The Emerging Adult: How Higher Education may not suit everyone

Is what you are studying, or what you did study, what you really want to work at for the rest of your life?

How many people can actually answer that with passion, and not think about it first. I can imagine, not many, and certainly not everyone. Career advice and the choices we make if we're privileged enough to attend 3rd Level Higher education can have affects on the rest of our lives. Certainly this used to be the case, and we have built funding and educational models based on this.

This is the first in a series of posts that will aim to focus on the idea of a new state of growth within adulthood, the Emerging Adult. This shift away from Teenager to adult is a marked sign of the changes in our Developed world cultures following the great boom and bust of the early 21st century.

The Emerging Adult is a state of awakening and self discovery between being a teenager and a fully independent adult. In this post I will address the state of Higher education in the developed world, and if it is suited to young adults, and how they view and discover the world.

The old economy way of going through college was for the best and brightest to figure out what they wanted to do, to work on the side to make ends meet, and come out well rounded holding a degree and entering the work force. How many careers like that still exist? Not many. Nor are the paths that direct, the degrees that affordable, or the part time work that generous in pay or availability.

Each developed nation is different. We all have slight variations of entrance to college, fee's to be paid, domestic economic conditions, Minimum or living wages, and opportunities available to us when we're qualified. The experience and examples I will pull from are mainly in the context of Ireland, and our close neighbour the UK.

The Paths to Higher Education, and the cost:

Here in Ireland we study the Leaving Certificate. An ominous end of high school state exam in which you compete to get points out of your 6 best or only subjects, based on your grade and result. These points are awarded based on Levels of each grade, A1/A2/B1-3/C1-3 etc. The maximum you can be awarded that means anything, is out of 600. To apply for college students in-put their top 10 choices of college places, and 10 more of lower levels (highly recommended), into a process called the CAO.

The CAO offers a somewhat anonymous format for picking the students who apply. Those with the highest points downward are picked, based on the popularity of the course. If a course is over-subscribed and in high demand, the points "go up". This is why fields like Medicine and Architecture, are some of the hardest courses to get into. The quantity of spaces is also a factor, some institutions have in the past over-accepted in some courses, and their facilities allow them to do this, as an expectation of some drop outs and transfers is inevitable. I do not have the figures for this, but I have witnessed it, and it is often talked about amongst students.

Then we get to the Tuition, and fee's. Yes, they're separate. In the UK the maximum fee you can legally pay is £9,000. So quite obviously, OxBridge Universities are of this level. It is not all the same for all parts of the UK however, as Scotland has far lower fee's, and tuition is often subsidised by the Scottish Parliament. Here in Ireland we have "free tuition fee's". These fee's on average are < 6k to 9k depending on the course, and are paid to institutions out of general taxation. To help cover this cost on the Government, there exists the "student contribution charge". This fee is €3,000. The Student's Union of Ireland can tell you much more about how this compares to other nations.

International fee's are vastly more, and how they affect them is a whole other issue, which can have an effect on the diversity within our institutions, and the opportunities available to loose idea's such as Ireland's desire to have a "knowledge economy".

The Student contribution has slowly crept up over the recession and bailout years from less then 2,000 at the start of the credit crunch, to a budgeted level of 3k for 2015. Much to the anger of stretched parents, cash strapped students, and about to be/and just graduated students who face a jobs market that's not exactly welcoming.

So is this all working for Irish Students? It of course can depend on what you're studying, and if you feel it is meant for you.

Guidance, tenure and Secondary education:

The state of career advice services in many Secondary schools has been deteriorating over the years with budget cut backs, and attempts to force Career Advice Teachers to do more teaching, then actual advice. A Top down attitude that the Department of Education does not want to pay teacher wages to people who are not teaching, has meant many poorer resourced schools have struggled to offer quality supports for students. This has been a long cultural problem of secondary education in Ireland, but it's failings have been exacerbated by the recession.

There already exists a clear class and wealth gap in education in Ireland, where middle and Upper-Middle class parents will voluntarily spend upwards of €6k to send their kids to Private Schools. These schools are often single sex, or smaller in class size. They also are often based on Religious orders, or an ethos's that are apart from the main state schools. Most state schools in the country are part of a legacy of Catholic church's control over the education system. Their grip is still markedly higher on Primary education than Secondary level, but the legacy remains.

