61–70 of 110 posts
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> People like Sergey Brin & Larry Page will drop out, with or without Thiel's investment. That is probably precisely the part that Thiel disagrees with you about. Who knows how many would-be Brins and Pages couldn't afford the risk?
Risk adverse people aren't generally successful at founding startups.
Reminder: People who think of themselves as getting prestige from their college education may view something that challenges the prestige of college as an attack on their hard-won status. Reminder 2: College is broken. It needs challenging.
As an example, when I was in college, I received a grant from the Kauffman Foundation( 1 ) to pursue an idea myself and some friends had for a new type of 3-d visualization device. In the end we determined our idea was infeasible as a commercial technology (technical limitations based on our design), but through an arrangement between the Foundation and my college, we were able to work on the prototype and still receive credit so that all of us graduated on time (we were required to use the prototype and lessons learned as a senior project, paper and presentation, along with intermediate documentation to prove we were progressing and continuing our education).
Had we been forced to drop out, we would have failed and not even had a degree to show for it. Had we chosen to drop out, it would have been our decision based on our belief in the idea, instead of as a requirement for pursuing it.
( 1 ) http://www.kauffman.org/about-foundation/foundation-overview...
[edit] formatting.
We started with zero online presence and are now able to run Groupon-like social marketing campaigns and gross around $20k in a week. These are good numbers for a B&M business. Especially useful skillset for a business with narrow margins and notoriously low profits.
I did this instead of try to transfer from a city college to a UC.
Seems like two years running such a business is a bit more educational and resume boosting than getting a degree. I am technical but do not have the discipline to study technical majors or really teach myself enough of a language to build something. I can make minor tweaks and know enough to work with devs.
I don't feel like I'd be half as far along with my 'career' if I'd chosen school over life.
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Your point is well taken but I'd offer one caveat which is the people in Reminder #1 are a big part of the problem that creates Reminder #2. I recently attended a meeting between educators and future California Governor Jerry Brown. At that meeting I watched a woman with a doctorate in English scream at the future (and former) Mayor of California because he was telling her they'd have to cut her six figure salary. Ev…
My bet is that her expertise in English is vast and noteworthy. I don't deify the degree, but I certainly deify the accomplishment of earning a PhD. The fact that as an English PhD she was able to even get a job, much less a high paying one certainly implies that she's an expert in her field. I'm not arguing about her pay, that's up to the market. However, the condescending tone of your post shows that you have zero…
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Counterpoint: First off, I don't have a college degree. I have something like 102 hours, so I'm a year'ish short. That said, I'm always a bit wary of hiring folks who don't have (at least) a liberal arts education of some kind. I don't really care about the computer science, engineering, physics part of the degree. I care about the part of college that prepares you to learn. I care about the breadth of experience tha…
I'd be wary of hiring a college drop-out simply because college can be a filter for stick-to-it-ness. Only a very few college drop-outs do so because they can do better elsewhere; the majority do it because they've failed. And they don't believe that can get back on their feet. I came close to dropping out, but I'm really glad I didn't- because managing to come back showed me that effort really matters and that I hav…
Never looked back and never regretted it.
Do what you love and the money will follow.
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College isn't broken, it's just not for everyone. I don't regret my 4 years one bit, it was the best period of my life. I had some amazing social and educational experiences that I wouldn't have received had I not attended - who knew religion and geology could be so interesting? Most importantly I received a CS degree which helped me transition into the real world and be successful today. You may feel it was a waste…
The point is there's nothing you get from college that you couldn't get for free somewhere else (Internet for info and Industry gatherings for social aspects). College puts it together in a nice, easy to digest package but they vastly over charge for it. The college model is still based around a philosophy from the 1800s when they were the sole providers of information.
I'm not saying school doesn't help you think. But for many it seems to inhibit their ability to act independently.
And for many today, there's too much analysis and not enough experimentation.
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I'd be wary of hiring a college drop-out simply because college can be a filter for stick-to-it-ness. Only a very few college drop-outs do so because they can do better elsewhere; the majority do it because they've failed. And they don't believe that can get back on their feet. I came close to dropping out, but I'm really glad I didn't- because managing to come back showed me that effort really matters and that I hav…
If I'm not passionate about something I have a hard time investing in it. I never was captivated by college. When they stopped paying me I left. Never looked back and never regretted it. Do what you love and the money will follow.
I also find it hard to believe that there was absolutely nothing of interest to you in college, given the pretty broad range of choices.
Reminder: People who think of themselves as getting prestige from their college education may view something that challenges the prestige of college as an attack on their hard-won status. Reminder 2: College is broken. It needs challenging.
If it's hard-hitting enough for you to post as a rebuttal, it's hard-hitting enough for you to explain your reasoning for. I had a useful, fulfilling, transformative college experience that challenged my preconceptions and taught me how to reason and appreciate complexity; I will readily admit to the financial privilege I enjoyed going in, but I couldn't have done it without financial aid and I knew plenty of other people who went in with much weaker financial backgrounds than me who did just fine (i.e. without debilitating debt afterwards).
So please, explain to me how "college is broken". I don't mind challenging it, and I would certainly agree on an anecdotal basis at least that some colleges and external systems surrounding them are broken (e.g. SAT), but asserting "college is broken" without further explanation isn't a meaningful challenge--it's a provocation, and one I will gladly take.