Publishing the Third Edition | In the Age of AI, Let's Explore "Career Paths," Not "Advancement."

CHAPTER 1 It's Not About College, It's About Careers

The emergence of a society overflowing with unemployed graduates of prestigious universities.
2. The number of CEOs who graduated from specialized high schools is increasing.
3 In an era where lifetime employment has disappeared, choose a profession, not a job.
4 The validity period of the knowledge provided by a doctorate is also within 5 years.
It takes 4 years and 100 million won to get a college degree.
6 Incompetent graduates of prestigious universities vs. talented individuals
7 to 2 disease, students who go to college based on their grades and wander around in college
8 Losers who belatedly realize that society has changed into an era of jobs!
9 The reason for entering a prestigious university is because of the job after graduation.

CHAPTER 2: In the Age of Jobs, Do "Real Study"

1. What we need now is not Korean, English, and math, but 'real study' for a job.
2 Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, what they have in common is that they are college dropouts
Don't rely on university signage; pioneer your future with the power of thought.
4. Graduates from local universities become Korea's top talents.
5. Let's read to nurture and enrich our inner selves.
6 Knowledge and information flow, so learn and learn again.

CHAPTER 3 The Power of Preparing for the Job Era

1. Decide on a lifelong goal and devote yourself to it with all your might.
2. Realize your dreams at a small, strong company, not a large corporation.
3 New employees need a diploma, but the CEO doesn't.
4. Cultivate the 'eyes that see the essence' through reflection and contemplation.
5. Developing your individuality can lead to "success without falling behind."
6 The purpose of studying is to develop the strength to live independently.

CHAPTER 4: College Students Understanding the Job Era: Change Has Already Begun

Students who completed a 4-year university and then switched to a vocational college
2 A 9th-grade civil servant who graduated from a prestigious university and ranked 2nd in the school
The competition rate for female soldiers through ROTC and other means has increased significantly.
4. The number of young people starting startups is increasing significantly.
Farmers who graduated from prestigious universities, doctors and lawyers who are entering new fields
The "prestigious university → large corporation → middle class" path is collapsing.

CHAPTER 5: The Choices of Specialized High School Students: Change Has Already Begun

1. Kim Si-hyeon, From Military Non-Commissioned Officer to Gymnasium Director, Forging a Future
A warrior who has fallen seven times and eight times, he is reborn as a health trainer after serving in the Zaytun unit.
Let's Learn | Military Non-Commissioned Officer System & Military Specialized High Schools
*3-minute interview
2. Park Tae-jun graduated from Pusan ​​National University after joining Samsung Heavy Industries.
Samsung Man, a backpacker who enjoys traveling the world, becomes a travel writer.
Let's find out | In-house university
*3-minute interview
3. Kim Seon-ho, after starting a school-based business, landed a job at an auto parts company.
-Expanding overseas sales by leveraging his experience as a high school startup CEO.
Let's Learn | School Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Clubs
*3-minute interview
4. Lee Go-eun takes a job at the Korea Development Bank instead of going to college.
-The first Incheon Specialized High School to pass the 4th final interview
Let's Learn | Banking Open Recruitment Guide
Dan Ye-jin becomes a 9th-grade civil servant at age 19.
Finding your path at a logistics-specialized high school where you can choose your own career path and further education.
Let's Find Out | Civil Service Exam Guide
*3-minute interview
6. Choi Han-eum begins lifelong learning after joining KT&G.
-Finally achieving my dream through repeated challenges
Let's Find Out | Lifelong Learning Guide
*3-minute interview
7. Kim Hyun-ji graduated from Soongsil University after working for a foreign company.
- Seeking ways to develop expertise based on experience
Let's Find Out | Guide to Special Admissions for Employed Students (Focusing on Universities in the Seoul Metropolitan Area)
8. Omiyang, graduated from an industrial university after getting a job at a small and medium-sized enterprise.
-I'll get a job, build my career, and go to college with the money I earn.
Let's Find Out | Industrial University Admission Guide
9 Shin Woo-Heum, using the spirit he learned in the Entrepreneurship Club, challenges again and again.
-Completing language training in Japan to become a global talent and preparing to study abroad in the UK.

CHAPTER 6: The Age of Jobs: How to Prepare

1. Take time to seriously think about what you want to do with your life in the future.
2 In the era of lifelong learning, let's learn endlessly and compete persistently.
3. Let's make rational career decisions based on self-understanding.
4. Develop convergence and collaboration skills that AI cannot.
5. Consider attending a prestigious Meister High School or vocational school for vocational training.
6. Career exploration starts from a young age, and parents play an important role!

Closing the Book | Vision Makes Reality
References

The 'prestigious university → large corporation → middle class' course
It's falling apart

The Black Death swept through Europe between 1347 and 1351.
The Black Death killed 20 million people, one-third of Europe's population.
When the author sees the dreaded word "Black Death," he is reminded of the fairy tale "The Pied Piper of Hamelin."
A piper promises to receive a large sum of money from the rats that are running rampant in the town of Hamelin. He will lure them all away with the sound of his pipe and throw them into a lake. When the townspeople do not keep their promise, he lures the townspeople's children with his pipe and disappears over the hill.

In 『It's Not College, It's a Career』[3rd Edition], the author introduces the downfall of those who were called the middle class in our society by connecting it to a fairy tale.
As if the story introduced as a fable five and a half years ago had become reality, we have experienced the reality of the new infectious disease called COVID-19 completely turning our lives upside down.
Fortunately, I have returned to my daily life, but the whistle blowing to 'focus on education' seems to have not changed.
What would the parents of the generation who encourage their children to attend prestigious universities without considering the consequences be saying?

A generation of parents who graduated from prestigious universities, worked hard at well-known conglomerates or foreign companies, took out loans to buy a house, had children, and even lived as goose dads and moms to pay for the loans and their children's education.
If you are suddenly laid off from your company around the age of 50, the qualifications that once made you valuable become obstacles, making it difficult to find a new job.
After failing at self-employment, he makes a living as a designated driver.
How much has the reality changed since parents are selling their only home for a low price to save up for their children's weddings and living on a monthly or deposit basis?

The era of ideal career choices, as envisioned by the parental generation: 'high school graduation → college graduation → employment → retirement', is long over.
At one time, the world was swept up in the 'metaverse' craze, the darling of new technology.
However, due to the enormous development costs, leading companies are halting related projects.
Meanwhile, generative artificial intelligence like ChatGPT is driving the 4th Industrial Revolution.


In these rapidly changing times, our thinking about education needs to change in a circular way.
This means that there is a need for a change in perception that it is not too late to consider going to college after graduating from high school, getting a job, starting a business, or starting a new career.
Among the students the author gave career counseling to, there was one who boldly jumped into starting a business at the age of 19, just after graduating from high school.
By choosing the path of 'employment first, then learning' (先就業 後學習) to get a job at a company, I boldly opened the door to lifelong learning.
Five and a half years after the book was first published, the disciples, who reaffirmed their commitment, share their experiences and wisdom with juniors exploring their own paths through life.
It's time to find a job that suits your aptitude and abilities, and then do some 'real studying' to improve your expertise in that job.