Is college still worth it? What tech execs are telling their kids.

As a first-generation college student, my diploma meant the world to me, even before I had it in hand. Being the first in my family to obtain a degree wasn't just a personal achievement; it was a ticket to a more secure financial future.

Fifteen years later, with my college loans only recently paid off, I sometimes think a lot about the value of that degree, versus its costs. It turns out that questioning is becoming more and more common. Last year, only one-third of Americans agreed that a four-year college degree is worth its cost because it leads to better job prospects, according to an NBC News Poll.

The boom in artificial intelligence (AI) is contributing to college skepticism, too. A recent Gallup poll found that 47% of current college students have considered changing their major due to AI (and 16% have actually made the change).

With so much in flux about the future of higher education, I reached out to nine tech CEOs and execs to hear how they're talking with their own kids about college. Nearly all of them agreed that college remains important — but not for the reasons you might think.

Go to college, but not for a particular job

Entrepreneur Matt Blumberg has two children in college (studying business and psychology), and one who's a junior in high school. Blumberg, the CEO of Markup AI, says he encouraged all of them to get a degree, but "not for the reasons my parents' generation would have given."

"College does not have to funnel you directly into a particular job, especially in a world where that job might not exist in five years," he explains.

Many tech leaders shared this sentiment. Stephen Upstone, CEO and founder of LoopMe, encourages his three kids (23, 21, and 17) to go to college to "get independence as adults, develop reasoning, and make friends for life."

Ali Kashani, co-founder and CEO of Serve Robotics, will have two children in college, come the fall. The value for them, he says, isn't just the degree.

"It's where you learn how to learn, how to think critically, how to work hard, and how to become an independent adult," Kashani said. "It's also where many people build some of their most important, lifelong relationships."

Gain skills that are valuable in a changing workforce

Greg Brown, CEO of Illumia, sees the value in college for his 16- and 18-year-olds. But he's encouraged his own kids and others to avoid a too-narrow course of study, since that could weaken their career prospects.

Instead, a college education is best used to hone communication skills, critical thinking, judgment, and adaptability, according to Brown.

"When I discuss it with my children, I frame it less as a box to check and more as an opportunity to build capabilities that will stay valuable for decades," he says.

Blumberg agrees, saying he hopes his kids use college to build skills computers can't replicate, including having nuanced conversations with people who think differently. In that way, he says a college degree offers the chance to "become someone who can learn anything, adapt to anything, and lead through change."

Don't shy away from AI

Kashani and other CEOs say they're encouraging their children to incorporate AI into their college education.

"AI is going to shape nearly every industry, and having fluency in that space will be incredibly valuable," he said.

Tim Sheehan, co-founder and CEO of Greenlight, is helping his 17-year-old college-bound son learn AI tools.

"We bought him a ChatGPT Plus subscription because we've found it to be helpful in explaining, step-by-step, how to solve complex problems in his physics and advanced math classes," Sheehan says. "When it's used the right way and with guardrails, it can really support how he learns."

He emphasizes that his son should use AI to further his education, not detract from it.

"AI is a tool to help him learn; it should not do the thinking for him," Sheehan says. "If he's just copying answers, he's not actually learning, and that's something we make sure to reinforce at home."

College remains key for many

Doug Hughes, CEO of Codio, says that obtaining a college degree is a "core expectation" for his 10-year-old son, Jackson.

"College remains the most proven path to the type of life and opportunity he is seeking," Hughes says. While Jackson is too young to have a specific career path in mind, he's interested in aviation, so Hughes has discussed different educational paths that could lead to a career in commercial aviation, including military colleges.

Justice Eroline, chief technology officer at the software development firm BairesDev, knows it's possible to be successful without a college degree — but he still thinks that's the exception, not the rule. Because of that, he's encouraging his children, ages 12, 10, and 8, to pursue a degree.

"While I think my kids are exceptional," he says, "I don't want to plan for exceptions."

Fostering hands-on skills

Amy Kopelman, founder and CEO of Pathlitics, wants her 16-year-old daughter to know that a four-year degree is just one of many viable options after high school. She's helping her daughter gather real-world experience by volunteering in preschools and working with young children.

That allows Kopelman's daughter "to lean into her strengths with hands-on work and passion caring for others," Kopelman says. "It exposes her to the actual work to see if she has continued interest long-term. Not to mention, we feel it's unlikely that AI will take over caring for young children."

Calculating value based on connections

Dan Ye, co-founder and CEO of CollegeNode, says that the value of college "depends entirely on the institution."

He wouldn't encourage his sons (3 and 11) to study Shakespeare in college, as he did. He'd rather see them study business or engineering: "fields that teach my sons how to think."

Now and in the future, even more of the value associated with a college degree will come from the networking that takes place on campus, Ye says.

"The act of putting a group of ambitious young people together and showering them with new ideas has a lot of value, both to the students and to society," he says. And yet, "Unless they can get into a top-30 university, I'm not sure it's worth the investment of their time.

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