122: Matt Wilkerson — Bridging the Gap Between Education and Employment with Externships

Mindful Money

Matt Wilkerson is the CEO and co-founder of Extern, a company on a mission to help anyone discover and launch their career through real professional experiences. Extern has created externships for leading companies such as AT&T, HSBC, Meta, PwC, Home Depot, and National Geographic, serving more than 35,000 students and career switchers.

In this episode, I talk with Matt about the externship model and its impact. Matt shares his journey from growing up in Atlanta, to attending MIT, and eventually founding Extern. He discusses the challenges students face in gaining practical work experience, particularly in the current landscape where traditional internships are becoming more scarce. We also discuss broader issues in higher education, such as the misalignment between academic training and real-world job requirements, and how Extern’s model seeks to reimagine the pathway from education to employment.

In this episode:

• (00:00) - Introduction to Extern’s vision
• (01:05) - Meet Matt Wilkerson
• (01:49) - Matt’s early life and career aspirations
• (03:02) - Entrepreneurial beginnings
• (05:33) - The journey to MIT and beyond
• (09:15) - Founding Extern
• (15:15) - Challenges in higher education and employment
• (25:11) - Skills-based hiring
• (26:24) - Challenges in internship programs
• (29:30) - Introducing the externship model
• (30:36) - Scaling externships for broader impact
• (41:06) - Measuring success and future plans
• (45:38) - Final thoughts and advice for graduates

Get full show notes and links at https://mindful.money.

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MindfulMoney.

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