Should You Go to College?

It it useful to go to college? Maybe. In this video I talk about hard skills versus soft skills and the benefit of blending them.

- ways to support -

- where to find me -

- how i make my videos -

- my courses -

- about -
Johnny Harris is a filmmaker and journalist. He currently is based in Washington, DC, reporting on interesting trends and stories domestically and around the globe. Johnny's visual style blends motion graphics with cinematic videography to create content that explains complex issues in relatable ways. He holds a BA in international relations from Brigham Young University and an MA in international peace and conflict resolution from American University.

- press -

[KhanStopMe]

This reminded me why I’m in university and haven’t dropped out! Thank you!

[joshspry]

I feel you about formal education, I suffer of severe adhd and used to suffer of depression and anxiety. I'm 30 and everyone asks me how come I'm not a college graduate when they hear me speak.. Two reasons, education should be free and if it costs they should create a new way of teaching. My attention span is small but I love learning. Science and math were my strengths. Now I focus on my creative side which is photography.

[starcherry]

If college wasn't so damn expensive maybe less Americans would be contemplating whether or not it's worth it

[beyondtherhetoric]

Transferrable skills and technical skills is common vernacular for soft and hard skills, if you prefer.

[eveeehr]

At our school what you called “soft skills” we call “critical thinking skills”. Suggestion?

[MrDanii]

Not everyone is fortunate to go to college and it isn't for everyone but I think one of the best things (besides the knowledge and experience one gets from actual courses) is having a space to figure out what you like without the constraints of "real life"

[BeyondYourDoorstep]

Hit the nail on the head. So well articulated. My wife and I have had this discussion about thinking differently since going to uni and you've communicated it so clearly. You usually hear the exact opposite. Great video. How about 'Conceptual Skills' and 'Functional Skills'?

[georgesteene]

“Man, if there was this much now in D.C. the city would be shutdown...” *snows 15 cm in D.C.**schools shut down days before*

[UnstableCompounds]

I really like the term in French (or at least one of them) for soft skills: savoir-être. This translates literally to "knowing how to be". While critical thinking is a vital part of soft skills, it doesn't totally encapsulate what soft skills are. Knowing how to interact with other people, understanding how to tailor your message for a specific audience, and knowing how to analyze intangibles are all soft skills. Hard skills are important (and I wish I had more of them), and they allow us to accomplish actionable tasks. Soft skills, on the other hand, give us different lenses through which we can view the world. As you said, having a strong combination of hard and soft skills creates a very effective and nuanced person.

[xWood]

Spike tires are really good in the winter on bicycles too. I have bicycled most days to school starting late November and it works really well, I live in Helsinki, Finland which is quite far north.

[megg]

Thank you so much for this video, I am a recent college graduate and I’ve been having a lot of doubts about my degree because I don’t really feel like my knowledge is useful because it does fall into that category of “soft skills” and it doesn’t feel like it’s valuable in a career setting, but this helps me see that I need to build up “hard skills” to compliment what I’ve already learned.

[trentonakatad]

Maybe tangible and intangible or physical and intellectual.

[Danielevans]

I didn't go to uni and just worked instead doing graphic design, but feel like a matured soo much through working for a real company instead of being at uni. I still kept reading books and magazines like the Economist to try and keep myself mindful

[lWlVl]

Soft skills have a lot to do with observing, understanding, and prioritizing problems; hard skills have a lot to do with creating solutions to those problems. Maybe soft skills could be called "meta skills"? Hard skills could be called "applied skills"?

[anotheramateur]

Thank you for this video, Johnny. This subject has been on my mind a lot lately — I’m an ADHD student who just finished her first semester of college, and even though I enjoyed my discussions, it didn’t really go as well as I had hoped. I’ve been really nervous about school starting up again soon, because I know it’s not built for me, and I’m scared of how my grades will impact my future career. But it’s really amazing to see someone who I admire talk openly about the merits of sticking with it anyway. I certainly came away from this video with more hope than before. Cheers!

[WillStinton]

Great video! YouTube can be a bastion of the “don’t go to college” viewpoint so I think it was cool of you to share your thoughts

[RforeverC]

soft skill : process ( on how to think of a topic and how to process it ) and hard skills: product ( the thing that you get while after using the process and is basically the touchable thing)

[GadgetGuff]

Thanks for such a informative and inspiring video Johnny!!

[nikhunder]

Always love your take on the world. Stuff like this reaffirms me about going to college and how I want to shape my education and what I do with it

[lenarose]

Head skills and hand skills?
Also thank you, encouraging to hear as uni years are up and coming