Hey Post,

Just got home from Bruno (I don't think I've laughed that hard or that much at a movie in AGES). On my bus ride back I was, as always, reading Richard Florida's Rise of the Creative Class. I don't think anything specifically prompted this thought (maybe the story of some kid getting recruited on the Carnegie Mellon campus, but I read that one a few days ago), but I realized how stupid our universities and mega-recruiters are being.

Universities, like newspapers and many "big," "heartless" corporations who "don't get social media" are in the process of a slow and painful death. As Bachelor's degrees, once a signifier of higher learning and the endless pursuit of knowledge, proliferate and become the new high school diploma, people will one day get pissed enough to demand either a HUGE reduction in tuition (so it matches high schools today?) or realize that it's outdated.

I'm not writing to discuss either of those, though.

Mega-companies are always looking for the newest, freshest, brightest talent, right? I mean, they send recruiters all over the country/countries to find some promising students, and they bring in the superstars with deals that any schmo can only dream of.

They're idiots. The breaking (broken?) school system is staring them in the face, and both are playing hard to get.

If I was the CEO of Mega-Corp, I would have a partnership with at least 3 amazing schools, nation- (or even world-) wide. I would pay for a select group of kids to have a 4-year degree where the university trains them in whatever's necessary (am I looking for software engineers? Graphic designers? etc.). They take small courses for their degree and are mentored by members of my staff. For each of the 4 years, they also work on one big project for my company, related to their field of study and/or a course they're in.

And at the end, they've got a job from me if they want it. If not, I'd refer the shit out of them (assuming they done good).

I don't understand why this isn't done. Or, if it is and I just haven't heard of it, why it's not more prevalent.

You tell me, Post. 'Cuz hard-to-get is almost always a lose-lose game.

--Aidan