My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Traditional universities will be disrupted by trade school-style institutions focused on specific, monetizable skills within the next decade
The Reasoning
The gap between what universities teach and what the job market needs is growing, while student debt makes ROI calculations more critical
What Needs to Be True
- Employers must value skills over credentials
- Students must prioritize ROI over prestige
- Alternative institutions must achieve some form of credibility
- Technology must continue creating new job categories
Counterargument
University prestige and networking effects are too strong, and employers will always prefer traditional degrees for signaling purposes
What Would Change This View
Evidence that university graduates continue to dramatically out-earn trade school graduates, or that employers double down on degree requirements
Implications for Builders
Focus on skills-based education with clear job outcomes
Build relationships with employers who will hire graduates
Create measurable outcomes that prove ROI
Target industries where skills matter more than credentials
Example Application
“Content creation university graduates get hired at higher rates than traditional film school graduates because they have portfolios of real, successful content”