Most private schools can well afford a professional career advisor for students. Many private schools also offer Transition year to their students. This 4th year of education, just after the Junior certificate, is often seen as a way of allowing students to focus on personal development, and deciding on what they want to study. In actuality, it is a "dos" year, as many students referred to it in my time. This takes place around 16 years old for most students. Where as in other schools, mostly those who can not afford such services, students often automatically enter 5th year and begin studying for the Leaving Certificate.

Students then choose 6 subjects, English/Maths/Irish being mandatory, with options for more only available to schools who can afford more subjects, and the facilities to support them. History, Geography, the sciences of Biology/Chemistry/Physics, and Music and Art are the most common non-language courses. French, Spanish and German are often also popular, depending on provision. Most spoken and historical languages are also available, but their teaching is more limited. Many schools focus on other career prospects in Building Construction/Woodwork/Metalwork, and Home-Economics/ Catering, but again, depending on where you live and what you can afford.

The Knowledge economy during the recession:

Despite claims of seeking to develop a "knowledge economy" the Irish Government's of recent decades have been very slow to promote Information Technology courses in schools. Are high standard of 3rd level education has provided tens of thousands of graduates for ICT, Pharmaceuticals and international banking, but often falls short. Many multi-nationals bring in their own staff for their European operations from Ireland. Language skills being one of the main attractors of transient high-pay workers in these sectors. During the recession the growth of Internet companies has continued a-pace in Ireland due to generous tax arrangements. These multi-lingual online businesses have required workers that Ireland was not able to provide in the short to medium term. Their location within Europe (plus the Euro) and an English speaking country was also a key influencer of such growth and attraction.

Whilst international workers, and internal migration of lower wage workers within Europe continue to pass through Ireland, the domestic population struggles to compete in careers and fields that are radically changing, or leaving them unprepared for the current jobs market. During the boom Arts students could expect that a language, a historic period, or deep thought on a subject was a foundation in Higher thinking that would guarantee a leg up in any job. And it often did, especially if you came from certain Dublin institutions and backgrounds. But as the recession hit, this process changed. Suddenly it was no longer enough for the big money companies. STEM subjects were now a requirement. Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths jumped to the forefront of what was required to do well in the emerging fields of the recession proof Multi-nationals.

As the workforce of Ireland faced greater and greater financial strain, negative equity, a stubborn rising rental market, more taxes, more charges for services previously delivered, and less options in the job market, many turned to higher education to re-train. We're slowly starting to see these returned adults graduate. Many Post-Leaving cert students have also faced a jobs market that does not want them. Emigration in the 18-25 bracket is higher than 25-35, who are also badly hit by the current market. Emigration from Ireland is a wonderful and shameful pressure valve on our problems, and has been since The Great Famine, and has come in waves since Independence.

The Graduate:

Graduates of Medicine, Nursing, Physiotherapy, and other medical fields, the Arts, the Humanities, journalism, and Architecture/Design/Construction have all faced recruitment freezes, a lack of places, and significantly altered wage prospects. Many who skipped lesser awards to go for the higher paying jobs now faced into a country that did not value their skills, did not value them, and was unwilling to offer many solutions.

Post-graduate study in Ireland also received a blow with changes to the grants systems offered by the government. This further limited students ability to progress in their fields to seek further employment opportunities, or even become academics themselves. Those who had been able to secure Masters/Phd's but were still under/un-employed also face the harsh strain of debt, and limitations on further study.

Unlike the standards of Finland and Sweden expecting Post-Graduates for Teachers, here in Ireland the Teaching qualification is equivalent to a Post-grad. Thus, no state funding is provided to students who wish to focus their skills and qualifications into adding to our education system. Such gifted and focused individuals have to somehow finance this themselves. Facing further limitations on a desire for a "knowledge" economy.

Generation Debt:

In 2014 the social welfare allocation for under 25s was cut to €100 a week. Over 25s who are seeking work receive €188 a week. The cost of living, especially in Dublin, means that food, utilities, transport, and rent make living independently almost impossible. This has seen the rise in "boomerang" kids to their parents home, and later starts in life, and independence for many.
Unlike the trend in the United States of "millennials" shirking car ownership for iPhones and transport, that kind of lifestyle is less possible as a sustainable way of living independently in Ireland.

