College: A Solution Looking for a Problem

For decades, we’ve been told the same script:

Go to college. Get a degree. Secure your future.

But in 2025 — in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and across the world, that promise is breaking down. College increasingly looks like a solution looking for a problem, something we push onto everyone even though it doesn’t solve what most people actually need.

What does “a solution looking for a problem” mean?

It’s like those strange midnight infomercial gadgets solving problems no one truly has.

Universities often feel like that today. They deliver education, yes — but it’s not aligned with what students actually came for.

And when the bill comes due, most graduates realize the truth:

They were sold a path that no longer guarantees opportunity.

What do students really want?

It’s simple.

Students want:

• a good job

• meaningful skills

• a better future

• a return on the time and money they invested

What they don’t want is:

• debt

• four years of random modules

• outdated content

• a 40–60% chance of unemployment or underemployment after graduation

Most people aren’t going to college for the love of abstract learning.

They’re going because they want an opportunity.

Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not. And the university system — as it stands — doesn’t fix that.

Is college actually focused on giving students what they want?

Not really. Universities today try to handle three different missions at once, and that’s where everything breaks down.

1.⁠ ⁠General Education

Students spend their first 1–2 years studying topics unrelated to their future careers.

There’s value in general education, but forcing it onto everyone, especially those who urgently need job-ready skills, doesn’t make sense.

If secondary education were stronger, this layer wouldn’t even be needed.

2.⁠ ⁠Job Training

This is the part students pay for.

And ironically, it’s the part universities struggle the most with.

You get:

• abstract theory

• outdated syllabi

• little to no real-world projects

• almost zero portfolio output

• lecturers teaching subjects they’ve never practiced professionally

This is how we end up with thousands of degree holders who still can’t land jobs, not because they’re bad, but because their training didn’t match what employers actually need.

3.⁠ ⁠Research

We force teachers to be researchers, and researchers to be teachers, even though they’re two completely different professions.

No surprise that both areas end up mediocre.

So what’s the real issue?

It’s not tuition fees.

It’s not public vs private universities.

It’s not whether degrees “still matter.”

The real issue is this:

Universities are no longer designed around what students truly need: opportunity, not credentials.

And because of that misalignment, millions fall into the same trap every year:

Spend money you don’t have, on a degree you may not need, for a job you might never get.

The debt remains.

The opportunity doesn’t.

Why I Care (and Why We Built Sigma School)

I don’t believe college should disappear. There will always be paths where degrees make sense.

But for the majority who want a practical, direct route to a better life, we need alternatives.

Not shortcuts.

Not hacks.

Not “six-figure dreams.”

Just a clearer, more honest path to real skills and real work.

Sigma School exists for that reason.

We’re building:

• A focused path into tech

• Full-stack, job-ready skills

• Hands-on projects

• A strong portfolio

• Industry-level guidance

• AI-integrated learning

• A community of learners lifting each other up

We believe:

• Talent is everywhere. Opportunity isn’t.

• Education shouldn’t put you in debt to prove your worth.

• People deserve a realistic alternative to the traditional path.

If you want to see how we’re helping students pivot into tech faster, more affordably, and more effectively, check out sigmaschool.co/csdp

The world is changing. Education should too.