Tech companies cite the humanities as key for today's careers

"Companies such as Google are looking for people who are
smart and get things done from every possible background,
yet the humanities have a particular relevance."

Excerpt from The Times Higher Education article

"In a boldly titled talk at a conference at Stanford University last week, Damon Horowitz, director of engineering—and in-house philosopher—at Google, discussed the question of "Why you should quit your technology job and get a humanities PhD".

Dr Horowitz was one of several Silicon Valley executives exploring the theme at the BiblioTech conference, an event that united academics with entrepreneurs and senior managers from some of the world's leading high-tech companies.

For Marissa Mayer, who was the 20th employee taken on by Google and is now its vice-president of consumer products, the situation was clear: "We are going through a period of unbelievable growth and will be hiring about 6,000 people this year—and probably 4,000-5,000 from the humanities or liberal arts."

Companies such as Google were looking for 'people who are smart and get things done' from every possible background, she said, yet the humanities had a particular relevance."

MIT humanities graduate programs

MIT provides all undergraduates with a grounding in the humanities, arts and social sciences; the perspectives and the capacity for critical thinking and judgment cultivated by these disciplines are hallmarks of an MIT education.