The discovery that Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson has been claiming to have a Computer Science degree for years, and did not correct statements that identified him as an “engineer” is not surprising given the strong “cult of the engineer” that is prevalent in Silicon Valley.
Kara Swisher at All Things D:
In 2009 Interview, Yahoo CEO Does Not Deny He Has a CS Degree
… Moira Gunn asked him a direct question about his college degrees, specifically noting they were in accounting and computer science.
… “And that’s really the background that I have, and it started back in my college days, and I think that’s really the wonderful part of being an engineer is you think that way,” said Thompson.
Being an engineer in Silicon Valley is essential is you want to lead a tech company or if you want to raise money at a startup. Most VCs, and the majority of Angels will not invest in companies that don’t have tech “lead.”
Also, being an engineer doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have a Computer Science degree. Many top engineers are dropouts, many are self-taught, or took some computer science courses but majored in different subjects.
Mr Thompson clearly felt enormous pressure to play up his engineering credentials because that’s what’s rewarded in Silicon Valley. Yet it’s not academic credentials that mark success in Silicon Valley, it’s leadership and successful exits that matter the most.
Tom Foremski is the Editor and Founder of the popular and top-ranked news site Silicon Valley Watcher, reporting on business and culture of innovation. He is a former journalist at the Financial Times and in 2004, became the first journalist from a leading newspaper to resign and become a full-time journalist blogger.
Tom has been reporting on Silicon Valley and the US tech industry since 1984 and has been named as one of the top 50 (#28) most influential bloggers in Silicon Valley. His current focus is on the convergence of media and technology — the making of a new era for Silicon Valley. He also writes a column at ZDNET.
