In conversation with Jim McCann at Techonomy25, Yang addressed the pressures facing young people—from a shifting job market and student debt to the hidden costs of everyday essentials. A longtime New Yorker and self-described Mets fan, Yang spoke candidly about the systems shaping opportunity today, especially for young people entering a workforce that is changing faster than the institutions meant to prepare them.
Much of the discussion centered on education and the growing disconnect between college and employment. Yang noted that advice once considered reliable, like studying computer science or becoming a coder, no longer guarantees job security. Increasingly, even highly trained graduates are struggling to find entry-level roles. He described hearing weekly from recent graduates who followed the prescribed path, accumulated significant debt, and now find themselves unable to secure interviews.
Rather than emphasizing specific majors, Yang argued that the most valuable outcomes of higher education are harder to quantify. Leadership experience, relationships, adaptability, and resilience matter more than coursework alone. He encouraged parents and grandparents to focus less on what their children study and more on who they become, including their ability to navigate setbacks, work in teams, and reinvent themselves across multiple careers.
Yang also acknowledged a harder truth. Not everyone can or should be an entrepreneur. While adaptability is essential, a large share of young people are still looking for stable on-ramps into the workforce. To address this, he floated the idea of subsidizing the hiring of young workers, particularly those in their early twenties, as a way to help companies build talent pipelines while acknowledging how dramatically entry-level opportunities have shifted.
The conversation then turned to Yang’s latest entrepreneurial venture, Noble Mobile, which he framed as a direct response to rising household costs. After examining where Americans spend their money, Yang focused on wireless service, an expense he described as significantly higher in the U.S. than in Europe, Australia, or Israel. The difference, he argued, functions like a hidden tax, driven largely by shareholder dividends rather than improved service.
Noble Mobile aims to address two pressures at once. First, it lowers the cost of mobile service, saving customers roughly $50 a month. Second, it changes how people interact with their phones. Customers receive cash back based on how much data they do not use, effectively getting paid to spend less time scrolling. According to Yang, users are already reducing their phone usage, drawn by the simple incentive of saving money.
For Yang, the throughline between education, employment, and mobile service is agency. Whether helping young people navigate a volatile job market or easing the financial strain of everyday bills, his focus remains on reducing friction and restoring a sense of control. Technology, in this framing, is not about disruption for its own sake, but about quietly improving the systems people rely on every day.
The session closed on a note of optimism. Noble Mobile is growing quickly, and Yang appears energized by building something tangible again. As McCann noted in his closing remarks, betting against Andrew Yang has not historically been a winning strategy.
Watch the full session here:
