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Replacing My Kid’s College Fund with a “Start Something” Fund

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Re: Replacing My Kid’s College Fund with a “Start Something” Fund

#81

Post by nyxtom »

This seems like a problem that could be solved by simply having business development classes in high school. Much like all other skills, there is a need to understand what it takes to run a business; manage budgets, invoice and some rudimentary things. You don't have to create some crazy big start-up, but these are skills that seem necessarily to understand before college. My sister started a therapy business after she was in college and there are basic skills that could of been taught in high school that would of better prepared things. I didn't come across business plan proposals and contingency plans until college but these are pretty straightforward things that could of been taught far earlier IMHO.

Once you have that in place, if not in the education system, then through parenting and after-school programs, then by the time college comes around the "decision to start a business" won't come with the unnecessary risk of not knowing how to run one.

Re: Replacing My Kid’s College Fund with a “Start Something” Fund

#82

Post by gragas »

goldfeld wrote: post #30

Sounds like a horrible idea full of assumptions and pressure, as opposed to offering an exploratory period of life that is college (socially and intellectually), a nice option for those who can afford it. Not everyone has to be coaxed into entrepreneurship, it's an evil of our consumerist age. Your kid would probably rather participate in society at large than in your suicidal runway idea of a romanticized youth of m…

>as opposed to offering an exploratory period of life that is college (socially and intellectually),

To me, college has been the opposite. Most people I know feel restricted to getting a 9-to-5 job and are very stressed about how much they will make compared to their peers.

Nearly all of the depressed people I know feel very restricted. They feel as though they cannot get out of their situation in life. I think this is only bolstered by the enormous debt and time investment that comes with going to college---one or two small decisions (perhaps going into economics rather than stats, or going into chemical engineering rather than computer science) can lead to major regrets a few years down the line. These people feel trapped and full of regret. They don't know what to do.

Stepping aside and exploring opportunities that don't funnel you through a massive rat-race can be the biggest relief.

Re: Replacing My Kid’s College Fund with a “Start Something” Fund

#83

Post by nylonstrung »

sanderjd wrote: post #62
stale2002 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is a small percentage of the population. Most people who went to college are not now working in an industry where a degree is literally required by law.

It is also not the most efficient way to achieve the required training for those jobs. We could have future doctors and lawyers go straight to trade schools focused solely on those professions, and likely shave a couple years off their total education. But most people in our society agree that we like our doctors and lawyers to have the breadth that an undergraduate degree is intended to provide.

Only in America.

In Europe, as I understand it, people generally study law right out of secondary school.

Re: Replacing My Kid’s College Fund with a “Start Something” Fund

#84

Post by bspn »

I find the title a little manufactured to be honest. He openly admits that if his kids decide they want to go to college then the fund will cover 4 years tuition, but if they decide to do something else then he'll fund that pursuit too. I think his open-mindedness is great as college isn't for everyone, but neither is entrepreneurialism. At the end of the day though, he's not really replacing anything but rather he's doing exactly what he was previously just with a different label.

Re: Replacing My Kid’s College Fund with a “Start Something” Fund

#85

Post by jchin »

I agree with the sentiment that college is not the only choice after high school and may not be the best place to cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit. However, I was surprised that after all the words used to describe how school was lacking in this particular direction, taking the kids out of school was not considered.

As some of the other commenters are suggesting, it may be too much of a jump to offer such a choice to the child at 18 if the child was not preparing for such an opportunity.

Homeschooling has its own critics and supporters and we don't need to get into that here. But my question is this: If he's going to trust his child to make a choice at 18, why not even earlier? How about 14? Or, in other words, why not have their education focus on learning how to make their own decisions as early as possible? And if school doesn't provide this for his children, should they be there?

Granted, the author doesn't outline what he plans on doing between now and the end of high school for his kids so maybe he is, in fact, preparing them for this decision. I just think that the decision would be too drastic to spring on an 18 year old who has had no preparation for it.