In the case of Ireland due to our unique levels of Debt, following the Bank Guarantee, the Troika Bailout, the creation of NAMA, and global climate change, the current work force and emerging adults and graduates are faced with the bill. The consequences of failed economic practices, greed, corruption, crony-ism, centralisation of power, a less representative political process, diktats from Europe and Multi-nationals, has left the people of Ireland, living and yet to be born, with mountains of Debt and legacy issues that is simply not theirs. And yet they are expected to continue to work and pay for it all.

It is estimated that Ireland socialised 42% of the Banking debt liability taken on by Europe. Let that injustice settle in your mind for a moment.

When Ireland faces all these challenges, and the youth of Ireland are under-prepared and unwanted by their State and the current market, who exactly is meant to keep paying for this?

Despite promises of dealing with the "Diaspora" the current governments, and opposition parties have proffered no viable solutions for sustainable growth that is all inclusive of Ireland's lost generations. With a century that will see the last drops of Oil and Gas burned, and temperatures rising on average between 2-4 degrees, Climate change will radically change the future we all live in. While aiming to meet treaty obligations to reduce our carbon emissions, Ireland will also be desperately trying to pay off debts well into the 2030s.

How any future governments expect to promote and develop a "knowledge economy" with such limitations on it's people future is beyond most of us. Without the training and grounding in life that prepares Emerging adults for this ever shifting future, the future of Humanity on earth will likely struggle.

Education is a key component of how we're going to learn new ways of conducting business and living sustainably. It's taking a very long and slow process for the Developed world to understand that fossil fuels were a mistake. The car as an answer to all our transport needs, was a mistake. That International Finance and Property markets were illusory in their true gain to the wider economy. That trickle down growth and an end to boom and bust cycles was a fallacy.

Opening one's eyes to the wider world:

It takes a personal grounding in the wider issues facing the world to prepare emerging adults for these harsh realities. School leavers are not prepared for the job market or higher education if they are not also aware of the wider socio-economic and political issues of their day to day lives.

To understand the next new business, to understand the next breakthrough in science that could save the planet or cure a disease, apprentices/ under-graduates/ graduates/ post-grads require a greater foundation in the world in which they live.

To see the wood for the tree's allows the future workforce to be better armed for the challenges the world will throw at them at ever greater speeds. Without it, we as a Species, let alone a society, face the loss of potential that our developed and developing countries present us.

To demand that Emerging adults become pawns and cogs in the established systems of Capitalism, the moment of legal maturity, leaves us with ill-informed and less prepared individuals. They will long for the missed chance to follow a passion. They will be less productive as their satisfaction in life and work is diminished. The opportunity for connections, wider networks, life experiences and a world of differing opinions will be limited. It can't all happen in cyberspace. Emerging adults have to experience and study all of this in the real world. To take that gap year, to go inter-railing, to read thing's they never thought they'd read, meet people from all corners of the world, and to be aware of what their life means and what they can do with it.

To blindly march on as we always have, leaves us bereft of possibilities unimagined.

Higher education is not fit for purpose. For-profit Universities and degree mills do not produce a productive workforce or the thinkers of tomorrow. They produce indebted individuals who are stunted and muted, unwanted, under-appreciated, and bound to do less with their lives then they could ever dream to, if ever given the chance.

4 tips to studying a field, without actually trying too hard

Welcome to 4 short-cuts to immersing yourself in a field of study, without long hours in the library, or spending a fortune on books.

As it is my field of study, after a long time in the wilderness, this post will mainly be focused on Planning/Urban design.

1: Pick the topic that you like the most:

The way you approach what you're interested in learning is key. If it is something that engages you, then find how it relates to the things you really love to think and talk about.

If its something that bores you, then what are you doing? 

If you're a fashionista, you can follow not just the seasonal trends, but where the shops are, how they work, and how the global supply chain works. Good or bad, this is planning, this is policy, this is politics. All things big and small impact on some aspect of planning and policy. To step back and not include planning in some of these areas, leaves us with a more unhealthy and less sustainable way of living.

