For new college students, choosing a major can feel like a decision that shapes one’s life trajectory. But a degree in computer science is no guarantee that you’ll create the next billion-dollar startup, and a philosophy degree won’t necessarily keep you from starting a business.
The best and brightest CEOs in tech come from a wide-range of educational backgrounds.
Some of their chosen majors link up perfectly with what they ended up accomplishing, while others made decisions that might not immediately make sense to an outside observer.
But whether you major in International Studies like Bumble’s Whitney Wolfe, or Metallurgical Engineering like Google’s Sundar Pichai, there are plenty of ways to make it big in tech.
Take a look:
Reed Hastings — Netflix CEO
Getty
Alma Maters: Bowdoin University (B.A.), Stanford University (M.S.)
Majors: Mathematics (B.A.), Computer Science (M.S.)
Hastings deferred his college acceptance for one year to continue his summer job: selling vacuums door-to-door. While at Bowdoin, Hastings ran the Outing Club which organized climbing and canoeing trips.
Jack Ma — Alibaba CEO
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Alma Maters: Hangzhou Normal University (B.A.), Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business
Majors: English (B.A.), M.B.A.
Ma didn’t get into college on his first attempt. Or his second. Or even his third. In all, Jack Ma applied to college four separate times before he was accepted and got an English degree. Now, he is worth almost $ 30 billion.
James Park — FitBit CEO
Flickr/frf_kmeron
Alma Mater: Harvard University (dropped out)
Major: Computer Science
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