. The second twin doesn’t. Who would do better in their career over the long run?
Chapter 38: Rethink the MBAMicah explains the 3 things you must do before you get an MBA, and explains how to connect with him about your career if you're still struggling to make this difficult and important decision.
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This episode of the Rethink Education Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
This is the 5th episode of the Rethink Education Podcast.
On this episode, Micah reads Part 5 of his book "Rethink the MBA", and talks about the career bets you can take in business school. Some are smart bets that will lead to high paying jobs. Others are break-even bets, where you may not get everything you want. And some career bets are for suckers. You will likely lose all your money and time, and still end up without your Dream Job, which is exactly what happened to him.
This episode includes the following chapters from Micah's book, Rethink the MBA, Why Business School is Riskier Than You Think:
PART 5: GOOD BETS, BREAK-EVEN BETS, AND SUCKER BETS
Chapter 20: BankersMicah explains why getting an MBA is probably a good bet if you want to get into Banking. Becoming an investment banker, wealth manager, or hedge fund analyst obviously requires a firm grip of finance and accounting, and these firms are still willing to pay the big bucks for you to get your MBA. However, even for aspiring Bankers there’s a case to be made that your Dream Job could be obtained in faster and less expensive ways.
Chapter 21: ConsultantsMicah explains how Consulting is the other industry where an MBA seems like a good bet. In Consulting, you work very long hours analyzing complicated strategic problems for the Fortune 100. You quickly become a master at making beautifully crafted PowerPoint decks to explain the results of your analysis. You work with extremely smart people on extremely challenging problems. And yes, you make a lot of money to pay off those damn student loans. However, if you don't have an interest in Consulting before b-school, there’s a danger you may develop an interest in Consulting during b-school for financial reasons.
Chapter 22: Career SwitchersMicah warns students wanting to get into Consulting or Banking that many students getting an MBA are Career Switchers who are just leaving Banking and Consulting to work for the Fortune 100. Switching careers to a different industry is a problem the MBA solves through the summer internship. Yes, Career Switchers are paying two years of time and tuition to effectively get a summer internship to help them switch careers. Career Switchers can be the most creative about avoiding the MBA, and this is why it’s a break-even bet.
Chapter 23: Free MoneyMicah shows how it’s possible to get an MBA with “free money”, most commonly through an employer sponsorship. You would think your employer paying for you to go to b-school would be a “good bet”. However, it's actually a devil’s bargain. In exchange for the “free” MBA, you’ll have to work for your sponsor for a few years after you graduate. This means you’ll completely miss the option value of working somewhere else.
Chapter 24: College GradsMicah explains the two major problems with getting an MBA right after college: The first problem is that you pay to collect data about what job you might like, instead of getting paid. Even worse, you’re paying to get bad data about the careers you might like. Taking classes in Marketing tells you nothing about whether you’ll enjoy segmenting the market for toothpaste at Colgate-Palmolive. It’s much better to get paid to test your career hypotheses in real jobs. Just graduated from college and want to get an MBA? Get a job instead.
Chapter 25: LearnersMicah highlights the fundamental misunderstanding about b-school. The purpose of an MBA is not to help you learn business skills. It’s to classify your abilities for the Fortune 100 companies that want to hire you because you’ve been “pre-approved” by the brand of business school you attend. If you’re getting an MBA just to learn business skills and don’t really have an interest in getting ranked for the Fortune 100 HR departments, then you’re making a mistake.
Chapter 26: Part-timersMicah warns students who might be attracted to "brand name" business schools that for Part-time or Executive MBAs, no one will think there’s anything particularly exceptional about your abilities. For this reason, it's not worth the time and money, unless your employer is paying every penny of tuition.
Chapter 27: ExplorersMicah begs his listeners to "explore their career options" before business school. Explorers who do this during business school are more likely to make a bunch of career bets that never pay off. For example, if you decide at the last minute that you want to “do Consulting”, you’ll probably lose. The students that actually wanted to “do Consulting” have been studying the firms and practicing case interviews for months, while Explorers, will be scrambling and cramming for interviews. Explorers usually don't get their Dream Job because they're too busy "exploring" to focus on their career goals.
