Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, speaking on the podcast This Past Weekend with Theo Von, expressed concerns about the escalating costs of college education and its failure to prepare students for today’s job market.
Highlighting the burden of student debt, Zuckerberg noted, “College is just so expensive for so many people and then you graduate, and you are in debt.”
He questioned the return on investment, stating that students are not guaranteed employment post-graduation and often start their careers in a “big financial hole.”
Zuckerberg said, "I am not sure that college is preparing people for the jobs that they need to have today. I think that there's a big issue on that, and all the student debt issues are...really big."
He added, "...college is just so expensive for so many people and then you graduate, and you are in debt."
Colleges not preparing students for jobs
Zuckerberg argued that the current college system is not equipping students with modern job requirements. “I am not sure that college is preparing people for the jobs that they need to have today,” he said.
"There's going to have to be a reckoning...and people are going to have to figure out whether that makes sense. It's sort of been this taboo thing to say, 'Maybe not everyone needs to go to college,' because there are a lot of jobs that don't require that...People are probably coming around to that opinion a little more now than maybe like 10 years ago," he added.
College may not (completely) be the path to success
Having recently funded two tuition-free schools for low-income families, Zuckerberg emphasised that college may not be the only path to success. He also acknowledged the social and personal growth aspects of college.
Although Zuckerberg, a Harvard dropout who launched the social media platform, Facebook from his dorm room, emphasised that college remained valuable in building lasting relationships.
He highlighted the importance of relationships formed during his time at university, including meeting his wife, Priscilla, his company co-founders, and close friends. “For me, the classes were fine… but I met a lot of people who were really important in my life,” he said, weighing on the social and networking aspects of college that contribute to academic excellence.
