Inflight wireless has to be one of the most insidious ideas to come out of the airline industry in recent memory. (Yes, worse than charging for extra bags and making me pay for a mini-sized can of pop.)

Why?

Because I consider an airplane the last refuge for the always on/always connected lifestyle I have both chosen and am somewhat required to lead as a digital ad guy. Well, at least I still have a choice in the matter. I choose to not connect and instead spend the time reconnecting with my old-school analog/dead tree habits — reading the trades, catching up with pop rags like Rolling Stone and maybe even busting out a book. Try it the next time you get excited by the prospect of tweeting from 30,000 feet. You might like it.

So what caught my eye today? A great column by Seiter & Miller CEO Livingston Miller in last week’s Advertising Age (“Do ‘teach’ and ‘advertising’ belong in the same sentence?”). Coming off a panel presentation I participated in during AAF-KC’s Career Day this week, the topic was timely.

And I have to say that I largely agree with Miller’s take. Of course, a quick read through my bio should tell you why. I’m a 10 year advertising veteran (still weird for me to type that, by the way) with three music degrees too many for the career I’m in.

Don’t get me wrong; I’ve met some incredibly bright and talented individuals that are currently pursuing or graduated with mass comm/journalism/advertising/marketing degrees over the years. These are folks with extremely bright futures or have well-established themselves in the biz.

But I can’t help but be skeptical when I see their resumes come across my desk during a hiring process. While it may reflect a degree of training in the fundamentals of the discipline, it’s rarely been a direct indication of the things agencies value most: curiosity, instinct, savvy, creative thinking, stamina, persistence, determination or the all-so-important thrill of the hunt and drive to win.

And given the rapid changes that are happening in our business at what seems like on a daily basis, I don’t know how their professors can adequately keep up with it all AND equip their students at the same time. I mean, shit…just keeping up myself is an ongoing challenge. I’ve developed my own methods to do that with a certain amount of efficiency but no one can follow it all.

During my panel on Monday, one of the students nearing the end of her collegiate studies expressed a concern that she’s allowed herself to be “pigeonholed” and was wondering if it was too late to change her focus. It was a great question. My response? You’re only pigeonholed if you let yourself be.

So if you’re a college student reading this, ready to bounce out of your school and waving your ad degree high overhead shouting “Look at me! Look at me!”, it may be time to think what that degree has REALLY taught you about your desired career. The real skill set required might be much different than the one you thought you needed.