When faced with the dilemma, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates both opted to drop out of college to pursue other passions – the former to work on Apple and the latter on Microsoft.
Since then, this snippet of history has become a parable for success across the globe and probably the most cited example that you don’t need a college degree to achieve greatness.
Similarly to Jobs and Gates, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak didn’t finish his degree either – not the first time at least. After completing three years of college, Woz ditched school to work at Hewlett-Packard before eventually partnering up with Jobs to start Apple in 1976.
Less known is the fact that after his time at Apple, Woz went back to college in 1985 and graduated with a degree in Engineering the following year.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
In a recent interview with The Conversation, Woz opens up about his decision to go back to school and touches upon the importance of education for both children and adults. He also speculates about the future of online education and mulls over the best ways to teach kids how to code.
Woz additionally skips through a few other topics including the best programming languages to get started with as well as dealing with privacy in the digital age.
Having always struggled to find inspiration at school, I really enjoyed hearing the perspective of someone who can speak about education with as much depth and wisdom as Woz does.
While I’m not sure it would’ve made my university experience more enjoyable, I can certainly appreciate an opinion that doesn’t merely discuss school as a trampoline to success.
If you have 15 minutes to spare, check out the full interview in the section above or just click here.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.