Google Has a Plan to Disrupt the College Degree | Hacker News Reader

Google Has a Plan to Disrupt the College Degree

inc.com

45 pointsAnon8420 comments

"We need new, accessible job-training solutions--from enhanced vocational programs to online education--to help America recover and rebuild."

Call me a cynic but part of me feels like this is really about helping Google lubricate the gears of their own recruiting pipeline.

I mean the oligopoly of labour markets globally (especially for tech) has really not changed and there is less VC cash out there to sate people who want to work for their own vision.

Cool. Google pays well, is a strong point on your CV, and these courses look like they will be cheap. I don't see the problem with that.

Perhaps university curriculum is "more geared" towards academician?

Yes yes I'm aware the aim of CS department is not to create practical software developers, though. Hmm...

I think they generally do OK in regard to practical training in the US. Assuming the student doesn't cheat their way past programming assignments.

Universities tend toward teaching long term fundamentals though, as opposed to hot technologies that just appeared and will be mostly gone or outsourced after the next bubble is over.

The world hasn't been the same since Google disrupted video games with Stadia.

In what way?

I think the OP meant it as sarcasm.

Oh I see lol.

The same way Allo revolutionized instant communication

I understand the idea behind having a fast track, but when it's only 6 months long, it feels like you're not meant to learn much other than about your tiny niche and then be stuck at Google [0]. I'm sure you can streamline college degrees to only focus on industry relevant topics, but I would be surprised if you could make a meaningful training program that is shorter than 2 years.

[0] Google has a lot of internal tools so it is entirely possible that once these people leave Google, they have to catch up on what the rest of the industry uses.

You're probably much better off taking one of the more established bootcamps. Many of them have direct connections to companies.

Google frequently cancels products like this so there is decent likelihood that you will be left high and dry if you go the Google route.

I don't think the job market at large are willing to absorb the graduates. Maybe Google's own pipeline but not the rest.

It's also too narrow of fields that are represented there.

They had a plan to disrupt the optical fiber scenario too not so long ago, IIRC. What happened to that?

Mixed success. For google it has been somewhat a failure but the business model for disrutpion was exported and a few companies have been able to take root.

A few weed like companies (resiliant but too small) have popped up to cover how the landscape never really changed.

Hope this plan comes true. Will close the gap in education inequalities. Colleges are mostly fluff classes anyway so with this plan, you get exactly what you pay for, not wasting money on pointless classes that won't get you a career.

lol was that udacity? If so, I don't think colleges will have to worry about competing with them.

The problem is not 'job training' but that there are actual jobs available. If google really wanted to lower unemployment they would use their capital to invest in new industries and their spread. Obviously it's not what they are talking about here and that's not their goal.

This sounds fascinating. Why didn't we have Google much earlier to teach us all how to replace a 3-4 year degree with 6 months of online course work.

Oh and they accept it for their own hiring. That's really good, except that Google, like many other big companies never gave a damn about education anyways. And that's a good thing, to be sure. But they still care about technical skill. So unless they are aiming the shotgun at their feet and teach people how to game their own interview process (which at least in case of Google is doubtful, since their process was quite elaborate a few years back), I just hope they offer these courses for free, because you ain't gonna get hired at Google with this. Seems more like a marketing stunt.

What? Google doesn't give a damn about education but they actually care so much they're lying about their commitment to hiring people from the degree curriculum it designed?

Tens of millions of people lack the financial means to afford four years of college. Unfortunately, a college degree (or at least a certain amount of university experience) is the de facto gateway to professional jobs in today’s world. A means to help people bootstrap themselves into an entry level position in a real career has to be seen as a positive.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com