If you just got a degree in medieval studies, then congratulations. But if you’re not going to pursue that subject further in grad school, then you may be wondering how useful it is in today’s job market.
Buyer’s remorse for new college graduates is nothing new. But those entering the workforce now are facing a slowing economy, high uncertainty among businesses amid President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and AI eliminating many entry-level jobs.
A deep dive into the leadership of the Fortune 500 shows that many, many, many, many CEOs did indeed get a bachelor’s degree in business or a master’s degree in business administration. Also, tech bosses often have engineering degrees, finance chiefs have economics or accounting degrees, and pharmaceutical CEOs have medical degrees.
But there’s still hope. For those looking to climb the ladder in Corporate America, the path to success doesn’t always run through business school. Some top CEOs studied subjects that have nothing to do with their industries.
A notable example is LinkedIn cofounder and founding CEO Reid Hoffman, who has a bachelor’s in “symbolic systems” from Stanford University, which says it integrates computer science, linguistics, math, philosophy, psychology, and statistics. He then got a master’s degree in philosophy from Oxford University.
