For decades the recipe was clear: bachelor's, master's, maybe a PhD, then the first job. Each degree was a reasonable bet because information was in the hands of universities. Today information is in everyone's pocket, and the equation has changed.
The opportunity cost has soared
A PhD is four or five years. A master's, one or two. At a time when one person with AI tools can launch a product in weeks, those years cost more than tuition: they cost what you could have built, learned and earned in that time.
On the Moonshots podcast (episode 307) the point was made about MBAs and, by extension, engineering: instead of studying for four years, people will go and build things, and after a while they will be asked what did you build? If it is good enough, that is the credential. It is a prediction, not a certainty, but it is a useful way to think.
But building alone has a cost too
People who launch a project without guidance repeat mistakes others already made: they hire badly, price badly, fall in love with the wrong idea, or spend six months on something a mentor would have dismissed in one afternoon. What is saved on tuition is paid for in lost time.
The combination that works
- Build something real: a company, a product, a portfolio, your own research project.
- Learn the theory with AI, exactly when you need it.
- Have one or more mentors who have done what you want to do, to review decisions, avoid traps and open doors.
- Show your results. A product with users says more than a grade.
That way, what the university really provided — contact with experienced people who take you seriously — you keep, and you save on what no longer needs to be paid for.
An honest caveat
This doesn't work for everything. Anyone who wants to be a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer in a regulated profession needs the qualification, and a good mentor will help you get the most from it. And not everyone wants to or can start a company. The point is different: the degree stops being the only path, and mentoring stops being a perk of people with connections.
That is why we created MiMentor: so that having an experienced person on your side is within reach of anyone who is starting out.