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Giving Great Career Advice & Talking About Bitcoin

If you have been one of those people who have been talking about the benefits of Bitcoin as compared to fiat currency, you are actually very much similar to someone giving great career advice to the next generation. There are several aspects that one can compare talking about Bitcoin to giving good career advice. So let’s get started.

Bitcoin vs Career Advice

Bitcoin is defined as a form of currency. While conventional currency’s value can be inflated and censored, Bitcoin can’t. Bitcoin with its fixed supply and decentralization offers a solution to problems found within an old system. This is not to say that conventional fiat currency is useless, it just needs some improvements.

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Conversely, the traditional career advice that we give our students is flawed. The formula for this advice is pretty straightforward. Do well in school, go to a good university, graduate, and get a good job. This used to work as good grades was used as a reliable measure to a students’ performance. However, two things have made grades an unreliable measurement of a students’ overall performance.

The first one is its overemphasis on academics. While it is true that scoring well in exams is a prerequisite to enter a good school, an overemphasis of it is tantamount to putting all your eggs in one basket. This could lead to neglect in other areas of development such as sports, critical thinking and communication skills. I had an acquaintance who was the top scorer in school for 5 consecutive years. He was perceived to have a bright future. However, he had sacrificed friends and had failed to develop his interpersonal skills. At college, he had a meltdown, not because of his studies but he was unable to handle being away on his own.

The second is the many services and methods in gaming the education system. This includes cheating in exams and even bribing their way into good schools. Furthermore, the tampering of exam results to help certain individuals gain a political edge is not unheard of.

Reading, Reading & More Reading

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As such, in order to gain an edge in life, the best advice that anyone can give is to read. While this is nothing new, I should specify what reading is all about. You see if I were to send someone an article on Bitcoin and ask that individual to read it. I may not be able to convince him of the benefits of Bitcoin. That individual would have to read through the different arguments on Bitcoin in order to come to a conclusion.

Similarly, convincing anyone that the old advice of ‘going to school to get a good job’ is obsolete, can be a rather tall order. Just like Bitcoin, they would have to do away with old preconceived truths and reshape their worldview. I remember telling some friends about Bitcoin and they all gave me the ‘you are crazy’ look. Most of them are programmed by news and propaganda from mainstream media. By the time the media starts advertising Bitcoin in a positive light, it will be too late.

Similarly, there is a huge money-making industry behind college education. It is an industry where we pay huge sums of money just to have a shot at a good future. Say if I were to fail to secure a job, it is unfortunately not the college’s job to help me. Thus, I’m paying a lot of money on the possibility of securing a good job.

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Worse, some jobs do not require certifications but just talent and experience. I mean, how does a degree in e-sports help me be a better DOTA player? Or is a degree in culinary arts different from 4 years of on-the-job training. I do think that there are benefits in both on-the-job training and a degree. However, perhaps the thought that certification from college guarantees a job should be something that should be rethought. Just like how money should not be censored and taken care of by a third party.

Ignore The Noise

I seem to have ranted quite a bit, but let me draw it all to a conclusion. I believe that with enough reading, studying and research, you will be able to see through the noise. You may find society constantly convincing you that only terrorists use Bitcoin. Similarly, someone may say that going to college is the only way to be successful.

However, what will help you stay your path or pick the right path for your future is knowledge gathered from your own studies. As such, the best career advice that anyone can give is similar to why you should use Bitcoin. Research, read and investigate and you will find that going to college is not the only path to success. Just as how the only money is not that printed by banks but also those produced on the blockchain.

 

 

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Cryptocurrencies Should Be Taught At Schools.

It has been more than ten years now since the inception of Bitcoin. Like it, hate it or ignore it, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have become more common in our daily lives. This begs the question, why is it still not taught at school? Surely schools being the place of learning should expose students to cryptocurrencies. After all, cryptocurrencies represent a very different perspective on finance and the economy. Also, if we are looking to prepare the next generation for the future, the teaching of cryptocurrencies should be done at schools.

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Teaching Responsibility

There are many use cases for cryptocurrencies, but if your students are too young to understand complex economic concepts, let’s start with something simpler. I find that over time, dabbling in cryptocurrencies has forced me to be more responsible over my own finances. I remember the first time when I had my private keys over on Steemit. After losing my private keys for one of my accounts, I realized that there was no one capable of retrieving it. I tried calling support, but no one could do anything.

This has unfortunately been a good lesson of being your own ‘bank’. Unlike more centralized systems, you can’t always call up a customer service representative to help you restore your password. Thus, you will just have to be a bit more responsible for your own passwords and accounts. This can be inculcated in lessons where children are taught to hold their own cryptocurrency knowing that once they lose it, no one can retrieve it for them.

Of course, using actual cryptocurrency for this may be a rather costly endeavor, as such, I would use the waves platform to create one for the purposes of the lesson.

Teaching Why Cryptocurrencies Were Invented

As for the students who are more mature, I think it is important to talk about why Bitcoin was invented in the first place. There, teachers can introduce the concept of debt and the 2008 financial crisis. While some claim that the 2008 financial crisis was a motivating factor for the creation of  Bitcoin (source). I think the lesson behind it is sound. After all, we should be teaching our students about the lessons that led to the crash.

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Furthermore, talking about Bitcoin will lead to a comparison with fiat currency. There, a teacher can introduce the concept of inflation as well as why this occurs. While it takes a certain level of maturity to understand this, I have found that teenagers grasp this concept rather quickly. Perhaps it is from social media or hearing their parents complain about the rising cost of living, they catch on to the idea pretty quickly.

Of course, the idea behind introducing them to Bitcoin is not for them to buy it. Rather, it helps them gain a different perspective to the conventional lessons that they are prescribed. I believe that with different views, you tend to make better decisions.

Teaching About The Use Cases of Cryptocurrencies

Aside from the history behind Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, a teacher can also touch on the use cases of cryptocurrencies. In terms of Bitcoin, a teacher can draw from examples in Venezuela and Hong Kong where it was used. At this point, I will be touching on issues that may seem undesirable to the government or the administration. Sometimes, the concept of decentralization and freedom associated with cryptocurrencies is seen as a form of rebellion by some who are in power.

However, as educators, I think it is important to teach our students what is happening in the world and leave them with something more valuable than knowledge. That something is wisdom. I think wisdom stems from experience but also having all the possible choices laid out before you. Once you know all the possible choices, it becomes easier to make an informed choice.

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The problem is that many are fed ideas from one perspective. This leads to them making decisions that are bad but considered as ‘normal’. I can’t speak for others in my field, but my clients are those who are going to be future teachers. As such, when the opportunity arises, I will present both perspectives to them. I only hope that they can use that knowledge to impact the next generation.