The Day the Harvard University Brand Went Poof - Coming Soon

"In the last year alone several trends have pointed to the rapidly fading relevance of the Ivy League-plus coterie of higher education institutions." - The Hill, September 2024

Those trends are already well-known to those focused on whether or not to invest in matriculating for an academic degree, especially at one of the Ivies such as Harvard, Yale and Stanford.

At the top of the list is the reality of the disappointing Return on Investment from those degrees at all levels - undergraduate, graduate and professional. 

Even before the current severe White Collar Recession, media ranging from The Wall Street Journal to Slate published detailed exposes on how the cost of the degree, specifically from elite universities, didn't correlate with the ability to land well-paying jobs. Or, any jobs. Underemployment, that is working at something not requiring a formal academic degree, had been growing.

More recently media outlets such as The New York Times presented the dismal reality about the demand for new college graduates. Overall, hiring has decreased 14.5%. Among the sectors not putting out the welcome mat are finance, insurance and real estate. 

Another alarming trend is both the current and future impact of technology on the demand for knowledge workers. Already, it has triggered upheaval in graphic design, content-creation, human resources, film production and the traditional tech industry itself. About the latter, good luck if you are a typical software developer, not with specialized skills in Gen AI.

The Hill projects that Gen AI will eliminate lots of jobs in the legal sector in the next five years. That means that those graduating law school with six-figure education-loan debt won't be able to pay that off within several years through one of those plum jobs in the Am Law 200. 

A third trend is that the Ivies shot themselves in the foot by diluting the power of their unique branding. That was by developing and marketing online instruction for the masses and creating myriad new degree programs which seemingly would be able to ramp up revenue. Going going gone is the mystique.

The collapse of the Ivies, once unthinkable, could occur in the very near future. 

The dorms can be retrofitted as residential/commercial real estate or nursing homes. 

The smug professors will have to sing for their supper in radically different ways. As the New York Post points out, employers want those who can do hands-on work. Not those who spout theory. And the education system essentially is in the business of theoretical knowledge. On interviews those hiring present problems which the applicant must solve, based on previous real-world experience, not textbook knowledge of what ought to be. 

Hopefully, LinkedIn will eliminate that slot in the profile sector which requires the name of one's academic alma mater. That could be replaced by the identity of where you received training, such as Ace Long-Distance Driving Academy or the Midwest AI Institute. 

Life is hard. Business is even more difficult these days. Get answers – and relief. Jane Genova is a results-driven intuitive coach, tarot reader and content-creator related to careers. Complimentary consultation (please text/phone 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)