Future You Memo No. 1
But first, some numbers…
Every memo will open with some interesting numbers to give you context for the stories we find and bring to you every week.
8 months - On average, students globally are 8 months behind due to COVID shutdowns. *
10 to 30 years - Standard repayment period of student loans is between 10 to 30 years (Federal Student Aid)
50% - Less than 50% of college graduates are successful in finding purposeful work (Gallup, 2019)
There are two types of people on planet earth today.
The first are native analogs. These are Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, born anywhere from the 1940s all the way up to the early ‘80s. Today, they range between the ages of 40 to 75, and make up approximately 136.8 million Americans.
The second are native digitals. These are Millennials and Gen Zers, born between the early 1980s to as recently as the 2010s. These demographics are around 35 years of age on the high end today, down to as young as 6 years old, and make up approximately 140.1 million Americans.
The difference?
Native analogs grew up in a time where technology was an addition, or better yet, a distraction from their real lives.
Native digitals grew up in a time where their “real” lives were a distraction from their digital lives.
This is a profound shift—and no one seems to be talking about it. Even more stunning, some of the largest native digital brands on the planet are run by native analogs who don’t get it either.
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How does a young person choose a mentor?
“When it comes to helping young people succeed, education experts and nonprofits are embracing the idea that a broad web of formal and informal mentors is key.” Alyza Sebinous, The Atlantic
This statement makes intuitive sense. And the research agrees.
Mentorship in middle and high school, when carefully planned and long term, has been found to lead to higher grade-point averages, greater college or post-secondary training programs attendance and improved social and family relations. A 2006 report found that this extends to later in life, “Mentored individuals earn higher performance evaluations, salaries, and faster career progress than non-mentored individuals.”
So I was so glad to be asked recently by a lovely young person recently how and who one might choose as a mentor. Taking initiative! Planning for the future!
How does a young person go about this? Is it organic or a planned process? How do we address access, equity and connection? Without some intentionality, as article in the Hechinger Report suggests that young people could, “wander aimlessly in a professional wilderness.”
Continue reading at School of Thought
Essential & Enduring Skills for the Future of Work
Essential skills are typically not explicitly measured nor included in students’ K-12 or post-secondary curriculum.
Students will need transferrable, essential skills to optimize success as they will likely have as many, if not more jobs as previous generations.
Almost a third of the world’s workforce — more than a billion jobs — is likely to be transformed by technology in the coming decade, according to estimates by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an internationally focused nonprofit that works “to build better policies for better lives.”
“While it will be imperative for people to increasingly work with technology going forward, it’s a misconception that everyone will need to develop high-tech or scientific skills,” Saadia Zahidi, managing director at the World Economic Forum, wrote in reaction to OECD’s data.
A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics news release published in August 2021 reported that people born in the years 1957 to 1964 held an average of 12.4 jobs from age 18 to age 54. In order to successfully traverse their careers, today’s students will need transferrable, essential skills to optimize success as they will likely have as many, if not more jobs as previous generations.
Continue reading at Getting Smart
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