Sam Altman has ‘chronic disappointment’ with MBA students. Here’s his advice for young job seekers

Sam Altman, a successful entrepreneur and former president of Y Combinator, expressed his disappointment with MBA students during an interview at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He believes that MBA students often gravitate towards established trends rather than venturing into uncharted territories, especially in the current era of AI.

He encourages young job seekers to embrace innovation and create new companies built on existing technologies like those developed by OpenAI, which he believes could lead to even bigger and more significant enterprises.

Despite acknowledging the potential for AI to disrupt the job market, Altman remains optimistic and dismisses the notion of a job apocalypse. He firmly believes that the widespread adoption of AI will not only replace certain tasks but also usher in a new era of work, making it an opportunity for job seekers. He advises them to position themselves at a time of unprecedented change and seize the most open playing field available.

Altman's own educational journey serves as a testament to the value of hands-on learning. After dropping out of Stanford University after two years of studying computer science, he founded Loopt and later OpenAI. He emphasizes that the startup experience offers an unparalleled and accelerated educational environment that surpasses traditional classroom learning.

He challenges the notion that an MBA is necessary for success, stating that one can acquire a comprehensive MBA worth of knowledge within a single month of working in a startup.