Chapter 28: EntrepreneursGoing to b-school to become an entrepreneur is the worst career bet you can make. Micah knows this because he took this bet and lost. Micah explains why you should never get an MBA if you want to be an entrepreneur, and how getting an MBA is a complete failure of entrepreneurial thinking.
Chapter 29: Difference MakersStudents interested in "helping the world" and "making a difference" are surrounded by people more interested in working at a hedge fund than saving the world in business school. If you go to b-school interested in social impact work, you’re going to be lonely. There will either be very few students that share your ambitions, or a lot that initially do, but end up in Consulting or Banking after graduation. There are better, cheaper ways to learn business skills and accelerate your non-profit career than getting an MBA.
Chapter 30: Venture CapitalistsFinally, Micah explains that most students don't have the serious skills they need to become a VC Associate, in addition to the MBA. He also explains how the VC landscape is changing away from MBAs and towards technical entrepreneurs. If VC is your Dream Job, you probably won't get it with an MBA.
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This episode of the Rethink Education Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
This is the 4th episode of the Rethink Education Podcast.
On this episode, Micah reads Part 4 of his book "Rethink the MBA", and counts up all of the things that make business school so expensive, including trips to Antarctica, an extra year of unnecessary classes, and giving up on future career opportunities in favor of paying off student loans.
This episode includes the following chapters from Micah's book, Rethink the MBA, Why Business School is Riskier Than You Think:
PART 4: COUNT THE CHIPS
Chapter 11: Table StakesMicah compares the card game of poker to getting an MBA. In poker, the money you need to sit down at the table is called "table stakes". In business school, the table stakes are 2 years of time and $200,000 before you can bet on your future career path. It takes a lot of money to play the MBA game.
Chapter 12: Our Strange American WaysMicah asks a simple question: why do graduates of INSEAD, a top business school in France, spend only 1 year in class to get their MBA, while Americans are stuck with 2 years of classes? Are professors with French accents that good, or are b-schools more concerned with giving up money by shortening the time it takes to get an MBA, than the fact that students have to pay for an extra year of classes?
Chapter 13: MBA Living ExpensesMicah talks about the expenses b-school students may have to pay that have nothing to do with food and shelter, but have a lot to do eating at expensive restaurants, taking trips to poker tournaments, and chasing "once in a lifetime" travel opportunities around the world.
Chapter 14: Levering UpThere is a hidden cost to business school: the interest expense of your student loans. Students vary widely in the amount of debt they need, so b-schools don't mention this cost on their websites. This cost can substantially increase the money you'll pay for an MBA.
Chapter 15: Opportunity CostMost people ignore the opportunity cost of leaving the workforce for 2 years. However, the lost savings and experience are worth factoring into your decision whether or not to get an MBA.
Chapter 16: Disappearing PaycheckMicah talks about the hard choices he's had to make over the years as he watches his extra post-MBA salary go towards student loans instead of retirement savings. Failing to figure out your "break even salary" after business school is a huge mistake that Micah explains how you can avoid.
Chapter 17: A Patek, a P85, and a PopoMicah puts the cost of business school in perspective, by exploring 3 crazy ways you could spend your money, aside from getting an MBA. Start packing your bags for a luxury vacation to Bali while you listen to the show...
Chapter 18: ExperienceMicah warns students about leaving their careers to get an MBA right around the time when their careers are just starting to grow, and cautions people about leaving high growth industries (like Tech) for 2 years that may seem like a lifetime when you get back into the job market.
Chapter 19: SerendipityFinally, Micah explains how difficult it is to measure the cost from being unable to explore new and interesting career opportunities. Why? Student loans must be paid before taking a salary cut to chase high reward, but low paying jobs. In his view, this is one of the most expensive aspects of getting an MBA, even if you can't measure it.
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This select episode of the Rethink Education Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
This is the 3rd episode of the Rethink Education Podcast.
On this episode, Micah reads Part 3 of his book "Rethink the MBA", and discards all of the phony reasons to get an MBA, such as "becoming a leader" or "learning by doing", and focuses on the one, good reason to get an MBA: to get your Dream Job. He also explains what makes the "best" schools, "the best", and it has nothing to do with professors talking in Boston accents or studying in fancy classrooms.
