Google Has Been Hiring ‘Tons Of People’ Without College Degrees, Co-Founder Says ‘They Just Figure Things Out On Their Own In Some Weird Corner’ – AfroTech
Google has been hiring “tons” of workers without college degrees, according to its co-founder.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin is a Stanford University graduate who studied computer science, according to Fortune.
Various students have also flocked to pursue their college studies in that field, as they’ve been told it will provide a good salary. However, those promises have looked more bleak of late. Forbes notes that 170,000 undergraduates majored in the field in 2024, which was double that of a decade before, and that those students are now facing some of the highest unemployment rates (6.1%).
The outlet also points out that there aren’t many six-figure starting salaries in big tech anymore. And though AI has raised concerns for many graduates, Brin suggests, per Fortune, that it doesn’t mean people should steer clear of pursuing their studies.
“I wouldn’t go off and switch to comparative literature because you think the AI is good at coding,” he said, according to Fortune. “The AI is probably even better at comparative literature, just to be perfectly honest anyway.”
As it relates to hiring practices, Brim also admits that Google has “hired a lot of academic stars” but has also “hired tons of people who don’t have bachelor’s degrees.”
He added, “They just figure things out on their own in some weird corner.”
Fortune cited data from the Burning Glass Institute indicating that job postings requiring a college degree at Google decreased from 93% to 77% between 2017 and 2022. Google isn’t the only major company hiring more people without college degrees. This includes Microsoft, Apple, and Cisco.
“I don’t think necessarily because you go to an Ivy League school or have great grades it means you’re going to be a great worker or great person,” said JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told Fortune in 2024. “For many roles, skills matter far more than credentials. If you look at the skills of people, it is amazing how skilled people are in something, but it didn’t show up in their resume.”
To substantiate Dimon’s comments, a 2024 CNBC article revealed that the majority of JPMorgan Chase’s roles for “experienced hires,” 80% of those with full-time work experience, didn’t require a college degree.
