I often find myself advising students to stop going to school. It’s odd for a professor, but I feel compelled to do so. What is the value of traditional schooling in the artificial intelligence (AI) era when cognitive labor is increasingly being commoditized?

A graduate degree is still worth it. The Department of Labor statisticsfrom 2025 indicates average earnings of $15,444 more per year above a bachelor’s degree and a 0.3% lower unemployment rate. And it puts you in rarefied air—just 11.1% of Americans over 25 have one. But there is a point of diminishing returns.

My perspective is undoubtedly skewed by my own nontraditional academic experience. I skipped three grades, never earned a PhD, and somehow still wound up as a fulltime professor. I started in the business world where a one-day temp job turned into a career that brought me to the pinnacle of my field, a winding journey I chronicled in my Bard College at Simon’s Rock commencement speech last year. Now, I devote myself to teaching because I care deeply about helping future-fit the next generation, both as an educator and a mother. But it’s a quandary. What is the value of education when AI can write the students’ papers and managers turn to agents to do the work of junior staff?

Contrary to snickering about the Gen Z stare and grumbling about grade inflation, my students are brilliant, capable, and purpose-driven. Their gifts are wasted in an endless series of classrooms. Once they’ve earned their master’s degree, I want them to launch, gain real-world experience, and help solve the daunting problems we face in society today. We need them. So, what’s in their way and how did we get here?

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