Why Bill Maher Is Wrong About College

Higher education isn’t broken; it’s evolving!

There’s a growing trend in America, a chorus of voices telling young people not to go to college. It’s an idea gaining traction from Silicon Valley to social media influencers who argue that higher education is obsolete in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). They claim you can learn anything online, build a business from your laptop, and bypass the debt and “woke” culture of universities altogether. It’s an appealing narrative, the myth of the self-taught genius who doesn’t need the system; but, for most people, it’s dangerous advice.

Even Bill Maher, someone I’ve admired for decades, has joined that chorus. As the longtime host of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, he’s made a career out of poking at society’s sacred cows. I saw his live show in Miami Beach in 2024 and had a great time, but when it comes to college, I believe he’s mistaken.

In his New Rule editorial on October 20, 2023, Maher told young people bluntly: “Don’t go to college.” He argued that universities have become overpriced indoctrination centers that burden students with debt while offering little real-world value. (Watch the segment here.) His frustration is understandable, but to tell an entire generation to skip college is not just misguided, it’s irresponsible.

Maher often conflates what happens outside the classroom with what happens inside it. The protests, politics, and performative activism he sees on campus have little to do with what actually happens in the classroom. Inside those rooms, students aren’t being indoctrinated; they’re learning to think critically, solve problems, and collaborate.

It’s also worth remembering that many of the world’s most transformative ideas were born in college, not outside it. Mark Zuckerberg came up with the idea for Facebook while he was a student at Harvard. The college environment gave him access to peers, networks, and inspiration that made the idea possible in the first place.

Maher’s critique that college is elitist, bloated, and increasingly irrelevant, has some truth in it. But it also misses the deeper point: higher education, at its best, isn’t about ideology or status. It’s about preparation for work, for citizenship, and for life. And yet, despite my admiration for him, I could not disagree more with his view on college.

Why College Mattered for Me

I was raised by a single mother who is an English professor and still teaches to this day. I was fortunate to grow up with one great parent who instilled in me a deep respect for education and the discipline that comes with it.

I’ll admit my bias: I’m a product of higher education. I hold two graduate degrees, including one from MIT, which for many students in finance, math, science, or engineering represents the pinnacle of opportunity. These fields demand rigorous training, mentorship, and discipline, things you can’t learn from YouTube tutorials or self-study. To dismiss the value of these institutions outright is to ignore the very ecosystem that fuels innovation and discovery.

I landed my first job at IBM through a connection made in college. The head of an engineering department (at IBM), who already had a degree in chemical engineering, returned to earn the same degree I was pursuing. That connection opened the door to IBM, where I learned how the world actually works.

That’s why I’m not a fan of the idea that students should jump straight into a startup after high school. My first company was eventually acquired by a public firm, Constant Contact. That never would’ve happened without the foundation I built through formal education and the experience I gained at IBM.

Coming right out of high school, it’s rare to learn how to manage expectations, resolve conflicts, and operate in a professional environment. Those lessons don’t come from isolation, startups, or generative AI, they come from time, mentorship, and real-world socialization. College offers that, and for today’s generation, it’s more important than ever.

What Maher Gets Wrong

Maher’s frustration with higher education is understandable. Tuition has exploded, bureaucracy has bloated, and cultural battles have crept into academia; however, those issues don’t define the classroom experience, especially in disciplines that build the future like finance, science, and engineering.

There’s a famous line in the movie Good Will Hunting where Will says, “You dropped a hundred and fifty grand on an education you could’ve got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library.” It’s a clever line, but it was never realistic. You can’t earn an engineering, medical, or science degree by reading a stack of books, then or now.

Today, you don’t need a library card to access information; you have access to the world’s knowledge in your pocket.* Information isn’t just cheap, it’s everywhere. Education isn’t about access to information; it’s about knowing what to do with it.

AI gives you answers; college gives you understanding.

