LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky says degrees will matter less in the future workplace
LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky says college degrees will matter less in the AI era, as employers prioritise adaptability and skills over credentials.
As artificial intelligence continues to redefine job roles, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky has warned that college degrees will hold less weight in the future of work. Speaking during a fireside chat at the company’s San Francisco office, Roslansky said employers are already shifting focus from academic qualifications to adaptability and technological fluency.
“I think the mindset shift is probably the most exciting thing because my guess is that the future of work belongs not anymore to the people that have the fanciest degrees or went to the best colleges, but to the people who are adaptable, forward thinking, ready to learn, and ready to embrace these tools," the LinkedIn CEO said, as reported by Business Insider. “It really kind of opens up the playing field in a way that I think we've never seen before.”
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Do skills matter more than degrees?
Roslansky’s statement comes at a time when AI literacy has become one of the most sought-after skills among recruiters. It also aligns with a growing number of global business leaders questioning the traditional value of higher education.
According to a report by Fortune, Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters recently said his MBA was a “waste of time,” admitting that the skills he gained at Wharton have “degraded” as technology evolves. Even Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard dropout, has suggested that colleges are failing to prepare students for today’s fast-changing economy, saddling them instead with crushing debt.
“There’s going to have to be a reckoning,” Zuckerberg said earlier this year, adding that it’s no longer taboo to suggest that not everyone needs to go to college.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett has also shared a similar sentiment. In his 2025 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Buffett wrote that he never considers where a CEO candidate went to school, noting that success often comes from those without elite credentials.
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Will AI replace humans?
However, Roslansky doesn’t believe AI will replace humans outright. Instead, he predicts that people who embrace AI will replace those who don’t.
“Interpersonal skills are still valued, Roslansky said. "I believe that the human component to all of this is quite frankly going to be most people's secret weapon. So, empathy, communication, adaptability, being able to actually just have a conversation with someone. Don't forget the human skills. Those are critical to being successful in anything that you're trying to do moving forward,” he said.
