Interesting article highlighting senior citizens who have decided to become entrepreneurs in the later stages of their careers. These cases demonstrate that entrepreneurs can come from many different demographics of people, and reinforce that there is no “mold” to fit in order to be a successful entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship may offer an option for elderly people to help support themselves as they prepare for retirement, particularly as many older workers find themselves in a less competitive position for some jobs in comparison to younger workers just entering the workforce. These older workers years of accumulated experience may make them better prepared to manage or run a small business, and thus more likely to be successful entrepreneurs.
Monthly Archives: March 2014
Immigration and Entrepreneurship
Despite the sentiment that immigrants are not beneficial to the economy, data exists that shows immigrants not only positively contribute to the economy, but are also entrepreneurial in spirit.
Another article, this time from Entrepreneur magazine
… on the legislative holdup for the Startup Visa Act of 2013.
Lost in the shuffle
Another article which explains at least part of the reason why U.S.-educated immigrants in the STEM fields are languishing in the public policy process. Should legislative initiatives intended to make it easier for foreign-born, but U.S.-educated immigrant to get legal status be tied to other policy objectives? Why or why not?
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324880504578298150540138218
Not all illegal immigration is what people think
Lost in a lot of the media coverage and public debate is the fact that a significant number (this article suggests 40%) of illegal immigrants arrived legally, but overstayed a visa. Does this impact the policy initiatives intended to address the problem? Should it? If so, how?
Should Academic Research Be a Marketable Product?
Here is an interesting piece discussing “Cornell Tech”, a new school that Cornell University is opening to hopefully expand New York’s tech sector. The school will take an equity stake in each company developed through their university instead of licensing rights to patents. Is this a better or worse approach to fostering innovation?
A shift in employer attitudes may boost the value of that online degree
Article Link: http://qz.com/180247/why-google-doesnt-care-about-hiring-top-college-graduates/
This week we discussed the disruptive innovation embodied in the rise of for-profit, online colleges and universities. During that discussion, we talked about the value, prestige, and hiring prospects of degrees from traditional “brick and mortar” institutions compared to those of degrees from for-profit, online (or other proprietary) higher-ed institutions. That discussion, in my opinion, seemed to rest on a basic assumption: that the latter type of institutions continue to fuel the higher-ed bubble because they produce graduates with less valuable degrees and worse job prospects. The attached article challenges that assumption.
Even if the assumption is true today, the article’s anecdote indicates that this assumption may not continue to hold into the future. If employers are truly less concerned with the prestige of brand-name schools, and more concerned about hiring students who are capable of “learning on the fly,” then a shift in employer attitudes may favor non-traditional college and university graduates. Specifically, if Google’s hiring attitudes prevail in the labor markets of the future, then self-guided learners from these non-traditional colleges and universities may be developing learning skills that employers like Google are now finding matter most.
This shift in hiring attitudes could improve the value of at least some non-traditional degrees, and it could further legitimize and exacerbate the disruptive innovation of online education.
Plus, you should read the article because, around here, we can all think of a few people who lack intellectual humility. It’s refreshing to know Google finds them as annoying as you do! 😛
Cato Institute report on use of public benefits by non-native born poor families
Rather surprising, and worth a read.
Tech Crunch’s legislation page
Because so many of the topics over the next few weeks tie directly to technology (immigration, IP, etc.), I thought I’d post this link to TechCrunch’s legislation page. In case you’d like to peruse their site, I’ll add it to the blog roll, as well.
Nontraditional career paths for Ph.Ds
Life beyond the hallowed halls of academia ….