You hang out, and shop, where there are people. And where there are people, in a strange way, there's information. Social, colloquial (slang or urban legend), commercial, political, and even data on how we behave. Without getting too technical, when you choose what interests you, you can seek it. Once you know what you're looking for, it will stand out more.

Find what focus speaks to you within a discipline you find interesting. In terms of planning, the scope for this is nearly infinite. For myself it started with Transport. For others it may be food, pubs, housing, parks, architecture, or infrastructure big and small. It is with these little nuggets and kernels of information, where-ever you get them from, that help inform your view of the world. If you follow these steps, this focus and view may become somewhat passive, and not as active as study.

To take transport as an example, you can spot timetables, the time between services, known as headway's. You can spot how the infrastructure works, or follow a route on maps or diagrams. Follow the news and debate about future projects and investments. See how other people interact with the service, whether it's crowded, running smoothly, or a ghost town. Then ask questions, if you don't have the answers, read some more, talk some more, find what you're missing, or ask different questions.

 The same information exists for Food, Drink, Cloths, Cars, and Policy. Some may be less attractive, some more nerdy or heavy to read than others. But when you find the ways of talking about it that suit you, it becomes more friendly, more casual.

One of the key origins of planning was John Snow's Cholera map of London. By mapping where sick people lived he was able to see it was clustered around one infected water pump. Those who drank at the local pub, and only drank Ale, were surprisingly uninfected. This key discovery was the beginning of public health's greatest breakthroughs in Sanitation and building for healthier populations. A step change in planning that lead to many of today's greatest insights in how we build and adapt our environment to best suit us.

Map in your mind, where you hang out, where the bargains or easier way of doing things are. Is there a new place you want to try, a new route you want to walk? Explore, trial and error, all part of collecting Data, whether we're aware of it or not.

If you want to know what new restaurants are around, what the trends are, where it may be good to get a drink, where the craic is, then you can follow it. All sorts of sources of information are available, and you can indulge in it at your own leisurely pace, as I will set out in the next steps.

2: Social Media and old media.

These days most of us are connected in some way to the wonders of the world wide web.

Social media being one of the biggest time sinks in which we devote our eyes to. But what are you getting from it? For most people it is their social life outside of real life, but it is also a source of links to content and information you share a common interest in with your friends.

So you've picked a topic, or you're following your field of interest. Why aren't you following it in the same places you are everyday, social media.

Many blogs, pages, twitter accounts, so on and so forth are devoted to things you'll find interesting.

So click like, click follow, read the links they share, even if it's just the headlines. Slowly build up a collection of these sources and just absorb what they're talking about. You don't always have to engage, begin by being aware of it.

As you take more and more of this on board, start sharing yourself. Start using this to inform your conversations. This can help you feel a connection to the information you're starting to build up. It's not essay's or notes, it's part of your daily life.

The sources of such information can vary. Believe it or not, a lot can be found on some of the most common sites.

• Facebook: Like news source that covers my field
• Twitter @ companyIWantToWorkFor @ thinktankexploringthistopic
• Tumblr: Photos and everything else that  people enjoy sharing about this topic
• Pinterest: The aesthetics, lifestyles, crafts and consumables that are about this topic
• Instagram: Filtered shots and little tid-bits from the people who live and work at it
• Flickr- Similar but often more professional or whole albums of photos around it, 
• LinkedIn - But only if your willing to "network", not a must this early.

These all have something on them that may inform and expand what you know about a topic, and how it affects your life and interests. 

To recap study or get better insights, audio and video can help explain things in ways you might not have thought of. Youtube has near infinite uploads from every imaginable topic, illustrating and discussing things in new, unique, dense/condensed ways you can't get in many lectures. 

The TED Talks series of seminars, motivational talks, and lectures are a wonderful source that also can be relied upon. 

Similarly Podcasts can have anything from experts, to the media, to informed amateurs, chatting, debating and teaching. They're almost always free, they can be popped on with half interest in a commute or as a little relaxation on the weekend or between tasks throughout the day.

Newsmedia:

Now we get on to older forms of media, longer reads are sometimes more common, but they're nowhere near as dense in words as a lit-review or that thick book on your reading list that's almost never in the library.

