Continual Learning
When people hear I have a PhD, they often follow that with the statement, “Wow, you must be smart.” I always want to reply, “No, it just means I spent too much time in school before I exited into the real world.”
If I have any smarts, it’s not because I went to graduate school. It’s because I work hard at learning. I’ve written before about how lifelong learning can be a great substitute for university schooling. Brad Feld put up a great post about how he invests in CEOs that are learning machines.
Higher education is getting majorly disrupted (see Clayton Christensen’s thoughts). It’s overly promoted and often more encumbers than enables those that enter its doors. I will write more about this tomorrow.
In hiring employees and in interacting with people in all different areas of life, I am much more interested in knowing if a person reads and learns things as a habit. Do they try to improve their knowledge and capabilities? That is much more important than an accredited degree.
What are your thoughts on continual learning?