{"id":7656,"date":"2025-11-12T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656"},"modified":"2026-02-02T15:14:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T15:14:07","slug":"as-gen-z-question-the-values-of-higher-ed-ceo-at-this-nearly-1-billion-company-says-its-silly-to-think-one-degree-will-be-enough-education-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656","title":{"rendered":"As Gen Z question the values of higher ed, CEO at this nearly $1 billion company says it\u2019s \u2018silly\u2019 to think one degree will be enough education for life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

That reality has reignited the long-standing debate between pursuing a degree and focusing solely on skills training. But according to Udemy<\/a> CEO Hugo Sarrazin, the two shouldn\u2019t be seen as opposites.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cohabitation. I think you start with a degree, there\u2019s a foundation that comes with a degree, but you need the skills to be relevant in the workplace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sarrazin added that it\u2019s \u201csilly to think\u201d that the education someone gets in their early twenties will set them up for life. Instead, lifelong learning must become the norm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to move to a world where there\u2019s ongoing, continuous evolution of the skills portfolio that one has to be adapted to the jobs that they want in the market that they\u2019re in,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

And while Sarrazin\u2019s comments may come as no surprise given he leads a nearly $1 billion company focused on skills training, he insists he wouldn\u2019t turn his back on higher education if he were a student today.<\/p>\n

After all, he has three degrees to his name\u2014including two from Stanford\u2014and no regrets. University, he said, taught him something that will never go out of style: \u201chow to think.\u201d<\/p>\n

The skills needed to succeed in an AI-driven world<\/h2>\n

As technology continues to evolve, so do the skills needed to stay relevant. According to Sarrazin, adaptive skills have become some of the most critical\u2014and underappreciated\u2014traits in the workplace.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Udemy\u2019s 2026 Global Learning & Skills Trends Report<\/em><\/a> highlights qualities such as judgment, curiosity, flexibility, and risk tolerance as key to thriving in the AI era.<\/p>\n

\u201cSkills development for AI readiness requires not just upskilling on the technical level or determining how to use it fluidly, in everyday use cases,\u201d the report said. \u201cIt requires the ability to ask the right questions, to know when to rely on AI (and when to press pause), and to foresee impacts beyond the immediate.\u201d<\/p>\n

LinkedIn\u2019s own data echoes<\/a> that sentiment, identifying AI literacy, conflict mitigation, adaptability, process optimization, and innovative thinking as the fastest-growing skills professionals should cultivate to get ahead.<\/p>\n

Degrees are still valuable<\/h2>\n

Even so, the value of higher education remains strong\u2014especially in the long run. An average bachelor\u2019s degree has a 682% lifetime return on investment, according to the Education Data Initiative<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It can take time to realize that return\u2014on average, about 11 years in the workforce to recoup the cost of a bachelor\u2019s degree\u2014but the long-term payoff is significant, opening doors to career advancement and higher earnings.<\/p>\n

