Hmmm … well, if I was going to hire, say, a chemist to work in a research lab, I need some way to identify if my candidates have the required skills/knowledge/etc. Now one way to quickly ascertain that is to see if they have a chemistry degree (or master’s, PhD, whatever is necessary for the particular role). Possibly practical experience could be enough, also - I know people who have worked up through corporate labs without degrees.
However if someone comes and says “trust me, I’ve read a lot of papers and watched YouTube videos”… sure, they might know what they need, but how am I going to check? The point of a degree isn’t necessarily just to legitimise that knowledge, it’s also a stamp that says a trusted entity has confirmed you have those skills and knowledge. I’m not saying it’s perfect, but there is a purpose to the whole institution.
I’m not sure where you’re from but generally it’ll probably become better. Pretty much every first world country has free or at least very easily affordable universities, and given how many countries are currently rising, about to become part of the “first world” in the next decades if you want to put it like that (assuming the upwards trend continues), free unis is something that I expect to also become much more widely available.
Hmmm … well, if I was going to hire, say, a chemist to work in a research lab, I need some way to identify if my candidates have the required skills/knowledge/etc. Now one way to quickly ascertain that is to see if they have a chemistry degree (or master’s, PhD, whatever is necessary for the particular role). Possibly practical experience could be enough, also - I know people who have worked up through corporate labs without degrees.
However if someone comes and says “trust me, I’ve read a lot of papers and watched YouTube videos”… sure, they might know what they need, but how am I going to check? The point of a degree isn’t necessarily just to legitimise that knowledge, it’s also a stamp that says a trusted entity has confirmed you have those skills and knowledge. I’m not saying it’s perfect, but there is a purpose to the whole institution.
Maybe they shouldn’t be gatekept behind ludicrous paywalls then.
I’m not sure where you’re from but generally it’ll probably become better. Pretty much every first world country has free or at least very easily affordable universities, and given how many countries are currently rising, about to become part of the “first world” in the next decades if you want to put it like that (assuming the upwards trend continues), free unis is something that I expect to also become much more widely available.
Sure - state funded, in fact.