you have really nailed it on the head. this whole thing is just propaganda by tim cook and apple to continue to exert influence over university and high school

you have really nailed it on the head. this whole thing is just propaganda by tim cook and apple to continue to exert influence over university and high school education in order to outsource training and commoditize software engineers. in their mind, they just want universities, and now high schools, to start pumping out people ready to start writing software for them without any investment on apple's part. the more of these people, the more they can skim the cream off the top and keep wages low or lower. as you say, there are very few companies left that are willing to properly train smart employees who may not have the background they need. it is very disappointing. this furthers the STEM myth, and it negatively affects other fields. let's say someone is interested in history. how are they supposed to feel comfortable with their decision to study history in university, if they are basically unhirable (in today's climate and for no good reason) afterwards? there is even pressure on actual STEM fields to learn software as well. the number one suggestion for mathematicians looking for a job is "learn to code". companies won't even hire mathematicians who don't already know how to code. it's so silly that companies can't say, oh, this person dedicated a lot of time to learning something i would probably struggle to or not be able to learn, but i won't hire them because they don't already know how to code, and i don't want to train them. that is the STEM myth. universities should not be job mills, but u.s. corporations are doing everything they can to make them into that. university should be about exploration and learning and doing and not about how to land your future company's ideal job for you.