Why You Can Trust CNET Bill Gates tells college students what careers he'd pursue today
Not plastics. Instead the Microsoft co-founder advises AI, energy and biosciences, and he also has a book recommendation.
Bill Gates has some advice for new college grads.
"Plastics" may have been the career byword for Benjamin Braddock back in "The Graduate," but things have changed 50 years later.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates tweeted out a stream of advice for new college graduates (and anyone else) on Monday, and though he referenced the "plastics" line, Gates has some different suggestions.
1/ New college grads often ask me for career advice. At the risk of sounding like this guy...https://t.co/C68mjJ5g44
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 15, 2017
2/ AI, energy, and biosciences are promising fields where you can make a huge impact. It's what I would do if starting out today.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 15, 2017
And then Gates delivered a bit of an online graduation speech, musing on what he's learned since his own college days (he famously dropped out of Harvard in the 1970s after two years).
3/ Looking back on when I left college, there are some things I wish I had known.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 15, 2017
4/ E.g. Intelligence takes many different forms. It is not one-dimensional. And not as important as I used to think.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 15, 2017
5/ I also have one big regret: When I left school, I knew little about the world's worst inequities. Took me decades to learn.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 15, 2017
6/ You know more than I did when I was your age. You can start fighting inequity, whether down the street or around the world, sooner.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 15, 2017
7/ Meanwhile, surround yourself with people who challenge you, teach you, and push you to be your best self. As @MelindaGates does for me.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 15, 2017
.@melindagates 8/ Like @WarrenBuffett I measure my happiness by whether people close to me are happy and love me, & by the difference I make for others.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 15, 2017
And Gates wrapped things up with a reading recommendation -- Steven Pinker's 2011 book "The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined."
.@melindagates @WarrenBuffett 9/ If I could give each of you a graduation present, it would be this--the most inspiring book I've ever read. pic.twitter.com/P67BuvpELJ
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 15, 2017
.@melindagates @WarrenBuffett 10/ @SAPinker shows how the world is getting better. Sounds crazy, but it's true. This is the most peaceful time in human history.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 15, 2017
.@melindagates @WarrenBuffett @sapinker 11/ That matters because if you think the world is getting better, you want to spread the progress to more people and places.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 15, 2017
.@melindagates @WarrenBuffett @sapinker 12/ It doesn't mean you ignore the serious problems we face. It just means you believe they can be solved.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 15, 2017
And then the billionaire got a little inspirational.
.@melindagates @WarrenBuffett @sapinker 13/ This is the core of my worldview. It sustains me in tough times and is the reason I love my work. I think it can do same for you.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 15, 2017
.@melindagates @WarrenBuffett @sapinker 14/ This is an amazing time to be alive. I hope you make the most of it.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 15, 2017
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