Monopoly, oligopoly, cartel. All three of those words can describe the (not so) modern education system today, given the cost structures, economics, and accreditation capture -- in everything from who can and can't start a new university (when was the last time a significant change happened there anyway?!) to where government funding really goes to the student loan and debt crisis.Yet degrees do matter, just not for the reasons we think. So what are the tradeoffs -- when it comes to making money and assessing skills objectively -- between what's been called "hard" (B.S.) and "soft" (B.A.) degrees? What's the best book on career advice, and what advice does Marc Andreessen -- who went to a public university, worked in revolutionary research there, and started a company right after -- have for students (and others) contemplating change in their careers? Or the common question from entrepreneurs of whether to drop out or skip college altogether to go straight to startup?Andreessen shares his thoughts on the purpose, past, and present of education (briefly touching on the impact of the pandemic as well) with Dylan Field, CEO of <a href="https://www.figma.com/" target="_blank">Figma</a> -- which makes design accessible to all, and is actually free <a href="https://www.figma.com/education/" target="_blank">for students and educators</a>. This interview <a href="https://youtu.be/_s1xyZM-2Gw" target="_blank">originally appeared</a> as a video in their "Back to School?" series, and was actually inspired by the question of <a href="https://www.figma.com/blog/an-open-letter-about-my-gap-year/" target="_blank">taking a gap year</a> and others contemplating whether to go back to school that came up in their broader <a href="https://figmavirtualcampus.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-el50hsaf-3mpeZsFwUudowDoxL1FkJA#/" target="_blank">Virtual Campus</a> community of students from schools across the world. image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lyndsy_rommel/47544614231/" target="_blank">Lyndsy Rommel</a> / <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/" target="_blank">Flickr</a>

The Myths and Question of Education

The a16z Podcast discusses tech and culture trends, news, and the future – especially as ‘software eats the world’. It features industry experts, business leaders, and other interesting thinkers and voices from around the world. This podcast is produced by Andreessen Horowitz (aka “a16z”), a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm. Multiple episodes are released every week; visit a16z.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletters and other content as well!