Formal Education v. Technical Training. Are We Already in Mid-October? Floridians. Fred Dancing with a Hat Rack.
- Quote of the Week: “Education is one of the blessings of life—and one of its necessities.” -Malala Yousafzai
A profound quote from Malala Yousafzai. While a teenager, she spoke out publicly against the prohibition on the education of girls that was imposed by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), sometimes called the Pakistani Taliban. An activist in Pakistan, a country not exactly known for tolerating activists, Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in recognition of her efforts on behalf of children’s rights….at the age of seventeen!
While education is a blessing, I have often wondered how much education is actually necessary. I have also thought about different types of education, i.e. serving time in the Armed Forces or attending a technical or trade school, or a combination of both. While I do not discount receiving a formal education and earning a degree(s), today’s work environment, surrounded by technology including artificial intelligence (AI), could call for more specific technical education that may need to forego formal course work at a university. Here is a report published by Robert Half & Associates at the end of July, just three months ago:
The job market for software applications and development professionals remains resilient, according to an analysis of a proprietary dataset of more than 3.5 million U.S. job postings, including 60,000 Robert Half placements.
With over 450,000 new software applications and development jobs posted throughout the last six months, competition for top talent in these roles has been fierce. The demand for consulting and enterprise systems as well as AI, machine learning and data science roles also grew. Both areas saw twice as many job postings in the first half of 2024 compared with the first half of 2023.
I do not think 2025 and beyond will be any different than this year. The demand for technical expertise driven by AI and machine learning is at a high level with no short-term end in sight. Education is a blessing, but how much formal education really necessary as we head into year 2025?
Elon Musk’s short take on formal education. Agree or disagree, he does make his point clear.
A Few Thoughts for Mid-October
- Hurricane Milton proceeded by Hurricane Helena. Thoughts are with all who have had their lives turned upside down in the last three weeks.
- How far does the Israeli/Hamas/Iran/Hezbollah conflict escalate?
- In three weeks, we again go dark as daylight savings time ends. I have no words.
- Rafael Nadal is retiring from tennis after his last appearance for Spain in the Davis Cup. He will be missed.
- Is it surprising that European transit authorities are now questioning Telsa’s Cybertruck being too large and heavy for European roads and highways? I understand that designers are tasked with creating automobiles with discernible differences, but who was the person at Tesla who approved this design.
- As mentioned, I feel for everyone who has experienced the two hurricanes in the last three weeks. It you live in Florida it is inevitable that once in a while you will have to deal with property damage and loss. It is alarming that Florida and other southeast states were subject to back-to-back hurricanes. Lives turned upside down, businesses and their inventory lost to water damage, and some people for better or for worse, deciding not to evacuate areas targeted by the inbound hurricane.
I am not making light of the impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. I do hope that some humor helps people who are struggling to get their lives and property back in order. A take from Ron White should put a smile on your face. Warning: crude language in this video.
- Pure Talent. Fred Astaire’s career was well-recognized for his acting and dancing. This is Fred Astaire, at age 52, turning a hat rack into his dance partner. Just Pure Talent.