4 ms·

I'm asking myself why it's pertinent for an employer to know that their prospects are very, very young and I cannot think of any answer that isn't nefarious in

I'm asking myself why it's pertinent for an employer to know that their prospects are very, very young and I cannot think of any answer that isn't nefarious in nature. Especially seeing as this is popping up in the middle of a fairly large and seemingly effective labor advocacy movement. Beyond that, the premise seems flawed. Engineers do not function like athletes. They do not need to be prepared early for a peak that will occur in their twenties and may not last very long. Their performance cannot be easily plotted on a graph or measured deterministically and that's not for a lack of executives trying to do so for decades now. As far as I am concerned a sufficiently talented and motivated tech sector employee can achieve "LeBron" level distinction in their field even if they start in their thirties. I wish all the best for the teenagers involved, and I deeply hope that nobody exploits their potential lack of life or professional experience.

Eridrus 5y ago
I think this startup is the result of a tight labor market making employers look for less credentialed candidates, a general skepticism of credentials in the tech sector, and society's general fascination with "whiz kids". Similar to the Thiel Fellowship, but with a profit motive instead of a philanthropic one. I also think it indicates our education systems' general inability to handle kids who are significantly outside the norm, leading them to pursue their education outside of them. IMO these things that get kids to skip college is neither good nor bad, but depend a lot on these kids aspirations; if they want to go work in research, then that pipeline is still very much interested in credentials and a body of work (which is unsurprising, given how competitive it is), but if these kids are more interested in the engineering side of things in industry, then this is probably good for them. Though it's worth caveating that immigration systems are still exceptionally interested in credentials, so you can only really skip them if you're in the US already.

Eridrus 5y ago

I think this startup is the result of a tight labor market making employers look for less credentialed candidates, a general skepticism of credentials in the tech sector, and society's general fascination with "whiz kids". Similar to the Thiel Fellowship, but with a profit motive instead of a philanthropic one. I also think it indicates our education systems' general inability to handle kids who are significantly outside the norm, leading them to pursue their education outside of them. IMO these things that get kids to skip college is neither good nor bad, but depend a lot on these kids aspirations; if they want to go work in research, then that pipeline is still very much interested in credentials and a body of work (which is unsurprising, given how competitive it is), but if these kids are more interested in the engineering side of things in industry, then this is probably good for them. Though it's worth caveating that immigration systems are still exceptionally interested in credentials, so you can only really skip them if you're in the US already.