The $300, 6-Month Education Option that Google Equates to a 4-Year Degree

As someone who has pursued both an undergraduate and graduate education, I’ve naturally wondered what would have happened had I decided to go straight into the workforce after high school, or if I had taken a gap year to travel the world. Could I have learned what I learned by taking a few online courses? Perhaps. Could I have built the relationships and the network that I built? Possibly. However, one thing remains true: employers put great emphasis on your degree(s), and often won’t consider the rest of your application if you’re missing one. Having two degrees has prepared me to enter the current workforce with a higher chance of landing a well-paying job compared to someone without a degree. But something tells me that sooner than later, higher education alternatives might be a more competitive route to take.

This year, Google announced Google Career Certificates designed to teach you relevant skills to help you get in-demand, high-paying jobs. Completing a certificate would not only add to your education section on your resume - it also connects you with a group of top employers, and qualifies you for jobs with a median salary $55,000+. The great thing about this program is that it only takes about 6 months to complete, but Google plans to treat it as a 4-year college degree, according to Kent Walker (Senior VP of Global Affairs at Google). No prior experience is needed, and the certificates will be a fraction of the cost of college. Sounds almost too good to be true, right?

Google Career Certificates

Currently available: IT Support Specialist for $49/month.

Coming soon: Data Analyst, Project Manager, and UX Designer.

I believe that Google offering these certificates is a huge step to eliminating the need for 4-year colleges and massive student loan debt. This will make higher education much more accessible, and probably more relevant, ultimately providing new opportunities to people with less resources. Of course, fields like medicine and law require more years of formal education. But most college students switch their major several times, and don’t even end up using their degree in their career. Wouldn’t it be more useful for them to pursue shorter, more affordable options, that connect you to in-demand, high-paying jobs?

With the entire world shifting to an online presence, this is the perfect time for other companies like Amazon or Apple to build educational programs in their expertise. There’s no question that the future is heading towards a predominantly online society; staying one step ahead won’t hurt. In addition to big companies creating their own certificate programs, it will likely become the norm for companies to value these certifications even more than degrees. The question is, when will that be exactly? A year from now? 5 years? Or much further into the future?