WEB 2.0 - Life Skills versus Formal Education

I've come across many situations in both employment and academia where education comes in question. It used to be that during a job interview, one would supply all kinds of information on skills, quality, knowledge and general background for a particular job. When the time to talk about educational background, if you didn't have that degree for that job, you just ran out of luck.

Today, I find a mixed climate of sorts where certain industries look for fresh ideas, not those that comes from books or a piece of paper saying you've completed a course of acumen, but from certain field experiences. What's funny about this is that the field that the industry may want to exploit may not have anything to do with market strategies or long term growth, but the capturing of the FAD of the given time.

I use the example; If I (having been through a formalized engineering program and academic institution) was to design a skate board that far withstood the physics of normal acrobatic feats and then someone like Tony Hawk (a well known skater amongst his sport) introduced his brand of skateboard to the same market What do you think the general market would buy? I don't think I'd have a chance to make a buck.

I believe in giving credit where credit is due, and Tony Hawk has certainly given the sport a recognizable name. But what does that say to the rest of us (like me who can't skate board without having impending fears of the medical bills to come once I break my hips)? Are we to think that the experiences we've gained were FADS of the time? Well, maybe - perhaps.

Younger people are now accumulating (at a faster rate) certain life skills that are immediately marketable. With the unset of WEB 2.0 and how information is being shared, the youth seem to be picking up skills and applying knowledge at an unprecedented rate (and at a younger age).

Don't have a degree? Need experience? Find it on the web, you'll be ready for that job interview by Monday!