Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest man with a net worth of $242 billion, recently reignited the debate over the value of traditional education. On X, Musk shared a video from a Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump support event in Philadelphia, where he declared that "college is overrated." The billionaire emphasised that many students accumulate debt during their college years without acquiring practical skills.
Musk, who holds degrees in physics and economics, stressed that success isn't dependent on a four-year college degree. Instead, he advocated for the importance of skilled trades, asserting that hands-on professions like electricians, plumbers, and carpenters play a more vital role in career development than certain academic degrees.
"I think the value of a college education is somewhat overweighted. Too many people spend four years, accumulate a ton of debt and often don't have useful skills that they can apply afterwards. I have a lot of respect for people who work with their hands and we need electricians and plumbers and carpenters and that's a lot more important than having incremental political science majors. I think we should not have this idea that in order to be successful you need a four-year college degree,'' he said.
Watch the video here
Notably, Elon Musk has consistently voiced his scepticism towards traditional education. In 2019, he sparked debate by tweeting that a college degree is not required to work at his automotive and energy company, Tesla. Expanding on this idea at the 2020 Satellite Conference, Musk stated that college is not necessary for learning, emphasising that most information is now freely available. ''You don't need college to learn stuff. Everything is available basically for free,'' he said.
While acknowledging the social benefits of college, Musk believes it's not the only path to knowledge acquisition. ''I think colleges are basically for fun and to prove you can do your chores. But they're not for learning," he added.
His stance sparked conversation on X about the relevance of traditional education in today's fast-paced world. One user wrote, ''College degrees have their place, but college isn't for everyone. The whole system has been watered down and has made it high school 2.0 for a lot of people.''
A second user said, ''Nothing wrong with a 4-year degree, but it shouldn't cost so much. Quality, inexpensive, online degrees are the way to go, combined with internships to get hands-on experience.''
''College & advanced degrees is not for everyone. But I wonder how many of the six-figure plus jobs at Tesla, SpaceX & XAI are earned by employees who never attended college or attained advanced degrees,'' a third stated. ''I agree with this a hundred per cent. The majority walk away with a degree and end up in a line of work that has nothing to do with their education and just went into debt. The few can make something of themselves,'' wrote a fourth.
Musk's views are also shared by fellow tech moguls, such as Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai who prioritise skills and hands-on experience over conventional academic credentials.
