tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1689730688583181956.post560065426899784426..comments2023-07-29T09:38:33.742-05:00Comments on atma business blog: The changing of the guard -- Music for the Masses ?atmabushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308090655131158895noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1689730688583181956.post-71385440730826473212010-07-27T09:39:56.613-05:002010-07-27T09:39:56.613-05:00Good point. Education is definitely more accessib...Good point. Education is definitely more accessible than before, which will definitely help. It begs the question: Will these online colleges and booming community college be relevant enough to help large numbers of people migrate into the new economy. I agree in the long run technology is an enabler and the impact is more positive than negative, but as you point out, the transition will be tough. And i think with the aging of the US population, unfortunately, a large number of people will be in this boat.atmabushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16308090655131158895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1689730688583181956.post-90237611176723567392010-07-24T00:34:57.974-05:002010-07-24T00:34:57.974-05:00This is a topic that really interests me. I agree...This is a topic that really interests me. I agree with much of what you've posted, but I think the problem isn't that we'll see a disappearing middle class but maybe what we think of as middle class will change (changes takes time and can be a bit painful while it's happening).<br /><br />Americans seem to have (or had) this dream of their children growing up, wearing a white collared shirt and red tie, sitting in an air-conditioned office punching keys on a computer (or typewriter if you're old enough).<br /><br />Oddly enough we had a conversation just yesterday at work (which is a high tech start-up) about the disappearance of the trade school / apprenticeship culture that was once very important in the US. There are lots of people who make a fine living (and I personally know a few examples that are beyond middle class) that own their own blue collar business (plumbers, cabinet makers, A/C repair, and so on) but started as apprentices.<br /><br />The other item that I believe actually helps the middle class and poor is that education is now more accessible than ever. I'm not just talking about free tuition to state schools or grants but online education. I'd argue that you can get all the knowledge I currently have with an EE degree without paying a dime thanks to some university sites like http://webcast.berkeley.edu (a personal favorite) or MIT's open courseware (personally prefer Berkeley as more often than not there are actual lecture videos there). I've found the key to online education is effort (not talent or intelligence), and I think others would agree. I'm hoping that this will open the doors to more start-up opportunities, more innovation, and hopefully jobs to fill that void you're talking about.<br /><br />Mu point here is that maybe what we used to think is middle class is changing and opportunities to education (and perhaps the chance to move beyond middle class) is now more accessible than ever.<br /><br />Of course, I'm definitely biased and see technology as an enabler, bringing a better life to those who choose to pursue it. My bias comes from a few items: gf is doing an online MS degree studying educational technology, my own MSEE was done online, worked through problem sets with Priya when she was doing her online MS degree, currently work at a high tech start-up which is essentially enabled thanks to advances in technologym which couldn't be done 10 years ago and maybe not even 10 months ago, and learned my freshman year in college that if you really want to learn something today that you can find some inexpensive resource that you can leverage to learn it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com