Who includes their feet in a company head shot? This guy.
During a recent conference one of the world’s richest men/college dropouts Bill Gates revealed his thoughts on a traditional 4-year college degree saying they’re “hard to get” and place-based traditional college studies will be “five times less important than it is today” because “the self-motivated learner will be on the web. And there will be far less place-based [college] things…College — except for the parties — needs to be less place based.”
Did you hear that!? Bill Gates just said drop out!!!!! Woooooo hoooooo……………!!!
But seriously would you rather go to school online?
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financially…yes!
opportunity to meet many exotic type women…no!!
bill looks like fruity pebbles in that shot…not a good look homie!
but thanks for signing my microsoft certs!!
he’s right. for the bulk of people with undergraduate degrees (most of which confer little additional advantage in the job market) college is more of a cultural institution rather than a truly educational one.
coupled with a broken education system – college is actually a waste of money for a lot of attendees and is the prime source of debt for many young americans.
the guy with one year of vocational school and certifications under his belt is a better hire than the dude with a 4 year liberal arts degree in this economy.
…well said
Every time I think about college, I feel like the guy from the kanye west skit on the college dropout: “Whats gonna keep me warm at night? Thats right. My Degrees!“
I think it all depends. I’m an electrical engineer and I can’t see any engineering discipline [degree] being considered by an employeer unless it was from a traditional university any time soon.
i agree it depends on the discipline. I have a degree in computational mathematics – and much of it could have been completed remotely. I was on campus most of the time only cuz I played two sports.
hard science and engineerig disciplines have laboratory requirements that are probably difficult for telepresence to overcome but even that is changing.
so the reality is it’s the perception of what is necessary that is impeding the reality of what is actually more efficient. also to be fair, college isn’t just about who you let in – but defines by sharp relief who you keep out. Democratization of the college experience dilutes its social importance as a tool for social stratification.
I agree 100%.
If you are going into a professional career like Architecture, Engineering, Doctor, Lawyer, Nurse, and so forth then yes, you need a degree (and maybe an advanced one).
But anything else, no you don’t. You need experience. A library and a internet connection is all you need. Form a group, buy used books from college students, study with a college student, go to school AFTER you get job experience so you can PAY for school instead of borrow just for you to be in debt for the next 10+ years.
Be a go getter and go for yours. Study, train, become an entrepreneur not just in your own business, but as an employee, and you will be ok.
BGAS
Currently paying tens of thousands in student loans
Currently work with people who dont have a degree and earn the same as me
Was unemployed for 1.5 years AFTER getting a degree
Currently using what I learned in school to to start my own business
It’s sad but true. And I admit this as I prepare for my second year of grad school…
take it from me, only go to grad school for these reasons
1) Your job is paying for it
2) You want to start your own business
3) You already own your own business
4) You have a grant that pays for more than half… and your half only comes to 2-4 grand a semester
4 – a.) Only if you can afford 2-4K a semester to spend.
If you are going to “get a better job” or to “get a promotion”, then as of 2001 and beyond, you are making a bad move.
If you started already and only owe 10K, stop. if you owe more than 20K and will only take another 6-7K to finish, might as well keep going.
He sure has a point there, going to college now days doesn’t mean you will end up in a high position with the high above average salary now days
I believe that there are just certain social benefits to being in a real world class room type of setting. I absolutely kringe at the thought of computeres replacing real human interraction and our society becoming more socially isolated.
that seems to be whats happening more and more. sad.
welcome to my word of keystrokes and net jokes!!
u will suffer if u do not worship this!
HAHAHAHA!!
Easy to say when he is the richest…this doesn’t happen for everybody. I think some people need to experience college the dorm life, struggling, paying your dues. He can have all that. There are some majors that you ill need to go to school for period.
Bill gates lives in the jungle.
Of course all the black folks are gonna agree. Y’all can listen to this man if you want to. But most of us have been trying to make ends meet with half ass GED’s & HS diplomas for more than the past 10 years and we can see where it’s gotten us.
Online classes and degrees sound good and all but when you consider the fact that Bill Gates’ greatest accomplishments involved computers, it’s easy to understand that he may have a biased opinion. Computers may become more integrated in the college experience but I don’t see enrollment at Princeton, MIT, Yale, or Harvard decreasing anytime soon in favor of online college.
He could be RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve applied for some of the silliest jobs that REQUIRED a BA degree SMDH AND college degrees are becoming LESS & LESS important. So he’s both right & wrong!
Ok, he’s not saying college degrees will be worthless, he’s saying traditional methods of attaining one will change to include more online options and less classroom time. I don’t think for one second that he’s implying computers will replace colleges or that degrees will no longer be important. He may be a college drop out, but he’s not a fool.
I think college is completely cultural. Let’s consider the argument left by the electrical engineer. The people hiring electrical engineers just need people to get the job done, and peeps having graduated from a traditional university fit the bill. This does NOT preclude the idea that universities can’t cut out general education requirements that have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with electrical engineering. Seriously, how is studying the history of Oceania or (whatever culture) going to give you the edge to an employer who needs someone who just “fits the bill?” Exactly. Useless. I think for those careers that actually need education in an academic setting should continue to be “place-based”, but useless classes shouldn’t be required, because that’s a waste of money. Let’s FOCUS and try not to act like the aristocratic “I’m better than you” rich brats a lot of us descend from.