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I've seen good candidates get turned away for not finishing college, and to that I have to ask would you turn away Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs? Many professio

by snorkel 14y ago

I've seen good candidates get turned away for not finishing college, and to that I have to ask would you turn away Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs? Many professions need to change their attitude about requiring college degrees.

EliRivers 14y ago
Is Zuckerberg a particularly skilled programmer? Is he some kind of business genius, churning out an endless string of sure-fire hits? Or did he get insanely lucky and cash in before it all fell apart?
- lincolnq 14y ago
  You ask this question in a way that suggests that you think he got insanely lucky, and that's it. Whereas I actually think he is a great businessman. (I also think he got lucky) He could have sold Facebook for billions of dollars at any point. If he felt like he was riding on luck, he should have expected his luck to run out at any moment in the last five years or so, and thus have a strong incentive to sell. So he was either being exceptionally irrational (stubborn, stupid, etc.) or he knows something you don't about the business he's in.
  - _delirium 14y ago
    I don't think the latter part follows: even if Facebook got big (and became worth billions) primarily through luck, it doesn't mean that the rational decision would be to assume it was only luck keeping it afloat thereafter. Once something's already big, it's a whole different game; now you're managing a large company with considerable assets and brand. Presumably at that point he also had lots of paid lawyers and staff advising him.
  - veyron 14y ago
    The "insanely lucky" part focuses more in initial traction and less on future actions. He got in at the right time in the right milieu. THAT part is luck. You take it as a foregone conclusion that the social revolution would happen, but its not clear when or how it would manifest. Later on, even if he made a misstep Facebook wouldn't blow up. If he tried deploying Beacon earlier on, for example, FB might not have proliferated. "He could have sold Facebook for billions of dollars at any point. If he felt like he was riding on luck, he should have expected his luck to run out at any moment in the last five years or so, and thus have a strong incentive to sell." That's true of many people, including the Digg people.
  - dean 14y ago
    Whatever else Zuckerberg is, the fact that he paid a billion dollars for Instagram, makes him a bad businessman.
7402 14y ago
For a job on my team? When we have to ship a product and have a deadline? Of course I'd turn them away. There's a difference between being an employee and being a founder. For a start, I'd want an employee who can work well with others, doesn't think they know everything, is responsible and isn't likely to quit before the project is done to start their own thing. Four years of college is longer than most of the projects I've worked on, but it can be an indicator that you can finish something you've started, even when there are bumps or low points or setbacks. One of the best programmers I helped hire and worked with had stopped going to college - so I'm certainly open to not making an absolute rule; but saying a college degree isn't everything is not the same as saying it doesn't mean anything.
- vacri 14y ago
  I just had a mental image of Jobs as a line employee at a perfomance review: "And really, why did you drop the prototype in the fishtank?"
yo-mf 14y ago
People need to stop holding up Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg as examples. Those are exceptional individuals, much in the same way that a Lebron James is an exceptional athlete. College is not necessarily the best use of their talents. In interviewing my fair share of candidates for technical roles, the most exceptionally talented people were well qualified regardless of educational background. For good or merely average candidates, college became a more significant differentiator. Those with a college CS background were able to convey basic computing concepts easily while those without struggled mightily. The differences were even more apparent when reviewing their code samples. College degrees are not necessarily an indicator of great talent or that someone will be a good employee. However, it at least insures that candidates have a knowledgebase of skills and a grasp of core concepts.
- randomdata 14y ago
  They are good examples because they show exceptional people exist. Given that they exist, there is a chance another one will be waiting in line to join your time. If you narrow your search, you are going to miss them.

by snorkel 14y ago

EliRivers 14y ago

Is Zuckerberg a particularly skilled programmer? Is he some kind of business genius, churning out an endless string of sure-fire hits? Or did he get insanely lucky and cash in before it all fell apart?

lincolnq 14y ago
You ask this question in a way that suggests that you think he got insanely lucky, and that's it. Whereas I actually think he is a great businessman. (I also think he got lucky) He could have sold Facebook for billions of dollars at any point. If he felt like he was riding on luck, he should have expected his luck to run out at any moment in the last five years or so, and thus have a strong incentive to sell. So he was either being exceptionally irrational (stubborn, stupid, etc.) or he knows something you don't about the business he's in.
- _delirium 14y ago
  I don't think the latter part follows: even if Facebook got big (and became worth billions) primarily through luck, it doesn't mean that the rational decision would be to assume it was only luck keeping it afloat thereafter. Once something's already big, it's a whole different game; now you're managing a large company with considerable assets and brand. Presumably at that point he also had lots of paid lawyers and staff advising him.
- veyron 14y ago
  The "insanely lucky" part focuses more in initial traction and less on future actions. He got in at the right time in the right milieu. THAT part is luck. You take it as a foregone conclusion that the social revolution would happen, but its not clear when or how it would manifest. Later on, even if he made a misstep Facebook wouldn't blow up. If he tried deploying Beacon earlier on, for example, FB might not have proliferated. "He could have sold Facebook for billions of dollars at any point. If he felt like he was riding on luck, he should have expected his luck to run out at any moment in the last five years or so, and thus have a strong incentive to sell." That's true of many people, including the Digg people.
- dean 14y ago
  Whatever else Zuckerberg is, the fact that he paid a billion dollars for Instagram, makes him a bad businessman.

7402 14y ago

For a job on my team? When we have to ship a product and have a deadline? Of course I'd turn them away. There's a difference between being an employee and being a founder. For a start, I'd want an employee who can work well with others, doesn't think they know everything, is responsible and isn't likely to quit before the project is done to start their own thing. Four years of college is longer than most of the projects I've worked on, but it can be an indicator that you can finish something you've started, even when there are bumps or low points or setbacks. One of the best programmers I helped hire and worked with had stopped going to college - so I'm certainly open to not making an absolute rule; but saying a college degree isn't everything is not the same as saying it doesn't mean anything.

vacri 14y ago
I just had a mental image of Jobs as a line employee at a perfomance review: "And really, why did you drop the prototype in the fishtank?"

yo-mf 14y ago

People need to stop holding up Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg as examples. Those are exceptional individuals, much in the same way that a Lebron James is an exceptional athlete. College is not necessarily the best use of their talents. In interviewing my fair share of candidates for technical roles, the most exceptionally talented people were well qualified regardless of educational background. For good or merely average candidates, college became a more significant differentiator. Those with a college CS background were able to convey basic computing concepts easily while those without struggled mightily. The differences were even more apparent when reviewing their code samples. College degrees are not necessarily an indicator of great talent or that someone will be a good employee. However, it at least insures that candidates have a knowledgebase of skills and a grasp of core concepts.

randomdata 14y ago
They are good examples because they show exceptional people exist. Given that they exist, there is a chance another one will be waiting in line to join your time. If you narrow your search, you are going to miss them.