Tim Cook explains why you don’t need a college degree to be successful • Hacker News Board

Re: Tim Cook explains why you don’t need a college degree to be successful

#11

Post by 0815test » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 1:38 PM UTC

> Apple CEO Tim Cook says there’s a “mismatch” between the skills learned in college and the skills that businesses need, especially when it comes to coding. [emphasis added]

So, it's fine when it's Tim Apple saying this! What happened on Twitter was So Unfair and So Sad!

Re: Tim Cook explains why you don’t need a college degree to be successful

#12

Post by saagarjha » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 1:38 PM UTC

renholder wrote: post #4

saagarjha wrote: post #2

> Cook also added that about half of Apple's US employment last year was made up of people who did not have a four-year degree. Of course, the majority of these are probably retail, manufacturing, and support staff. Cook himself has a degree (MBA), as do most of the software engineers at Apple, I’m sure.

> ...manufacturing, and support staff... Aren't those outsourced (to different countries, no less), so they wouldn't actually be counted as US employment statistics?

A large portion is, but there is still a small amount of manufacturing in the US, and quite a few facilities that have jobs are filled by employees lacking a college degree to a large degree.

Re: Tim Cook explains why you don’t need a college degree to be successful

#13

Post by collyw » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 1:38 PM UTC

Veen wrote: post #8

saagarjha wrote: post #2

> Cook also added that about half of Apple's US employment last year was made up of people who did not have a four-year degree. Of course, the majority of these are probably retail, manufacturing, and support staff. Cook himself has a degree (MBA), as do most of the software engineers at Apple, I’m sure.

True, although Steve Jobs didn't have a college degree. Bill Gates dropped out too. We have to be careful to avoid survivorship bias though. reply

Worth noting that in those days a far smaller percentage of the population were university educated.

Re: Tim Cook explains why you don’t need a college degree to be successful

#14

Post by benjaminsuch » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 1:40 PM UTC

I think it all comes down to the required skills. If you don't have a degree, you have to convince the company in other way that you have what they need. Especially in software development it's pretty easy to show your skills.

Re: Tim Cook explains why you don’t need a college degree to be successful

#15

Post by saagarjha » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 1:41 PM UTC

todd3834 wrote: post #10

saagarjha wrote: post #2

> Cook also added that about half of Apple's US employment last year was made up of people who did not have a four-year degree. Of course, the majority of these are probably retail, manufacturing, and support staff. Cook himself has a degree (MBA), as do most of the software engineers at Apple, I’m sure.

I am a former senior software engineer at Apple and I do not have a degree.

Which is why I didn’t say that all software engineers at Apple have college degrees, or that this was a hard requirement to be hired. I’m just saying that it is very, very likely that most software engineers at Apple have degrees.

Re: Tim Cook explains why you don’t need a college degree to be successful

#16

Post by mikerg87 » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 1:41 PM UTC

Veen wrote: post #8

saagarjha wrote: post #2

> Cook also added that about half of Apple's US employment last year was made up of people who did not have a four-year degree. Of course, the majority of these are probably retail, manufacturing, and support staff. Cook himself has a degree (MBA), as do most of the software engineers at Apple, I’m sure.

True, although Steve Jobs didn't have a college degree. Bill Gates dropped out too. We have to be careful to avoid survivorship bias though. reply

Your credentials matter a lot less when you are the founder.

Re: Tim Cook explains why you don’t need a college degree to be successful

#17

Post by _red » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 1:41 PM UTC

Colleges are turning into 'adult daycare centers'.

Encouraging people to go into six-figure debt, so that they can get a degree that has zero marketability (except of course to continue on in college), is a deeply cynical enterprise. At least drug sellers and casino owners are open about what they do.

Re: Tim Cook explains why you don’t need a college degree to be successful

#18

Post by saagarjha » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 1:42 PM UTC

benjaminsuch wrote: post #14

I think it all comes down to the required skills. If you don't have a degree, you have to convince the company in other way that you have what they need. Especially in software development it's pretty easy to show your skills.

Degrees do often make companies more inclined to let you show them your skills, though.

Re: Tim Cook explains why you don’t need a college degree to be successful

#19

Post by sthadevoos » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 1:44 PM UTC

Just curious, how does apple's recruiters shortlist people if they are not looking for college degrees. We need some criteria for sorting through the haystack..right? Or is it just a standard motivational talk which we just read ,feel good, nod our heads and move on?

Re: Tim Cook explains why you don’t need a college degree to be successful

#20

Post by bluedevil2k » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 1:45 PM UTC

jordache wrote: post #7

A lot of current jobs directly tied to some sort of college degrees will be automated out of existence in the near future.

This is a silly statement - I’d say a lot more jobs currently tied to NOT needing a college degree will be automated out of existence. Jobs that require creativity and critical thinking will be the ones that survive (I believe that’s the quote from the recent Last Week Tonight). Those tend to be college educated jobs.