TRUE

Steve Jobs' adoptive parents did not have the educational credentials his biological mother had originally mandated for his adoption. His adoptive father, Paul Jobs, was a high school dropout who later served in the Coast Guard and worked as a mechanic. His adoptive mother, Clara Jobs, worked as a bookkeeper but never graduated from college. Jobs detailed these facts during his 2005 Stanford University commencement speech, noting that his biological mother, Joanne Schieble, initially refused to sign the final adoption papers upon discovering the couple's lack of degrees. Schieble only relented after Paul and Clara signed a formal pledge promising that Steve would eventually attend college. These biographical details are confirmed in Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography, which notes that Paul Jobs left high school during the Great Depression to work as a machinist before joining the military.