This episode includes the following chapters from Micah's book, Rethink the MBA, Why Business School is Riskier Than You Think:
PART 3: KNOW THE GAME
Chapter 8: Many Reasons to Get an MBAMicah teaches you a fun game to play in order to separate the good reasons to get an MBA, from the bad ones. There are so many phony reasons to get an MBA, but most of them are designed to stroke your ego, not help you make the best decision about whether or not to get an MBA.
Chapter 9: Only One Good Reason
Micah believes there is only one good reason to spend thousands of dollars and two years of time in a classroom: getting your Dream Job. Your Dream Job is the ultimate job you want after graduation, and if you can't get it after all that time and money, why get an MBA?
Chapter 10: Only the Best SchoolsMicah explains the real reasons why the "best" schools are the "best". It has nothing to do with the professors, classrooms, or textbooks, and has everything to do with the type of students that a school is able to attract, and the employers that want to recruit those students. Harvard Business School, and every other Top 10 school, would be nothing without the ability to attract the most talented students.
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This select episode of the Rethink Education Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
This is the 2nd episode of the Rethink Education Podcast.
On this episode, Micah reads Part 2 of his book "Rethink the MBA", where he unpacks the hidden assumptions that students have about the MBA degree, and encourages listeners to view the MBA as a "gamble" instead of an "investment", "unemployment insurance", or a "permanent calling card".
This episode includes the following chapters from Micah's book, Rethink the MBA, Why Business School is Riskier Than You Think:
PART 2: WHAT'S AN MBA?
Chapter 4: It's Not an InvestmentMicah explains why it's a bad idea to think of an MBA as an "investment", since this term has many hidden assumptions that are not true. Specifically, the cost of an MBA may not have a positive rate of return, the value of an MBA decreases over time, and there are many ways to "invest" in your career, besides getting an MBA!
Chapter 5: It's Not Unemployment Insurance
Micah explains how MBA graduates are not immune to economic cycles or industry downturns anymore than other higher education graduates. Despite views to the contrary, people with MBAs from any school of any age can and do become unemployed from time to time.
Chapter 6: It's Not a Permanent Calling CardMicah highlights how students completely overvalue the "alumni network" after graduation, and completely undervalue the "alumni network" before graduation.
Chapter 7: It's a GambleMicah is not accusing b-schools of acting like casinos, where every student player loses. However, some students DO LOSE, and it's important to keep this fact in mind when considering whether or not to get an MBA. Viewing the decision whether or not to get an MBA as a "gamble" helps you "feel" the level of risk necessary to make the best decision for you and your career.
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This select episode of the Rethink Education Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.
This is the inaugural episode of the Rethink Education Podcast.
On this episode, Micah reads Part 1 of his book "Rethink the MBA" where he explains his core beliefs about the risks and opportunities of going to business school, and describes why "failure stories" are better than "success stories" at helping you to learn and grow as a person.
This episode includes the following chapters from Micah's book, Rethink the MBA, Why Business School is Riskier Than You Think:
PART I: INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1: My StoryMicah tells the story of how he got into the Wharton School at the last minute, started a company after graduation, and then spent a year being unemployed after shutting down his company to look for a job to support his family.
Chapter 2: Caveat Emptor
Micah explains that this book is not a detailed list of the pro's and con's of getting an MBA, but rather a starting point for you to make your own decisions about whether or not to get one. He frames this decision in the language of gambling, not because students always lose the MBA game, but because being aware of the risks of going to b-school will make you more successful, whether you get an MBA, or not.
Chapter 3: Offense and DefenseMicah makes it clear that he is not a victim looking for someone to blame. Rather, he's telling a new kind a story: a "failure story". Unlike success stories, which suffer from survivorship bias, "failure stories" help you learn what not to do to be successful. Rethink the MBA is a failure story and that's what makes it valuable.
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This episode of the Rethink Education Podcast is presented by Skill FM.
Become a member of Skill.FM today, to join a network of people interested in putting today's innovations in work and education into practice. Members support the creation of new content and help shape the future of the podstation.