The Benefits of College in Today’s World

1. Socialization matters. Many kids today, especially boys, are growing up isolated behind screens. Smartphones and social media have created a generation that connects digitally but struggles socially. Connectivity is not connection. College counteracts that. It provides structure, community, and in-person experiences that teach real communication, empathy, and teamwork. It’s where young people learn to live with others, build friendships, and find their footing as adults.

2. It’s where you grow up. College forces young people to manage their time, meet deadlines, and take responsibility for their actions. It’s often their first exposure to independence and accountability, learning how to balance freedom with discipline. Unlike the controlled environment of home or the endless distraction of digital life, college provides a space where students can experiment, fail safely, and mature into capable adults.

3. Networking is everything. As AI takes over more analytical and repetitive work, what will matter most are human traits like curiosity, adaptability, and emotional intelligence (EQ). College, at its best, cultivates EQ, the ability to understand others, manage yourself, and work through differences. It’s the human edge that machines can’t replicate.

Time vs. Scalability

I want to be clear because I don’t want to sound like a snob. I have enormous respect for people who work in the trades. I’ve used the same plumber for more than twenty-five years and couldn’t be more grateful for the work he does. It’s skilled, hands-on labor, that I neither have the ability nor the desire to do. I’m genuinely thankful that he does it, and does it so well.

He’s probably always made more than I on an hourly basis, and he deserves it. Now his grown son, is married and part of the business and likely earns the same. Together, they represent the backbone of skilled labor in America, which is indispensable.

But their story also highlights an important difference between professions built on time and materials and those built on leverage and scalability. Vocational work, whether plumbing, electrical, or even becoming a drone pilot, is critical to our economy. These careers are honorable and often well-paying, but they’re limited by the number of hours in a day. When the work stops, the income stops.

By contrast, when you build software or any scalable product, you’re not constrained by time or materials. A single idea, well executed, can reach millions. Higher education gave me the ability to create something that can grow, evolve, and even change the world, untethered from the limits of a workday.

And here’s the irony: as AI continues to reshape industries, many of these skilled trades will likely be the least disrupted. You can’t automate plumbing repairs, electrical work, or hands-on craftsmanship. These professions will remain vital precisely because they require physical skill, intuition, and human presence. These are the very things AI can’t replicate, at least not anytime soon. That’s why we need both paths: the scalable innovation that comes from education, and the enduring craftsmanship that keeps our world running.

College Isn’t Broken, It’s Evolving

The challenge for kids today, and it’s no small one, is figuring out which careers will survive the wave of AI. Every young person now faces a question that my generation never had to ask: Will my job even exist in ten years? That uncertainty makes the path forward more complicated than ever.

Maher’s cynicism comes from a real place: student debt, ideological drift, and overpriced degrees in fields with uncertain returns. The solution isn’t to abandon college, it’s to modernize it.

As AI and automation reshape work, the skills that will matter most are collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking, the deeply human abilities that machines can’t replicate. College cultivates those exact traits. It’s not just about what you know, but how you think, and how you respond when the world changes around you.

College isn’t obsolete; it’s unfinished. When done right, college isn’t a waste of time or money. It’s an incubator for imagination, discipline, and human connection. It’s the place where, for so many of us, life truly begins.

If I were an 18-year-old boy and someone handed me my current résumé, everything I’ve done and built some 30 years later, I would’ve thought, “This must belong to someone else.” That’s the beauty of college: You never know where it will take you. You go in with uncertainty and come out with direction and, along the way, that direction may change entirely as new opportunities appear. The path isn’t straight; it evolves with experience, curiosity, and timing.

College doesn’t just teach you how to work; it teaches you how to become.

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Editor’s note:

* My comment about not needing a library card wasn’t meant to diminish the importance of libraries. In fact, libraries remain one of the most vital public institutions we have providing access, community, and opportunity for everyone, regardless of means. My point was simply that information is now accessible in more ways than ever.