Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 123 posts

Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School

#21

Post by mgkimsal »

rumpelstiltskin wrote: post #11

There's just 2 problems with Vivek's position - a) Cost - In today's economic climate, I simply cannot justify an education that, on avg, costs over $100K. Especially when student loans are involved. b) Time - 4 yrs is an unnecessarily long amount of time for a bachelors degree, not to mention another 1-2 yrs for a masters. The opportunity cost of this time only compounds the first problem. Edit: Sorry, I should have…

So... get it done in 3. I know many people who did, and still managed to work their way through school without loans or with minimal loans.

3 years at NC State would cost you about $50k. Save up beforehand, work during school - it's doable. Hard, but doable.

Looking at Oakland (Michigan), where I went, it's now about $10k/year - 3 years accelerated would be under $40k FWICT.

Yes, that's not peanuts, but it's not the end of the world. Scholarships/grants/working during school - it's all doable.

I'm still shocked to find people getting in to 6 figure debt for college degrees. I just don't see the payback in most cases, and likely neither will those students. :/

Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School

#22

Post by mikeryan »

rumpelstiltskin wrote: post #11

There's just 2 problems with Vivek's position - a) Cost - In today's economic climate, I simply cannot justify an education that, on avg, costs over $100K. Especially when student loans are involved. b) Time - 4 yrs is an unnecessarily long amount of time for a bachelors degree, not to mention another 1-2 yrs for a masters. The opportunity cost of this time only compounds the first problem. Edit: Sorry, I should have…

I can kind of see the cost point - though most would argue that the lifetime earnings of someone with a college degree far outweigh a $100K investment.

But the time thing kind of bugs me. As driven as HN is this may be a minority position but I really don't believe you should be working (in a 9-5 career style job) between 18-24. I really don't care so much abou t college, but have fun, go out, date guys and girls, travel, there are so many things you should be doing at that age then starting a business and you'll end up better for it.

I didn't start my career until my late 20s and I don't regret that at all.

Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School

#23

Post by myoung8 »

He doesn't seem to realize that you can learn all those things they teach you in business school (finance, marketing, corporate law) as you go if you're a real entrepreneur. Sure, you might make a few mistakes early on, but there's no better way to learn.

Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School

#24

Post by nedwin »

I went back to finish by degree after a few years in the work force and while it has been tough it's definitely been rewarding.

It certainly hasn't stopped me pursuing the startup life and over the last three years I've worked on a bunch of startup projects with varying degrees of success.

Being a university student meant that I could open doors not normally open to me, getting access to mentors and market data that I wouldn't have if I was out in the open. It also meant that while I was switching between startups I could get away without being seen as flaky as I was still "just" a university student.

I'm now in a profitable startup that is growing incredibly fast but still studying, hoping to graduate in the middle of next year. People around me have said "why finish? surely you've proved you don't need university by now?" but from where I'm standing I have to finish.

I used to say "if I get to x revenue or if y deal happens then I'll drop out". But having hit a couple of those milestones I'm still there - I need to prove to myself that I can finish this.

Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School

#25

Post by kyro »

It's funny, because even people like Zuckerberg eventually had to pull in experts with extensive educational backgrounds to help in developing the company. And if you look at any billion dollar company, those with degrees have played and continue to play a critical role in said company's growth and success. While I do agree that with a field like computer science, real world experience rather than educational background may be far more valuable (read: Diaspora), I hope this mentality is limited to those within that demographic. This certainly does not apply to people pursuing medicine, law, finance, etc. Some of the comments go so far as to claim that higher education is this era's biggest scam, which is an extremely ignorant view. I attend medical school currently, and am certain that the value I gain from the plethora of resources available, from discussing cases with professors to sticking my hands in a cadaver, is significantly more than that I'd get out of watching a few videos online, or taking some dissection tutorial. And these resources aren't free.

Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School

#27

Post by dasil003 »

alain94040 wrote: post #5

It's really so much simpler... they are both right. While in college, start a startup! It's the optimal time of your life where taking such a risk is really no risk at all. If your idea takes-off, great, figure out what to do then . For everyone else, finish your degree and try again soon (you'll be that much more experienced).

I like your answer, though I was actually gonna say the opposite.

They're both wrong! First of all this aim high stuff is nonsense. Facebook did not start with the goal of toppling MySpace. Microsoft did not start with the goal of running on 95% of machines. Twitter did not start with the thought of becoming a billion dollar company. These companies get their through consistent cycles of ambition and execution. There's nothing particular about a "lifestyle" business other than that the ambition has waned. There's literally no business that exists that can not have ambitions and grow into a major corporation through a series of growth cycles. Likewise, there's no business plan for a billion dollar company that someone can draw up from day 1 and have it survive the market on its way to that size.

As for education, that's the qualification for knowing how to run a business? There's nothing about growing a business from nothing to 9 figures that a few years in the trenches of silicon valley won't teach you better than education. Sure higher ed can teach you a lot, and you can make a lot of connections, but there's nothing special about it, and in fact it doesn't really have the same culture that makes successful startups possible. My advice to anybody in college with a project as successful as Facebook was at the time Zuckerberg dropped out is, "yes, you should drop out too. You won't be the next Zuckerberg (that ship has sailed), but you'll likely meet with some success in the valley, and certainly you'll learn more about running a real business than you were going to finishing out school."

Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School

#29

Post by piguy314 »

amichail wrote: post #8

One problem with college is that you start to develop interests that are completely out of touch with what users want. The more educated you are, the less practical your startup ideas.

Depends on market segment. If you are trying to create a product for people in "fly-over country" then sure being more educated may prevent you from seeing things from their point of view, Walmart came from Arkansans after all... But most of the target audience for tech startups is in the first third of technology adoption curve which is dominated by educated and/or affluent and/or intelligent people.

Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School

#30

Post by rblion »

Not everyone is meant to learn within four walls and from dispassionate, jaded professors. In my view, the best way to learn about life and how to survive using your skills and talents is 'in the wild' or by autodidacticism aka 'learning by experimentation by day and reading classics by night'. Just be prepared for a lot of initial rejection and to have enough conviction to walk to Mordor in your bare feet. It will take a lot more effort but it will make you much greater in the end.

I am 20. I dropped out a semester before I was to transfer to Georgia Tech. I dropped out because I know the surest path to greatness is autodidacticism. It's the way da Vinci, Lincoln, Einstein, and Jobs/Wozniack did it. Being a bit more rebellious and more curious than most, it's the only method of learning that I have ever excelled with anyways. I taught myself to read and write at 3 watching Disney movies with captions. I have been reading a book a week since 5th grade. My dad got me into web design and development while I was in middle school. By the end of high school, I was already feeling jaded with our Industrial Age school system and decided to learn of the Cosmos by direct experience...

HOW I GOT A WORLD CLASS EDUCATION FOR FREE:

1. ) I worked for my older brother's bootstrapped startup (Myriann.com). I watched him build websites from scratch, close big deals while still in college, and manage a team of designers and developers from all over the world. He is profitable and on pace to retire within a few years (if he wanted).

2.) I took advantage of iTunes U, TED, my public library, and free lectures from MIT, Stanford, and Harvard. I read world classics, epic biographies, and all branches of science. I discovered myself by going deeper into all subjects to the root of where each came from and why each exists. I now have a deep passion to be an artist and a scientist for the rest of my life. I will remain a student the rest of my life and apply everything I learn to my work...

3.) MY WORK: I am building a startup by trial and error. I have attempted to launch a startup 7 times since I was 15. All of them have had little success or went up in flames. I learned from each attempt and kept asking, thinking, and creating. I am now on attempt #8 and will try to enter YC this fall. I have never applied before.

DON'T LET YOUR VOICE BE DROWNED BY DOGMA!!!!!!

Post reply on HN