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Not entirely true. I met a few former Brigadier and Major Generals at high levels within amazon (you can consider that snark if you want). There's still a wall
by saosebastiao 9y ago
Not entirely true. I met a few former Brigadier and Major Generals at high levels within amazon (you can consider that snark if you want).
There's still a wall though at the VP/SVP level where advanced degrees basically become meaningless. You either need to be close friends/confidants with every single person above you (and by that, I mean across the board, not just direct reports), or you need to come from a C-level position from some other public company.
- patmcguire 9y agoI've heard the military thing about Amazon before. It's got more in common with the army than any other big tech company (so many people!). For the VP/SVP wall, high level decisions at big orgs are always bizarre, it's such a deeply unnatural job for a person to be doing.
- rjsw 9y agoDon't senior officers in the US military need advanced degrees anyway ?
- drharby 9y agoNo, technically, tho depending on service and specialty, can be a reason for not getting to lt.col. Just need to not be a dumbass for a majors board
- saosebastiao 9y agoSome can and do pursue advanced degrees, but of the handful of generals I've met, most don't. The most interesting exception was a brig who spent his entire career in SOCOM, most of which was literally on the ground with troops, weapon-in-hand. Of course his PhD and 4 post-docs were in Military Science and Military History. He got fired from Amazon for calling an SVP a cunt for not wanting to be seen working alongside wage employees. He went on to start a security contracting firm, which probably was a better fit for him anyway.
- yahna 9y agoDon't most people who make General hold advanced degrees?