Scott Johnson, the head of Yahoo, is going to lose his job because he “inflated his credentials” on his resume. Apparently he lied about earning a computer science degree. Now if shareholders want to get rid of him for his duplicity or even for poor performance as CEO, that’s their business, of course. But to suddenly say that he can’t do his job because he didn’t get the degree is preposterous.
A college degree is no guarantee that anyone will succeed in the business world–nor is its absence proof that someone will fail, as the Yahoo! exec’s career proves. It is merely an entry-level requirement in most white-collar fields these days–a crushingly expensive one for many folks. But the man will lose his position because he dishonestly transgressed the academic requirement, not because the lack of a degree proves he can’t do the job.
I wonder how many degrees are like that today–expensive, but not strictly necessary?
About Stan Guthrie
Stan Guthrie is an editor at large for Christianity Today magazine and for the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. His latest book is God's Story in 66 Verses. He also is author of All that Jesus Asks: How His Questions Can Teach and Transform Us, Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century, and A Concise Guide to Bible Prophecy. He is co-author of The Sacrament of Evangelism. Besides authoring, writing, and editing books, Stan is a literary agent, bringing together good authors, good books, and good publishers.
Stan writes the monthly Priorities colum for BreakPoint.org. He has appeared on National Public Radio's Tell Me More, WGN's Milt Rosenberg program, and many Christian shows, including The Eric Metaxas Show and Moody Radio's New Day Florida. A licensed minister and an inspirational speaker, he served as moderator for the Christian Book Expo panel discussion, Does the God of Christianity Exist, and What Difference Does It Make?
Scott Johnson, the head of Yahoo, is going to lose his job because he “inflated his credentials” on his resume. Apparently he lied about earning a computer science degree. Now if shareholders want to get rid of him for his duplicity or even for poor performance as CEO, that’s their business, of course. But to suddenly say that he can’t do his job because he didn’t get the degree is preposterous. 
