Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Meagan Skerchock. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Meagan, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career

As I’m sure is true of anyone familiar with the retrogression of American education, I could write a book, or several, on what I would change about the educational system in the United States. For the sake of brevity, I’ll speak only to the acute problem that Perspectiv is solving, which is an infinitesimal piece of a puzzle for which finding a solution is imperative.

For decades we’ve prepared our children to attend university rather than equipping them to enter the workforce. We’ve been fed a false narrative that vocational training is for students who aren’t academically inclined and we’ve been shielded from the fact that an in-demand, 6-figure-salary career is attainable without a 4-year degree. The concept of college preparing people for the workforce sounds ideal in theory; however, in practice, the percentage of people working in their field of study, at the time of this writing, is a mere 27%.

We can better prepare our students for a more fulfilling life and career by educating them about all their options, not just those that stem from higher ed. We need to teach them the reality of what professions entail before they invest time and money in college or the wrong career path altogether. We need to teach them that they’re allowed to change their minds, happiness and fulfillment aren’t directly proportional to salary, and what constitutes success is highly subjective. It isn’t defined by social norms, parents, siblings, teachers, or friends – success comes from inner peace and personal freedom.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Having struggled to choose between aerospace engineering and filmmaking before finally settling on entrepreneurship, I appreciate how difficult it is to find your path in life and how nonlinear a career can be. Perspectiv was founded to help more people discover their career calling, live with purpose, and realize their full potential.

Too often, teens are funneled into college and accrue insurmountable student loan debt only to discover later that their chosen field isn’t what they expected. Students are not made aware of all their options and rarely know the reality of the profession they’re pursuing until they’re in it. Perspectiv is on a mission to fix this.

Perspectiv features an ever-expanding video library of high-quality, informational interviews with professionals in all different careers and from all walks of life. Our goal is to give our youth a clearer understanding of what an occupation actually looks like to help them make more informed decisions. Realizing that students aren’t the only ones in need of career guidance, we’ve dedicated an entire “Course Correct” section in support of career-changers everywhere. Adults, feeling stuck in their current occupation, can hear from others who’ve pivoted, why and how they did it, and advice they have for others hoping to blaze a new trail.

What we’re most proud of is the diversity of people and professions we feature on our site. Perspectiv is home to individuals of all different backgrounds and you will undoubtedly learn about careers that you never knew existed or perhaps thought were obsolete. The honesty and wisdom our interviewees share make Perspectiv a unique resource offering centuries of combined knowledge and life experience.

Big things are in store for 2024. We’ll be hosting free webinars featuring a special guest and a different career each month – follow us on social media to tune in, interact, and participate in live Q&A. Also launching in 2024 are one-on-one career coaching opportunities, virtual field trips, and a community where you can engage and network with like-minded individuals. We’re also prototyping VR and AR job shadowing tools to incorporate into our resource in the future. Stay tuned!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Absolutely. The following is a small selection of incredibly helpful resources that proved invaluable to me on my journey. I believe they’d be beneficial to anyone with an idea for an innovative startup. They are in no particular order.

Acceleration: What All Entrepreneurs Must Know About Startup Law (Ryan Roberts)

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future (Peter Thiel and Blake Masters)

The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses (Eric Ries)

The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products that Win (Steve Blank)

Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win (Jocko Willink) – for those in leadership roles

Harvard Business School’s Online “Entrepreneurship Essentials” Course

Sara Blakely’s MasterClass

Simon Sinek’s TED Talk “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”

Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson I had to unlearn was not something taught to me by my parents or teachers, rather, it was something that is ingrained in all of us as humans. As creatures frequently exhibiting herd behavior, harboring our pack-mentality gifted us by our ancestors, it’s comfortable, safe, and often expected that we do as everyone else does. I’ve learned that taking the road less traveled, albeit lonely, doesn’t constitute a wrong choice. It’s okay to swim against the current, to stay true to yourself, to strive only to meet expectations set by ourselves, and to ignore those that society has fabricated for you. From dropping out of college to going on the road to work on movies to starting this business, I’ve routinely chosen the road less traveled and in the words of our beloved Robert Frost, “that has made all the difference.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.getperspectiv.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/get_perspectiv
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/getperspectiv
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/perspectiv-inc
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/get_perspectiv
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBxwgvhh-3_bBsCm6rCiaiw

Image Credits
Michael Neveux