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After my recent article on Forbes, When Will the Education Bubble Explode, I had an email exchange with Sander Daniels of Thumbtack, who had some fascinating information to share about student loans, especially regarding liberal arts versus technical degrees.
Anyone Considering Education: Pay Attention To This Interview
This could end up saving you a huge amount of time and money and provide you with many more opportunities than those who went to a "traditional" school. Or if you know anyone who's considering college, forward/email/Facebook/Tweet this to them immediately.
1. You recently released data "showing that service professionals with a bachelor's degree earn no more than those with a technical college degree." For readers, explain the details and finding of these data and what this means for people considering a bachelor's versus a technical degree..
Thumbtack is an online marketplace for local services. So anyone who offers any kind of local service - from a contractor in Los Angeles, to a portrait photographer in Minneapolis, to an ice cream truck in Houston, etc. - can list themselves on our site. More than 225,000 independent professionals have listed themselves on Thumbtack since 2009.
We surveyed these professionals and asked "What is the highest level of education you have reached?" A little more than 11,000 people responded, with answers ranging from "high school degree" to "doctoral degree".
Since these professionals advertise their services on Thumbtack, they frequently list the price at which they offer their service. For example, this photographer offers her service at $95-195 per hour.
We found something very surprising when we mapped average hourly rate against educational achievement. We expected to see hourly rates rise with a higher level of education, and that's exactly what we found - except that the hourly rate for those with technical degrees and those with undergraduate degrees was exactly the same.
These findings aren't conclusive - perhaps Thumbtack members with technical degrees and undergraduate degrees aren't representative of all people with technical degrees and undergraduate degrees. And there are certainly advantages to getting a broad education at a four-year college over getting a vocational education at a two-year school.
But if I could go back in time and choose between a four-year liberal arts degree and a two-year technical degree, these data would make me think twice. These data at least make it clear that more education doesn't always mean a higher income.
2. You mentioned that you work with a team of Echo Boomers at Thumbtack. What things do you do there at Thumbtack and how can readers, who may be business owners or local merchants, use your services?
Thumbtack is a relatively young company. We're a company of 12 people based in San Francisco. We're all between 25 and 33.
It's a fun place to work - not only do we have an open working environment with a private chef who cooks meals every day, but we also feel like we're creating something truly innovative - and helping out small businesses in doing so.
Thumbtack offers small businesses and independent professionals a home online. It's free to list yourself and advertise your services on our site. In general, people really like the look of their profile - some people spend hours setting it up, filling it out, and making it look nice.
We also bring work to you. If someone comes to our site looking for a caterer for their holiday barbeque, we'll email that job to those in the area who can do that service. This is how we make our money - it costs a bit of money to respond to that client and pitch your services.
In general, the response to Thumbtack has been overwhelmingly positive, and we look forward to coming to work every day. More than 4,000 small businesses list themselves on Thumbtack every week, and a new user signs up on our site every minute of every day.
We love what we do, and encourage you to check us out!
