Section 13.1. Transition in Education

13.1. Transition in Education

It's not surprising to see all this confusion. In such a new discipline, all the paths are "less traveled." Schools are not sure what to teach, and students don't know what they need to learn.

In the established professions of medicine, law, and business, a vast array of educational programs has been tested by the evolutionary pressures of the market. Only those programs that add value have survived. The independent forces of supply and demand have moved toward equilibrium.

In our field, both the employment and education markets are still somewhat immature. The hiring of professional information architects by consulting firms and large corporations is a relatively new phenomenon. It's still unclear how much information architecture design will be done in the coming years and who will do it. The recent economic turbulence in the IT industry has further muddied the watersand our field is not alone in this chaos. A powerful assortment of forces is driving change in the broader realms of government, economics, communication, entertainment, and education. As individuals, it's not easy to make sense of the fast-paced world around us, particularly when it comes to our careers. In such a dynamic and competitive environment, we must take responsibility for our own education, and we must all be lifelong learners.