Not that I want my surgeon to have gotten his degree online...
It's an amazing thought that back when travel was difficult an time-consuming, people were educated and worked (primarily) where they were born until population pressure necessitated a change.
Then, as travel became easier, cheaper, and faster, and infrastructure support systems grew more sophisticated, people would move to cities, where there was more infrastructure to support higher education and more diverse employment opportunities.
Now, we seem to be moving into a time when many career paths can be completed as online courses and telecommuting to work is becoming more feasible as a career choice.
I wonder how the population will distribute itself as educational and career pressures become less location-dependent? Will personal preference in the type of seasons and flora/fauna that each location offers be the single greatest deciding factor? Will each area - say, of the country - keep its personality if we get to the point that industries are no longer as location-centric as they are?
(And yes, I know, I am grossly over-simplifying each of these points. Still, it strikes me as interesting.)
Then, as travel became easier, cheaper, and faster, and infrastructure support systems grew more sophisticated, people would move to cities, where there was more infrastructure to support higher education and more diverse employment opportunities.
Now, we seem to be moving into a time when many career paths can be completed as online courses and telecommuting to work is becoming more feasible as a career choice.
I wonder how the population will distribute itself as educational and career pressures become less location-dependent? Will personal preference in the type of seasons and flora/fauna that each location offers be the single greatest deciding factor? Will each area - say, of the country - keep its personality if we get to the point that industries are no longer as location-centric as they are?
(And yes, I know, I am grossly over-simplifying each of these points. Still, it strikes me as interesting.)