Episode 57 - Elon Musk & College Degrees
Is being “street smart” enough to earn a living these days? Or do you need a bachelor’s degree to not end up in an Amazon warehouse?
During an interview at SATELLITE, Elon Musk went on-record saying that he didn’t believe college was necessary. In his opinion, a degree shouldn’t be the hot item employers are looking for in skilled candidates. Nor is earning a degree necessary for someone seeking a good education. “You can learn anything you want for free,” Musk said. Then he went on to tell the crowd that Tesla isn’t looking to hire someone because they have a degree - they want people who have demonstrated exceptional ability, like Steve Jobs.
So today we’re putting Elon’s theory to the test. The Re-Engineered You’s going to answer, statistically, whether a degree is necessary to achieve success in today’s job market. How much more do you earn, on average, having various degrees? How many degree-holders actually work in fields related to their education? Is a degree necessary to do “the” job, or are jobs hiring graduates just because there are so many graduates floating around? And if college prices are getting so wildly out of control, and information is free online, then why are people still shelling out the big bucks to get a diploma?
By the end of the show we’ll also put Elon’s claim about not giving a damn about college degrees to the test. Todd and Joe will both fill out applications to become SpaceX astronauts. If we’re lucky, maybe next week we’ll have new show hosts!
History:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLbi6jGsVEk
https://savingjournalism.substack.com/p/i-talked-to-elon-musk-about-journalism
https://www.insidehook.com/article/history/errol-musk-elon-father-myths
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/061015/how-elon-musk-became-elon-musk.asp
https://evannex.com/blogs/news/tesla-is-just-one-of-many-companies-with-roots-in-paypal#:~:text=In%201999%2C%20Elon%20Musk%20founded,stop%20shop%E2%80%9D%20for%20financial%20services.&text=Confinity%20had%20developed%20a%20clever,payments%2C%20which%20it%20called%20PayPal.
https://www.spacex.com/careers/
Science:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/633660/unemployment-rate-of-recent-graduates-in-the-us/#:~:text=U.S.%20%2D%20unemployment%20rate%20of%20recent%20graduates%202016%2D2020&text=This%20statistic%20shows%20the%20unemployment,were%20unemployed%20in%20the%20U.S.