What is the main message of Long Life Learning?

The main message of Long Life Learning is the importance of continual learning throughout our lives.

Who is the author of Long Life Learning?

The author of Long Life Learning is Michelle R. Weise.

Career & Success

Long Life Learning Book Summary - Long Life Learning Book explained in key points

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Long Life Learning summary

Name: Long Life Learning
Rating: 4 (96 reviews)
Author: Michelle R. Weise

Michelle R. Weise

Preparing for Jobs that Don't Even Exist Yet

4 (96 ratings)

28 mins

Brief summary

Long Life Learning by Michelle R. Weise explores the need for continuous learning in the age of automation and AI. It provides a roadmap for individuals, educators, and employers to adapt and thrive in the changing job market.

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Long Life Learning
Summary of 8 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 8

What’s in it for me? Prepare for a future in which learning truly is lifelong.

In the past, most people were able to get by with a fairly straightforward life plan. Finish school and college, build a career, possibly raise a family, then retire. Simple.

Nowadays, this dream is becoming less and less plausible. The primary reason? Steady increases in human life expectancy.

Education has traditionally been thought of as a one-off deal. But it’s unrealistic to think that just two, four, or six years of school will be enough to sustain you in a world where you retire at the age of 100 instead of at 65. Or one where automation causes you to switch jobs once every few years.

In the future, people will need to skill up quickly and regularly, and they’ll need an education system that supports them in that. These blinks provide a blueprint.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

the number one reason students want to go to college;
how AI can help people identify their skills; and
why so many entry-level jobs now require years of experience.

Academic institutions must respond to changes in the work ecosystem.

Academics are prone to describing education in lofty terms. College is about giving students a global perspective, they say, or allowing them to explore their passions while improving their social skills.

These goals sound pleasant, but they’re at odds with what learners actually want. According to 50 years of data from The Freshman Survey, first-time, full-time students consistently give the same number one answer when asked why they go to college. That answer? “To be able to get a job.”

Students consistently care less about becoming citizens of the world and more about being able to start careers. Yet, according to Strada-Gallup consumer insight data, only 36 percent of college graduates feel that they have the right skills and knowledge to be successful.

The key message here is: Academic institutions must respond to changes in the work ecosystem.

Despite the clear gap between students’ desires and what academia currently offers, progress in closing that gap has been slow. The best chance of doing so is through disruptive innovation.

This often-misunderstood phrase refers to innovations that start off targeting consumers on the fringes of society. These nonconsumers, as they’re called, are unique in that in a given market, there's currently no product or service that’s specifically targeted at them. A disruptive offering might be of a lower quality than other consumer groups would accept, but nonconsumers’ alternative is – well, nothing.

Companies are unlikely to make an immediate or impressive profit from disruptive innovations. But as nonconsumers begin to flock to them, the quality of offerings improves over time until an entire industry has been upended. Personal computers started out as disruptive innovations, marketed only toward children and sold much cheaper than their popular cousins, mainframes and minicomputers. Now, of course, PCs are ubiquitous.

In academia, the current best attempt at a disruptive innovation has been online university programs. Sadly, these have been marred by shady financial practices and predatory recruiting strategies. Many students who enrolled have been left with debt⁠ but no degrees.

A successful disruptive offering might look like online programs combined with other innovations like modularized learning. This is where topics are divided into stand-alone units that learners can take in whatever sequence they need. Instead of having to progress through a course, students can choose modules that deliver desired skills, such as creating research-based arguments or applying mathematical formulas to financial decisions. It’s a cost-effective and agile solution for students and academic institutions alike.

Employers should invest in the talents and skills of their employees.

Meet Steve, a 51-year-old IT specialist. He’s been working in his field for the past 20 or so years and expects to work another 15 before retirement. But he finds that prospect daunting because it’s getting harder for him to meet his job’s physical demands.

Steve is considering a career change, but he isn’t sure where to start. He loves kids, so he’s thinking about becoming a teacher. To do that, he needs to go back for his bachelor’s degree –⁠ but to do that, he’d have to stop working, which he can’t afford. Plus, it’s not clear whether teaching is even the right path for him.

People need high-quality information and systems to help them navigate the education and work ecosystems.

