Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is adding his voice to the ongoing debate about the value of college education—this time questioning whether traditional four-year institutions are truly equipping students for the modern workforce. In a recent conversation with comedian Theo Von, Zuckerberg reflected on his own experience at Harvard and offered a candid take on how higher education may be falling short in preparing young people for real-world jobs.
“I’m not sure that college is preparing people for the jobs that they need to have today,” Zuckerberg said in the interview. “There’s a big issue with that. And all the student debt that people are taking on—that’s a really big issue, too.”
Zuckerberg, who famously dropped out of Harvard in 2005 to focus on building Facebook, acknowledged that college can be a great personal and social experience. He credits the time he spent at Harvard as formative, not only for meeting key figures in his life—including his wife, Priscilla Chan, and several Facebook co-founders—but also for giving him time away from home to grow.
“I met a lot of the most important people in my life there,” he said, adding that both college and boarding school helped him ease into independence. “It was good to have that time before fully going out into the world.”
However, Zuckerberg stressed that the traditional path of attending college and graduating with a mountain of debt might not make sense for everyone—especially if the education doesn’t translate into career opportunities. “If it’s just a social experience, that’s one thing,” he said. “But if it’s not preparing you for the jobs you need and you’re starting off in this big hole, that’s not good.”
His comments come at a time when student debt continues to weigh heavily on graduates. According to CollegeBoard, the average debt for students who graduated in 2022-2023 was over $29,000. Meanwhile, recent graduates from Gen Z are entering a tough job market, with hiring slowdowns and layoffs especially affecting the tech and government sectors.
A 2024 Deloitte study found that about a third of Gen Z and millennials are choosing to forgo higher education altogether—citing high tuition costs and the increasing number of jobs that don’t require a degree as major factors.
Zuckerberg suggested that the idea of college as a one-size-fits-all solution may be outdated. “It’s sort of been this taboo thing to say—maybe not everyone needs to go to college,” he said. “But I think people are coming around to that idea more now than they were 10 years ago.”
He also weighed in on the changing nature of skills and technology, noting that many of the things he learned as a teenager are no longer relevant. While he sees value in teaching students how to understand and use new technology—like artificial intelligence—he believes that adaptability is key. “Technology changes a lot,” he said. “But there’s still value in understanding it.”
Despite his focus on practical skills and career readiness, Zuckerberg also spoke fondly of more traditional studies. “When I was in boarding school, I really liked studying Latin and Greek,” he said, noting that those subjects didn’t have much real-world application but were still enjoyable and enriching. “It’s not useful for any practical thing,” he admitted, “but it’s fun.”
Ultimately, Zuckerberg emphasized the importance of strong mentors and good teachers, regardless of the subject matter. He didn’t completely dismiss the value of college—but his comments highlight a growing sentiment that higher education may need to evolve to meet the demands of a rapidly shifting job market.