I find the easiest and most condensed way to start this is local/regional newspapers. Often free, or cheaper than a broadsheet, tabloid or intermediately sized paper. Local newspapers, are an absolute treasure chest of information for Planning and Social Scientists/geographers, business, politics, and even health, illness and psychology. Simply put they're what humans are getting up to, where you live, and how they're talking about it. Whether it be protests, a Charity fundraiser, a fun run, planning permission notices, or houses for sale; it's all in a local newspaper. It can often be ephemeral, but it's a quick and easy way to orientate yourself to what's going on around you.

Then it's the wider Media. You're paper of record, you're go to opinions, the blogs and news sites you trust, even the gossip source you like. Follow the news here. Watch or listen to daily news you trust, look for documentaries and investigations that may be aired.

Even in planning or real estate, so called "property porn" programs can have value. Reality tv and reality documentaries have vastly expanded in recent years. Following people in their every day lives and/or work. Showing you the real human face of what goes on in these various fields, and how they manage to deal with what they face.

Stay current, and stay informed. But don't neglect the classics either.

Current affairs can often seem daunting, and often it can be about certain media, political, or business agendas. But know what's going on. If the headlines get you down, then read the latest popular thinking in books. The Current Affairs section of a book store can offer easy reads you may not have considered sometimes, and cheaper prices than a textbook. The thinking contained can be just as important to you, your topic, and your field of study than you may think. A book on fast food diets, a book on water, a book on political strategy, books on real life people and what events, behaviour, and information moved their decisions. It's all just as important, even if it may seem obscure or removed. Make time for it on the side, read around connected topics.

3 Keep it, tag it, share it.

When you're beginning to read around your topic more and more often, sometimes without even noticing, then you've got to start keeping track of what's of value to you.

It can be useful to do this from the start, but that can make the process more of a chore, more like study. Find what you place an interest in. The style of writing, the information contained, the topic and how it may be relevant. Once you connect to this way of viewing your reading, without it being a daunting and forceful task, then you can assess it's worth to you.

Clip articles from newspapers, use the apps and sharing options available to you on mobile or the web. Email it to yourself or your friends and colleagues.

Useful apps, webapps and extensions to take note of:

GoogleKeep
Pocket
Evernote
Shareaholic

Organise it, tag it, categorise and label it. When you know what it is to you and the topic, label it. Even if it's just passing on a photo or a joke, when it's tagged, other people can find it, you can find it again. If worse comes to worst, the friends who are not interested can also avoid it.

But as you engage and value this information more, the connections within your mind, and with others will grow. The more you use this process, the further you expand your horizons and opportunities that this basic knowledge can take you.

A statistic you read, a fact someone else may not know, an outside opinion that broadens a discussion; these all build up to show you're more interesting then you may appear on a CV or on first impression. 

4 Talk about it whenever you get the chance:

It's not all about being the know it all in class, or the stand out applicant for a job. It's about feeling confident in what you know. It's about bringing in the up to date, and obscure little gem that others may not have thought of. 

The connection you make, from what you value, makes what you can bring to a discussion all the more important. When you're engaged and passionate about something, then you can really share what it means. You're not selling yourself or proffering an academic opinion with sources, you're talking about it from experience, from all corners of your brain, and you have a foundation that's more open to change, the more you talk about it and flesh it out.

 What you read may not be the best, but when you talk to someone, anyone, in deep topic specific terms, or in every day speech, you're exploring these connections further. Your more open to re-evaluate because you've learnt it from more than one source. 

To hold the "cognitive-dissonance", or conflicting ideas, without discussing them, is to limit how you see this information. Be happy to doubt what you're learning, or how it works with what you know. When you talk to someone else they bring the same as you, just another perspective, another learning curve.

Amongst all your topic and field specific information you bring yourself. You're amassed general knowledge and experiences. Your different learning curve, is what makes you unique. Build this into how you approach study. Because what makes you different is what makes you more important to future employers, to your friends, to your wider network. What's unique about you, can help you stand out. Some employers may want carbon copies, but less ideas can happen this way. The future fields of study/ research/ innovation and business are where different fields intersect. Food and Geography, Health and Technology, Web company and pretty much anything!

When you use these steps to broaden your interest and knowledge base, you get yourself closer to finding that new niche between what you're passionate about, and a new way of thinking about the world.