What's Descrambler?

As part of Education Compass, Descrambler is a career and education resource for normal people—you know, human beings that actually feel emotion when confronted with one of the most prickly questions in life: “Now what?”

Searching for where you’ll go next can be like staring into a black abyss. It’s terrifying. Internal and external forces tug at you from many different directions while well-meaning (and, sometimes, not-so-well-meaning) people try to convince you that they know what’s best. You’re then expected to take yourself—now a tangled mess of disconnected pieces—and move forward with enthusiasm into the darkness.

But you’re not a futuristic machine that can just pull itself together and keep chugging away on someone else’s programmed commands. Making good decisions at life’s major milestones doesn’t usually happen on automatic. How can you begin to know what you want from a college education or career if you can’t even see five days ahead?

Frankly, it sucks. We get that. Figuring out what kind of career to pursue, where to attend college, or whether to go to school at all can be like trying to decide between a thorough pat down by a greasy airport security guard or an “alternative dentistry” root canal by a neurotic woodpecker. Neither option is particularly appealing; even if you’re told it will all work out fine.

It doesn’t have to be this way. You need a place to belong, to help you sort it all out. You need a place that acknowledges how utterly difficult it is to be where you are. We want Descrambler to be that place.

Descrambler is for anyone who’s fed up with the kind of soulless education and career advice that treats you like a robot or faceless statistic.

Descrambler is for frustrated seekers trying to make sense of a higher education system that’s grown so big, complex and puzzling that finding honest answers often requires more patience than Mother Theresa ever displayed.

We aim to provide sincere, unbiased, relevant guidance. We’ll share stories and showcase interviews of real people like you. We’ll even try to make you laugh.

We’re optimistic, but we’re also down-to-earth. We recognize that although you might feel confused, anxious, uncertain, or even lonely or desperate, you also want very much to develop your human potential—to show the world your individual capacity for brilliance.

We’re not going to make you any lofty promises. But we will strive to inform, entertain and inspire you.

If you’ve lost all sense of where you’re going, we hope Descrambler can be a light that helps you find your tomorrows.