Unfortunately, the number of people, who complain about the usefulness of their education and/or corporate jobs, has been increasing steadily throughout the years. Furthermore, no one is immune to these complaints as you can see highly educated people already working at highly coveted jobs making these same complaints. Whether you are in the group of high-performing and well-educated overachievers (some also feel very insecure) or in the group of people trying to make ends meet humbly and nobly, modern humans are being deskilled at an exponential rate.
I have talked so much about the diminishing returns on your education but it is also true that your hard skills (and even soft skills, too) have been eroding even if you are working in a highly specialized and technical profession.
I have asked some questions in my original social media post and have been observing that many people lack basic understanding of these topics ranging from money and investment management to basic survival skills leading to self-sufficiency and financial independence. I do not know whether it is a deliberate effort but the education system could incorporate these fundamental topics into their curriculum and the society will be served well and will also be better off, I think. Recently, Florida governor proposed the inclusion of financial literacy courses and you are required to take and pass these classes to graduate from high schools located in Florida. I believe that this is a very clever move and many states and countries should follow the suit, initiating similar programs.
The questions I asked in my original social media post were as follows:
-Do you know how to invest in every possible asset: tangible or financial?
-Do you know how to earn money in today’s world?
-Do you have any idea how hard it is to earn money in different career paths?
-Have you learned the basics of ethical trade?
-Do you know how to build your own house? Even a primitive one?
[–>This question is prompted by my own experience as an engineer. While I was studying mechanical engineering, I witnessed how the content of the courses were of little practical use, both the the employers and to me as an aspiring tech entrepreneur then. An education system printing mechanical engineers who have not build a primitive machine in any sense but have known how to calculate triple integrals or analyze an already built engine component through a fluid mechanics software package (of course, most do not even possess that level of prowess in calculus or ability to use such complex software unless they are bright hard-working students) may not be that practical to the owner of the degree and the employer seeking a fresh engineering graduate. This situation is also acute for civil engineering graduates! The same problem persists; apart from the fact that there are many engineers who are begging for corporate jobs but have skills of not practical use to the employer (and apparently to themselves), many civil engineering graduates also do not have practical knowledge of how to build residential or commercial real estate. The fundamental problems such as which materials to use in different types of buildings and the dimensions of the structural elements are very complex for a typical graduate to solve. So, that is why scores of graduates choose to work for big name construction companies and never follow the entrepreneurial path. Capital might be a problem (also we need to recognize that many may be highly risk-averse to follow that path), so apart from these issues, many graduates, with their like-minded friends, may choose to start small in a location where land is cheap and plenty and build some residential homes and villas, creating capital for more ambitious projects in the future.]
-Do you know how to farm and grow your own food or create your own drinking water?
So, most people cannot answer these questions properly throughout their lives. Furthermore, because they do not have an answer, their children will also be very likely to be clueless and the cycle will continue in perpetuity. So, unless parents or the educational system does something, it is very likely that your children will not learn these skills, too.
Your survival is becoming more and more dependent on your self-sufficiency skills and less and less on what you have been taught in formal education and/or what you are doing in your corporate career. Learning these basic skills at a very young age will compound your chances of survival. The later you learn these skills, the harder it will be for you and your family to live a self-sufficient and more financially independent life.