Re: Replacing My Kid’s College Fund with a “Start Something” Fund

#86

Post by Pamar »

RobbieStats wrote: post #41
goldfeld wrote: post #30

Sounds like a horrible idea full of assumptions and pressure, as opposed to offering an exploratory period of life that is college (socially and intellectually), a nice option for those who can afford it. Not everyone has to be coaxed into entrepreneurship, it's an evil of our consumerist age. Your kid would probably rather participate in society at large than in your suicidal runway idea of a romanticized youth of m…

I take it you didn't read the article. The whole point is to provide more options than the single track path that has dominated the post high school mindset, not to say they have to go one way or another. Plenty of great entrepreneurs start their company with little to no experience. Having done both, I think you can learn a lot more starting a company than you can at college.

I am not sure that "starting something" is a good idea when one of the two alternatives can be completed succesfully by applying yourself diligently (i.e. studying hard enough to pass with good grades) while the other can fail for any of a large number of reasons, mostly outside of your control.

I.e. if the author's son or daughter opts for starting a company, works hard and diligently, and after three years it goes bankrupt due to: - A competitor cuts them out of the market - New regulatory laws make the original idea unprofitable/untenable - A technical breakthrough makes the product unappealing

The boy/girl may have worked as hard as if they were in college, or even way harder. And after three years their company is in debt, they have nothing worth selling/salvaging, and they are 3 years late to go to college.

Also, it is not clear if the parent intends to provide something more than just seeding money. From the article it looks like that. Is this really so? Suppose that the "baby-entrepreneur" has a really dumb idea for a start-up, but they are "passionate" about this (how many 18-years old can be passionate about financially untenable ideas?). Will the author provide money even if he cannot see anything reasonable getting out of it? And after it has failed, will he have enough money to pay an equivalent sum for going back to college?

Re: Replacing My Kid’s College Fund with a “Start Something” Fund

#87

Post by Consultant32452 »

jchin wrote: post #85

I agree with the sentiment that college is not the only choice after high school and may not be the best place to cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit. However, I was surprised that after all the words used to describe how school was lacking in this particular direction, taking the kids out of school was not considered. As some of the other commenters are suggesting, it may be too much of a jump to offer such a choice…

You may be interested in a concept called "unschooling."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unschooling

Re: Replacing My Kid’s College Fund with a “Start Something” Fund

#88

Post by jchin »

learc83 wrote: post #37
bitJericho wrote: post #29

There's a third option. Self educate. Take 200,000. Buy all the tools and equipment you need to do what you love. Do what you love for 5 to 10 years and you'll have more than enough experience to be successful in your industry.

Almost no 18 year olds are self disciplined enough to do that without structure. That's the point of college. If you spend 5 years only playing your favorite parts of your favorite songs on a guitar, you're not going to be a good musician. Just like if you spend five years doing the fun parts of programming or engineering or history, you won't be a good programmer, engineer, or historian. College (or an apprenticeshi…

I would argue that "few people are capable of so on their own at that age" because they were never given the opportunity to learn and practice self-discipline at an earlier age. After all, the typical American schooling experience allows very little room for deviation from the same thing everyone else is doing.

If you started to self-direct at 13 (or earlier), you'd probably be pretty self-disciplined at 18.

Re: Replacing My Kid’s College Fund with a “Start Something” Fund

#89

Post by jchin »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #87
jchin wrote: post #85

I agree with the sentiment that college is not the only choice after high school and may not be the best place to cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit. However, I was surprised that after all the words used to describe how school was lacking in this particular direction, taking the kids out of school was not considered. As some of the other commenters are suggesting, it may be too much of a jump to offer such a choice…

You may be interested in a concept called "unschooling." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unschooling

Yes. Also, the discussions on John Taylor Gatto's work

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2381608

Re: Replacing My Kid’s College Fund with a “Start Something” Fund

#90

Post by sanderjd »

hanklazard wrote: post #64
sanderjd wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is also not the most efficient way to achieve the required training for those jobs. We could have future doctors and lawyers go straight to trade schools focused solely on those professions, and likely shave a couple years off their total education. But most people in our society agree that we like our doctors and lawyers to have the breadth that an undergraduate degree is intended to provide.

I don't really care if my thoracic surgeon has a strong grasp of microeconomics or 19th Century British Lit. I only care that s/he has good medical training and experience. Note: I'm a doctor.

You don't care but I do. This is how we set it up as a society. I think that's a good thing. You don't. Perhaps over time, if more people agree with you than me, things will change. I would be bummed by that, but so it goes. But it's not where we are today.

Edit: removed a second paragraph that I thought was dumb in retrospect.

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