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.
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.
“Formulating what your investment thesis is, what the strategy is, what the risks with the approach are, what kinds of things you would be doing with it, are all greatly aided by the crispness of thinking that comes with philosophical training,” he added.
Similarly, Palantir CEO and cofounder Alex Karp got bachelor’s in philosophy from Haverford College, a JD from Stanford Law School and a PhD in neoclassical social theory from Goethe University in Frankfurt.
“There’s nothing that we did at Palantir in building our software company that’s in any MBA-made playbook. Not one,” he explained. “That’s why we have been doing so well.”
Karp revealed that “the single most valuable education I had for business” came at the Sigmund Freud Institute, a psychoanalysis research center, where he worked while getting his doctorate.
“You’d be surprised how much analysts talk about their patients. It’s disconcerting, actually. You just learn so much about how humans actually think,” he said, adding that he used that knowledge to help motivate his engineers.
“This design-driven approach has enabled a system of trust that allows strangers to live together, and created a unique business model that facilitates connection and belonging,” it says.
Here are some other Fortune 500 leaders who have less conventional educational backgrounds: