The host's framing of the shift

  • 2021: a CS degree "and a pulse" could land a ~$200K job at Google, making a ~$50,000 degree obviously worth it 6:14.
  • 2026: you can spend up to $200,000 on a bachelor's or master's and still graduate jobless for 6 months 6:14.

Eric's answer: it depends on what you expect to extract

Wrong framing — walk in, learn some Python, JavaScript, Java, walk out with a job. That is "not the right framing of what you're putting in and what you're expecting to get out" 6:14.

Right framing — use the degree for the meta skills 6:42:

  • Learning how to approach an open-ended project

  • Scoping it out

  • Learning how to talk to people

  • Learning how to define a set of requirements

  • College is "a unique opportunity … to have a lot of time to dial in on those meta skills that you wouldn't have otherwise" 6:42.

  • Note the alignment: these are exactly the skills that survive in the roles Eric predicts will grow — see 07 — Three Tech Jobs That Will Explode.