The higher education gospel according to Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg says colleges aren’t preparing students for today’s job market and higher education is in for a “reckoning.”
When, exactly, did “billionaire says” become a substitute for facts and evidence?
• The unemployment rate for people with less than a high school diploma is 6.2%;
• The unemployment rate for people with only a high school diploma is 4.1%;
• The unemployment rate for people with a bachelors degree or higher is 2.6%;
• In 2023, the median annual salary for a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree was approximately $60,000, while the median annual salary for a high school graduate was around $36,000.
The purpose of a college education isn’t job training, anyway. That’s what vocational schools and apprenticeships are for. You can get fake diploma documents made to reflect the education you already have.
Yes, you should ask yourself whether your goals after graduation will offset the opportunity cost of college, as well as the tuition burden of a private vs public college. But how you monetize the personal satisfaction of your life choices is up to you. Don’t be a Zuckerberg apostle. What matters is aligning your decisions with your long-term vision, not someone else’s shortcut to success. A degree might not guarantee wealth, but it can still open doors, build resilience, and provide a foundation that pays off in ways statistics don’t always capture.
Joel:
I was fortunate enough to have a father who worked as a tuckpointer. So I learned how to mic mortar, tie knots rig a scaffold, point bricks, etc. I worked summers with various crews. At Lane Tech High School, I took many of the shops learning how to draw plates (drafting), house framing, electric shop, wood shop, etc. All of these skills I picked up along the way to adulthood. Added to such car engine repair. I still carry some tools in my trunk. Each of my sons were equipped with such tools also.
Those were the basics of my growing up.
I believe it to still be important for young men and young women also to know some skills so they can be somewhat independent and for them to be equipped to do minor things. College is important. So are the basics.
@Bill,
I don’t disagree. What counts as a “skill” might differ. When I was in junior high, I got my ham radio license and built a transmitter and a receiver. In high school, I learned basic photography on yearbook staff. I taught myself how to cook. I taught myself to play guitar and banjo and even made some money performing. I’ve reupholstered furniture.
That said, I subscribe to the philosophy of my postdoc mentor: “Never do anything yourself that you can pay someone else to do, unless you enjoy it.”
The point of my post was to call out the mercenary theory of college education advocated by Zuckerberg. In addition to the personal benefits of a college education, I think society benefits when everyone can achieve their highest potential, whether or nat that involves college.
Joel:
I most definitely agree with the last two sentences. What I learned gave me a background in knowing when I was hearing being BS or maybe being over charged and asking questions.
I am also having a conversation with my sidekick. By the way, Ben our programmer received my message (in case you have not seen my email yet).
Zuck says that because he is a college dropout. Loser.
Dave:
Thank you for the clarification
With more context the quote is:
A lot of nuance in this subject.
My daughter is graduating without debt because her grandfather paid most of the costs. Her career goals may never get her that $24K differential.
I googled “what is the average student loan debt of a harvard graduate”. If the AI response is accurate, the $18K average should be a non-issue with a payback period of less than one year. Except, the response indicates that only 16 percent of Harvard grads carry debt, so “average” and “typical” may be very different.
My observation is that although capitalists depend on healthy well-educated workers and customers, they are not willing to invest. Putting on my systems engineering cap, I conclude that we need a mechanism to move more corporate profits into social investment.
@Arne,
LOL! Well, those are two very different things. College could be preparing people for jobs and yet be too expensive, and college could be much less expensive without necessarily preparing people for jobs.
Setting aside the mission question, the cost of a four-year college education varies widely. It’s possible to get your first two years done at a community college, then transfer to a state university to graduate. That’s much cheaper than four years at a private university. That said, you also have to be wary of the top-line tuition quoted. Universities inflate that number because parents think expensive colleges must be better. In fact, most American students get discounts from the top-line rate–it’s mostly foreign students who pay full tuition.
I’d like to see all Americans who can benefit from a college education have access to a college education.
The drawback to college being a ‘training’ for a job is that you would have to repeat that several times over your life (and depending on what your degree is in , it may need to be repeated every 5-8 years over and over again). My father was a math professor, and he didn’t think that college was a training program or work, as every business is different, with what thet want or need). but in the last few decades, I have noticed that business isn’t investing in training for their employees)
David:
I retired after companies quit doing much for employees although they would still pay for college.
I am ancient and the military paid for my education. I took calculus and other courses which would help lay a technical foundation for me, When the great recession hit in Michigan, we were able to take courses which were paid for by the state and feds. I spent six months getting a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. I passed the test. I am also a CPM and CPIM. I was trained to be a surveyor during my remaining months in the Corps. Getting a BA and MA put me on the road to success.
I do not believe they do much of this anymore, Student loans are not cheap and they are cut-throat.
I have noticed in my last years at work, that employers don’t invest in much if any training for the employees. I guess they expect the employees to pay for it instead of them.
For some companies, it’s a profit center.