Canadian millionaire and Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary has dramatically changed his career advice for students, moving away from his previous strong endorsement of engineering degrees to championing content creation as the most lucrative path forward.
The Social Media Revelation
O'Leary recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his updated perspective on graduate education and career choices. The investor declared that the biggest paydays in 2025 will go to elite content creators who can effectively drive online sales while reducing customer acquisition costs for businesses.
"Ten years ago I said engineering was the only master's degree worth pursuing. Not anymore," O'Leary wrote in his social media post. "The fastest wage growth today is in creative storytelling across social media, people who can lower customer acquisition costs and increase ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) every single week."
From Engineering Advocate to Content Evangelist
This marks a significant departure from O'Leary's earlier position. Back in 2018, during a CNBC interview, the investor strongly urged students to pursue engineering as the most financially rewarding career path, praising engineers for their ability to transform patents into successful companies.
However, by 2020, O'Leary's perspective had already begun shifting. During an appearance on YouTuber Evan Carmichael's podcast, he acknowledged that his opinion had changed, pointing to social media content as the fastest-growing cost center across his portfolio of more than 50 companies.
The Measurable Impact of Storytelling
O'Leary emphasized that top content creators today are earning significantly more than traditional entry-level positions. "Those creators aren't making $25K... they're making $250K or $800K across multiple companies," he revealed in his post.
The investor explained this premium compensation by highlighting the measurable impact these creators deliver. "Why? Because they're measurable. Content is king, and the storytellers are winning," O'Leary added, underscoring how businesses can directly track the performance of content-driven campaigns.
In recent years, O'Leary has consistently argued that every business now requires an in-house media operation to effectively tell its story online and reduce acquisition costs through targeted campaigns. He positions storytelling as a critical skill in today's digital economy, where the ability to create engaging content directly translates to sales performance.
While championing content creation, O'Leary has maintained his skepticism about traditional postgraduate business education. He has previously stated that the primary value of an MBA lies in the professional network and work ethic it develops, rather than the credential itself.