Head to Amazon, search for a laptop cable, and click on any choice. On the page, you’ll find hundreds of reviews –⁠ all for a product that costs less than $10.

Education, by contrast, can cost thousands of dollars. Yet prospective students are offered very little in the way of reviews for the degree, certificate, or apprenticeship programs they might choose. American higher education institutions are loath to provide or publish any information on students’ job or grad school placement rates, lest those numbers make them look bad.

All learners need adequate support throughout their education.

When adult learners take classes or go back to school, they’re often bombarded by the message You don’t belong here. One young mother the author interviewed described how isolated she felt when taking a math class geared toward younger learners. No one could relate to her, and doing group work was difficult because she couldn’t bring her three-year-old into the library.

The obstacles for mature learners go far beyond the problem of not fitting in. Take, for instance, the fact that most companies require people to apply online. Where does that leave people without internet access – people experiencing homelessness, for example – or the economically disadvantaged?

Learners need targeted education programs to gain new skills.

Jaylen is a machinist working at an aeronautical company in Kansas. He makes $40,000 a year and has been working in the industry for 15 years. With that salary, and in that region of the US, he’s able to live comfortably. But he’s at risk of losing his job to automation.

Jaylen’s boss doesn’t want to let him go. She would, however, like to shift his responsibilities away from machining and more toward oversight. But Jaylen doesn’t have the requisite technical skills for the job. Going to night school seems like an overwhelming –⁠ not to mention time-consuming –⁠ prospect, especially with his family to care for.

We need programs that help people integrate learning and working.

For adult learners, one of the greatest and most difficult barriers to surmount is the issue of finances. As one woman put it in an interview with the author, “It’s money. When you’re poor, you’re poor.”

Another precious and finite resource that many adult workers lack is time. How are they supposed to focus on learning or working on their businesses when they still need to work to survive?

Transparent, fair hiring practices are better for both employers and job seekers.

The process of seeking out and applying for a job is nothing like it was in the past. Nowadays, you’re expected to submit résumés and cover letters through a website instead of in person. Applicants never get a chance to speak to anyone, and they rarely hear back after they apply.

Then there’s the issue of the job requirements themselves. Often, even entry-level positions require years of experience or specific educational achievements that are unrealistic for most applicants.

Dense networks of data can connect education and the workforce.

Currently, the networks between K–12 learning, postsecondary education, and workforce training are weakly connected, if at all. These need to merge – but how? The answer to that question, surprisingly, might be found in a tree.

In Fishlake National Forest, in Utah, a giant tree called Pando stretches over an incredible 160 acres. Pando weighs over 13 million pounds and consists of a mass of 47,000 aspen trees that share a root system. Underground, the trees communicate with one another through networks of fungi, sending needed nutrients and ultimately helping the whole system thrive.

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What is Long Life Learning about?

Long Life Learning (2020) argues decisively that the ways in which we currently think about education and its relationship to work are broken and passé. More and more jobs are being automated, college degrees have been devalued, and people are living longer lives than ever before. These factors, combined with others, are a blaring signal that we must shift toward learning that is designed to be both lifelong and suitable for longer lives.

Long Life Learning Review

Long Life Learning (2018) by Michelle R. Weise is a thought-provoking exploration of the future of education and work. Here's why this book is worth reading:

It offers insightful analysis on the impact of technological advancements, automation, and globalization on our skills and careers, helping us navigate the changing landscape.
Weise's research-based approach allows readers to develop a deeper understanding of how lifelong learning can prepare us for the jobs of the future.
The book's focus on practical solutions and actionable steps empowers readers to embrace continuous learning as a means to adapt and thrive in the evolving workforce.

Who should read Long Life Learning?

Current or aspiring business and political leaders
Educators who want to help reform academia
Anyone curious about the future of work

About the Author

Michelle R. Weise, PhD, is the vice-chancellor of strategy and innovation at National University System. Previously, she was a senior advisor at Imaginable Futures, a philanthropic investment firm, and chief innovation officer at both Strada Education Network and Southern New Hampshire University. She was one of 30 management and leadership thinkers on Thinkers50’s list of people to watch in 2021.

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