The Value of a Liberal Arts Degree in the Tech World

If you’re looking for a job in tech; whether it’s programming, developing or project managing, but worry that your liberal arts or other non-computer science degree is holding you back, stop worrying! A spate of recent research and publications shows the notion that every programmer needs a computer science degree is unfounded.

In his new book, “You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Power of a “Useless” Liberal Arts Education,”  George Anders says Silicon Valley is discovering that having a liberal arts background makes people incredibly valuable to software companies. Sure, you need coders and developers, but you also need employees who can connect with customers and understand what end users want.

Even some tech workers regret not learning the “soft skills” a liberal arts degree would offer. Tracy Chou, a software engineer (formerly Quora and Pinterest) and co-founder of Project Include, recently wrote she “wish(es) that I had strived for a proper liberal arts education. That I’d absorbed lessons about how to identify and interrogate privilege, power structures, structural inequality, and injustice.” Chou says she worries the “builders of technology today are people like me; people haven’t spent anywhere near enough time thinking about these larger questions of what it is that we are building, and what the implications are for the world.”

And consider the fact that many leaders in the industry, such as tech titans like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of college before earning a degree. Clearly, that didn’t hold any of them back from pursuing their passion and building hugely successful companies.

Still not convinced?  Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg studied economics, PayPal Co-Founder Peter Thiel studied Philosophy and Law, and Pinterest Founder Ben Slibermann studied Political Science. The founder of Slack, which most tech companies use for messaging and communicating, was founded by a Philosophy major. Chances are they’re all looking to hire employees with as diverse a background as they have.

With technology evolving at hyper speed, we also need to consider who will be programming the tech of the future. While close to a decade ago, Microsoft founder Bill Gates argued that holding a liberal arts degree didn’t necessarily lead to jobs or job creation, that outlook seems to have shifted drastically in recent years.

In their new book, “The Future Computed,” Microsoft president Brad Smith and Harry Shum, EVP of AI and Research argue that "one of the most important conclusions" of Microsoft's research into artificial intelligence shows a need for more liberal arts majors in tech. They think that while AI will require that even more people specialize in digital skills and data science, the future involves more than just (STEM) science, technology, engineering, and math.

"Skilling-up for an AI-powered world involves more than [STEM]. As computers behave more like humans, the social sciences and humanities will become even more important. Languages, art, history, economics, ethics, philosophy, psychology, and human development courses can teach critical, philosophical and ethics-based skills that will be instrumental in the development and management of AI solutions."

They argue that while AI “will help improve daily life in many ways and help solve big societal problems, we can’t afford to look to this future with uncritical eyes.”

In order to make the most of the technology, “teams developing new uses for AI with human parity will need to include members with both engineering and liberal arts backgrounds. And both sides will need to know aspects of the other, as well.”

Others who study hiring in the tech industry agree: Scott Hartley, a venture capitalist and startup advisor, argues in his book “The Fuzzy and the Techie” that Silicon Valley’s obsession with STEM studies is “at odds” with what he saw as an investor. He believes liberal arts are a complement to technology, not a substitute. Hartley studied political science at Stanford, and thinks to be successful, all students need to learn elements of both backgrounds.

“Whether you’re an engineer who has never taken a philosophy or literature class, join a book club. And if you’re somebody who loves English literature or psychology, take a night class where you have to deal with Excel or data science.”

We want to hear you think; what’s your educational background and did it help or hurt you in your job search? Would you hire a candidate with a liberal arts or social sciences background?

In part 2 of this series, we’ll look at what’s really going on in the hiring world. We talked to dozens of companies and developers to find out if a computer science degree is a prerequisite for a job in tech. Stay tuned.