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Ask HN: Is the Thiel Fellowship worth it?

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Re: Ask HN: Is the Thiel Fellowship worth it?

#51

Post by jonathan_mace »

semigroupoid wrote: post #46
sammydavis wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing that modern CS programs should give you is more insight into the engineering and craftsmanship side of programming. Also, I think most of techniques we use to build distributed systems today were built way after the 90s. Think of the all the stuff google invented, plus other significant systems paxos, etc. In the 70s they were trying to build scalable relational databases, now we can build things that scale…

The article introducing Paxos was first published in 1989.

I think he means the rise of commodity cluster computing, a la http://static.googleusercontent.com/media/research.google.co...

Re: Ask HN: Is the Thiel Fellowship worth it?

#52

Post by giaour »

ESRogs wrote: post #17
giaour wrote: post #13

Kind of, in the sense that fellows get a large check and few responsibilities. You have to drop out of college, but you can always reapply and return. Not really, in the sense that fellows are used as poster children for Thiel's vision of society. If you don't agree with the seasteader movement, you probably won't appreciate being a spokesperson for that worldview. If a different organization you disagreed with offer…

Are you really asked to be a spokesman for seasteading? Or are you just pointing out that fellows will find themselves associated with it

Fellows will find themselves associated with Thiel's political stances.

Re: Ask HN: Is the Thiel Fellowship worth it?

#53

Post by lostdog »

brian_cloutier wrote: post #29
traviswingo wrote: post #22

The Thiel fellowship is for individuals who have a clear idea what they want to do and how they are going to execute it. It's for those select few individuals who think school will only slow them down on their path to making a difference. If you're already second guessing if it's worth it or not, before you've even applied, you should take a step back and think about how important school really is to you and if you'r…

That is not true. I know multiple Thiel fellows who either don't have a definite goal or have wildly changed their goals since becoming a fellow. A bit of soul-searching seems to be encouraged. You also don't have to think college is a waste to think that being a Thiel fellow is better. You just have to think that a Thiel fellowship is better. That's not difficult, you're given some pretty incredible resources.

How has it turned out for them?

Re: Ask HN: Is the Thiel Fellowship worth it?

#54

Post by argonaut »

Harimwakairi wrote: post #20
jtmarmon wrote: post #11

Thiel Fellow here. The question is not whether or not you should take it, it's whether or not you should drop out. I had already dropped out when I took it so it was a no brainer for me. If you've already dropped out or decided to I don't even know why you're asking - at worst it's free money. If you're asking whether or not you should drop out, that's a pretty opinionated thing and depends entirely on your circumsta…

While I completely agree that attendance at a four-year university is overhyped as The Key to Success, the idea that "you can always go back to college" is flawed. While people do go back to school all the time, calling a multiyear timeout on making money is extremely difficult once you start acquiring real responsibilities, and working a real job while in school is no cakewalk. source: I dropped out, worked as an en…

It's not flawed at all. You can always go back to college if you want.

If you don't want to go back to college (because you don't judge it to be worth taking time off your career for)... yes, I suppose that will make going back to college rather difficult ;)

Re: Ask HN: Is the Thiel Fellowship worth it?

#55

Post by zachlatta »

dfield wrote: post #25

I cofounded Figma with the support of the Thiel Fellowship. It was definitely worth it to me, but dropping out of school is a very unique and personal decision. You should definitely apply and you should introspect deeply before taking it. BTW, some of the statements on this thread that "fellows are used as poster children for Thiel's vision of society" and equating taking the fellowship to becoming a "living cog in…

Chiming in as another participant in the Thiel Fellowship who's had a similar experience. Dylan's spot on.

Re: Ask HN: Is the Thiel Fellowship worth it?

#56

Post by SaaS_throwme »

jstandard wrote: post #50
SaaS_throwme wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but you should almost certainly apply Also, need to remember it adds up - YC, 500Startups, tech stars, etc. and then pondering about the results and then the sorrow phase after not being accepted. Weigh your trade offs.

If you can't deal with rejection or selling people on your idea/yourself, then entrepreneurship is likely not the right path for you. If it takes a few rejected applications to learn that, it is time well spent.

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. Dealing with rejections takes time, you get distracted, you get sad, it kills time which can be put in much better use.

You can deal with rejections, but that doesn't mean you have to deal with rejections.

You can use the time to make your product better. Someone famously said "Be so good, they can't ignore you", being mediocre and spending time in those activities is not very fruitful.

Re: Ask HN: Is the Thiel Fellowship worth it?

#57

Post by meric »

max_ wrote: post #36
hackuser wrote: post #30

Why not take advantage of college and all that you can learn there first? The chance won't come again to study the world ... not just IT but history, natural sciences, neuropsychology, literature ... and to do it surrounded by peers and with a faculty of experts to advise and teach you, and all those resources: Labs, libraries, etc. You can do startups later and will work for the rest of your life. Does the Thiel Fel…

I want to build a company, my course is 5 years, am already 20 and the age limit for application is 22. in case i wait, I do not think i have another chance of getting 100K like that again.

You're getting 100k around 6 years sooner, and your degree postponed indefinitely.

I did 5 year double degree in finance and software engineering finishing at 23. The education helped me gather $100+k by 26, (and looking like $200k by 27, unless I get fired and can't find a job for the rest of the year starting tomorrow).

If I could go back in time with a guaranteed ticket to be a Thiel Fellow I don't think I'd take it. The knowledge I learnt at my university is invaluable, and continues to be useful everyday.

Your experience may vary.

Re: Ask HN: Is the Thiel Fellowship worth it?

#58

Post by cableshaft »

Harimwakairi wrote: post #20
jtmarmon wrote: post #11

Thiel Fellow here. The question is not whether or not you should take it, it's whether or not you should drop out. I had already dropped out when I took it so it was a no brainer for me. If you've already dropped out or decided to I don't even know why you're asking - at worst it's free money. If you're asking whether or not you should drop out, that's a pretty opinionated thing and depends entirely on your circumsta…

While I completely agree that attendance at a four-year university is overhyped as The Key to Success, the idea that "you can always go back to college" is flawed. While people do go back to school all the time, calling a multiyear timeout on making money is extremely difficult once you start acquiring real responsibilities, and working a real job while in school is no cakewalk. source: I dropped out, worked as an en…

And another thing you might not consider if you drop out or delay college now: college tuition has been increasing really fast for well over a decade now, and it's not clear when that's going to stop.

I took an 8 year hiatus from school, and when I went back, tuition had doubled since the last time I attended. I ended up graduating with $25k in student loan debt, whereas if I had stuck it out the first time around it would have been a much more manageable $12k.

I wouldn't be anywhere near in as much debt right now if I had taken out loans and stuck with school the first time around.

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