Still, Sarrazin emphasizes that having the diploma alone isn\u2019t enough to guarantee success. What matters most is the ability to apply foundational knowledge to future challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201c[University] is a launching pad,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026Then, after that, we need to say, what do we do to prepare people to work and be successful? And I think skills become really, really, really important.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That reality has reignited the long-standing debate between pursuing a degree and focusing solely on skills training. But according to Udemy CEO Hugo Sarrazin, the two shouldn\u2019t be seen as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232,"featured_media":7657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[295,111,936,8543,3342,228,2265,830,424,8542,957],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nAs Gen Z question the values of higher ed, CEO at this nearly $1 billion company says it\u2019s \u2018silly\u2019 to think one degree will be enough education for life - Frisco Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Udemy CEO Hugo Sarrazin says the degrees vs. skills debate should be focused on \u201ccohabitation.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As Gen Z question the values of higher ed, CEO at this nearly $1 billion company says it\u2019s \u2018silly\u2019 to think one degree will be enough education for life - Frisco Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Udemy CEO Hugo Sarrazin says the degrees vs. skills debate should be focused on \u201ccohabitation.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Frisco Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-12T15:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-02T15:14:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2201969984-e1762542326170.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Preston Fore\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@FriscoTimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@FriscoTimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Preston Fore\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Preston Fore\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8c65a7147450d61fcb64cb4329a9dce5\"},\"headline\":\"As Gen Z question the values of higher ed, CEO at this nearly $1 billion company says it\u2019s \u2018silly\u2019 to think one degree will be enough education for life\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-12T15:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-02T15:14:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656\"},\"wordCount\":517,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2201969984-e1762542326170.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"billion\",\"CEO\",\"company\",\"degree\",\"education\",\"Gen\",\"Higher\",\"life\",\"question\",\"silly\",\"values\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656\",\"name\":\"As Gen Z question the values of higher ed, CEO at this nearly $1 billion company says it\u2019s \u2018silly\u2019 to think one degree will be enough education for life - Frisco Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2201969984-e1762542326170.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-12T15:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-02T15:14:07+00:00\",\"description\":\"Udemy CEO Hugo Sarrazin says the degrees vs. skills debate should be focused on \u201ccohabitation.\u201d\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2201969984-e1762542326170.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2201969984-e1762542326170.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"As Gen Z question the values of higher ed, CEO at this nearly $1 billion company says it\u2019s \u2018silly\u2019 to think one degree will be enough education for life\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/\",\"name\":\"Frisco Times\",\"description\":\"Your Gateway to San Francisco's Stories\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Frisco Times\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Frisco Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/FriscoTimes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/friscotimes\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8c65a7147450d61fcb64cb4329a9dce5\",\"name\":\"Preston Fore\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Preston Fore\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?author=232\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"As Gen Z question the values of higher ed, CEO at this nearly $1 billion company says it\u2019s \u2018silly\u2019 to think one degree will be enough education for life - Frisco Times","description":"Udemy CEO Hugo Sarrazin says the degrees vs. skills debate should be focused on \u201ccohabitation.\u201d","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"As Gen Z question the values of higher ed, CEO at this nearly $1 billion company says it\u2019s \u2018silly\u2019 to think one degree will be enough education for life - Frisco Times","og_description":"Udemy CEO Hugo Sarrazin says the degrees vs. skills debate should be focused on \u201ccohabitation.\u201d","og_url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656","og_site_name":"Frisco Times","article_published_time":"2025-11-12T15:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-02T15:14:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2201969984-e1762542326170.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Preston Fore","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@FriscoTimes","twitter_site":"@FriscoTimes","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Preston Fore","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656"},"author":{"name":"Preston Fore","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8c65a7147450d61fcb64cb4329a9dce5"},"headline":"As Gen Z question the values of higher ed, CEO at this nearly $1 billion company says it\u2019s \u2018silly\u2019 to think one degree will be enough education for life","datePublished":"2025-11-12T15:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-02T15:14:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656"},"wordCount":517,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2201969984-e1762542326170.jpg","keywords":["billion","CEO","company","degree","education","Gen","Higher","life","question","silly","values"],"articleSection":["Business"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656","name":"As Gen Z question the values of higher ed, CEO at this nearly $1 billion company says it\u2019s \u2018silly\u2019 to think one degree will be enough education for life - Frisco Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2201969984-e1762542326170.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-12T15:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-02T15:14:07+00:00","description":"Udemy CEO Hugo Sarrazin says the degrees vs. skills debate should be focused on \u201ccohabitation.\u201d","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2201969984-e1762542326170.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2201969984-e1762542326170.jpg","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7656#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"As Gen Z question the values of higher ed, CEO at this nearly $1 billion company says it\u2019s \u2018silly\u2019 to think one degree will be enough education for life"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/","name":"Frisco Times","description":"Your Gateway to San Francisco's Stories","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization","name":"Frisco Times","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Frisco Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/FriscoTimes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/friscotimes\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8c65a7147450d61fcb64cb4329a9dce5","name":"Preston Fore","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","caption":"Preston Fore"},"url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?author=232"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7656"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/232"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7656"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7658,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7656\/revisions\/7658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}