American + Autodidact + Entrepreneur = Migration

Last week, I finally sat down and watched College Conspiracy, a documentary by the National Inflation Association about the current situation of higher education in the US. It exposes facts that will make you shiver (I heard that some of the businesses the NIA endorses might be kinda shady, but their point on education remains valid). The figures are truly depressing. Later that same day, I saw this article about the Department of Education withdrawing federal support for school libraries. “What’s going on up there?!”, I thought.

I don’t want to get into the flaws of higher education in America, because I don’t believe there’s a single country doing it right. However, this did spark one thought: autodidact Americans that want a lifelong education and to explore their entrepreneurial spirit, have a great opportunity outside of the US, if they are willing to travel/relocate.

Let me expand on some of the assumptions I am making:

Lifelong autodidactism

Moving to a new country or continent has tons of potential for those that are willing to take responsibility of their educational path. The novelty of a new culture, coupled with the independence of a curious mind, is a match made in heaven. But we all know this, which is why I think the true value of this decisions lies in something else. The real benefit for the self-educators, has to do with the how irrelevant institutions and bureaucracies become when one is exploring a country from scratch. All this horrible statistics and changes that prevent people from getting the kind of intellectual stimulus that they want from their system, don’t matter as much when one is learning from everyday life instead of books or classrooms. Learning becomes simple and common. Not only that, but I’d argue that breathing a new culture is the fastest way to acquire massive amounts of experiences and knowledge.

Time and ease, that is the true potential of relocation for the curious American mind.

Non-conformity with the system in the US

I assume that one is uncomfortable with the current educational system, or whatever way of learning one is using in the US. If you are interested in a field of knowledge that the US currently can provide better than other places, then this decision may not be for you. The same applies for non-traditional education: if you are satisfied with the speed and quality of your educational process, you may also skip my suggestion.

Entrepreneurial spirit

Finally, my third and latest assumption, is having an entrepreneurial mindset and spirit. Chances are that people who are willing to make life changes such as moving to a new country, already see themselves as entrepreneurs because some of the traits required for both pursuits are quite similar. The reason I assume one has to be an entrepreneur to benefit from these opportunities, is because many growing countries are actively trying to persuade international entrepreneurs to focus their efforts on them (Chile, Russia or Singapore come to mind). Not only that, but having traveled quite a bit, and having hosted many international networking events, I firmly believe that the American entrepreneurs are unmatched in quantity and quality.

In other words, it’s not so much about looking for opportunities, rather than taking advantage of the many ones that the world is already offering.

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If we put everything together, it’s easy to see how a decision like this could become very fulfilling for anyone willing to do it. With many countries that provide a low expense, high-quality of living looking for high-caliber entrepreneurs to lead their development efforts, Americans have a golden opportunity to lead a rich professional life, while they also explore their curiosity and learning endeavors to the fullest. For anyone interested in being challenged at an intellectual level, without having to put up with the locks and regulations that the system is increasingly imposing in the education scene, let me suggest that a quick flight and cultural bath, while you make some creative money, may be the thing you need.

Relate to others,
Carlos