Google finds that STEM skills are not the most important skills

[originalamyj]

Hope this hasn't been posted already.

http://michiganfuture.org/01/2018/google...nt-skills/

[Bibby]

A large company like Google needs people with a variety of skillsets. Obviously, Google needs lots of developers, but they also need artists, technical writers, accountants, and salespeople.

Technical skills and the humanities are not mutually exclusive. If you're a developer, being a strong writer or knowing how to play the piano might actually make you better at your job. If you choose a liberal arts major, you'll be more marketable if you possess strong digital literacy skills - for example, knowing how to make a good PowerPoint presentation or do basic data analysis in Excel.

That said, if you're trying to get your foot in the door with an entry-level technical position at a more traditional company, those companies tend to hire for specific skills - like a deep knowledge of specific programming languages - rather than important but intangible skills like creativity and collaboration.

[clep3705]

It is more accurate to say that Google values soft skills in its bosses and managers more than their technical skills. This being true in no way invalidates the high value of STEM skills for the rank and file employees who are managed by those with better soft skills. Look at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/business/13hire.html which says the Google study isn't about employees, it is about the managers the employees report to. The people running the company need people skills. That shouldn't surprise anybody. Most people at Google are not bosses or managers. Who do you think has a better chance of getting hired at Google? A computer science major from Stanford who made all A's in artificial intelligence and stochastic inference courses or the anthropology major from State University who took math for liberal arts majors?

[cardiacclep]

It is more accurate to say that Google values soft skills in its bosses and managers more than their technical skills. This being true in no way invalidates the high value of STEM skills for the rank and file employees who are managed by those with better soft skills. Look at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/business/13hire.html which says the Google study isn't about employees, it is about the managers the employees report to. The people running the company need people skills. That shouldn't surprise anybody. Most people at Google are not bosses or managers. Who do you think has a better chance of getting hired at Google? A computer science major from Stanford who made all A's in artificial intelligence and stochastic inference courses or the anthropology major from State University who took math for liberal arts majors?

Exactly this. Every story needs context. Click bait article really.

[lady elektra]

I remember Mark Cuban was saying that with the saturation of STEM there is a need for people who can think abstractly. That is where Liberal Arts majors come in and that they will be more valuable in the years to come.

[Ideas]

I find it interesting that there is an MOOC trying to teach soft skills. https://www.edx.org/professional-certifi...oft-skills

[jsd]

I find it interesting that there is an MOOC trying to teach soft skills. https://www.edx.org/professional-certifi...oft-skills

Good. These skills are shockingly rare in the workforce somehow.