Ask HN: Is it worth $60k and four years?

#1

Post by cj » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 4:13 AM UTC

I'm a freshman at a university in Boston, and I'm stuck.

All I've ever wanted to be was an entrepreneur, to start a company, to have great ideas and execute on them. First I wanted to be the CEO of a big company. Then I discovered the world of startups, went to a couple TechCrunch conferences and fell in love with the startup culture. I started a couple pseudo-startups. More like projects, none too successful.

BUT -- I feel amazing when I'm working on a new web app or a startup idea. I'm longing for that experience again, but school is making it nearly impossible. I have 23 hours of class per week, a (non-paid) job in a research lab, and a ridiculous number of papers to write and studying to do.

It's a "3, choose 2" scenario: (1) Pursue my tech/startup passion, (2) do well in school, or (3) have a social life. Adderall would probably let me do 2.5 of these, but I'd rather avoid it.

Perhaps the problem is that I chose neuroscience as my major rather than comp sci or business related. I am legitimately interested in neuroscience and the related fields, but it's not the kind of tech I'm into. It probably could be, but not before years of schooling and long-term, low-impact research.

On top of all this, I don't see any entrepreneurial spirit at my school. I haven't met many people remotely interested in tech or startups (trying to fix that by starting a 'hackers & entrepreneurs' organization). I just don't know if this is worth $15k of debt per year.

In an ideal world I would find an internship that brought me to SF this summer, and then never leave. I'd love to take a leave of absence to work at a startup. Being a product guy probably makes that a lot harder.

I'm trying to avoid being in school for four years and hating it. I'm trying to avoid graduating with crazy debt while being forced to take a job that sucks but pays well.

Any advice would be amazing. It's not often that I feel beat down like this. I'm in this period of time where I can make decisions to completely change my life. It's an opportunity that I don't want to screw up.

Thank you.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth $60k and four years?

#2

Post by atgm » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 4:23 AM UTC

Why not change majors to something relevant to your goals that could help you? For example, go for a business major and an accounting minor, or something that seems completely unrelated but could be helpful, like History/Philosophy.

I don't know about your university, but mine was a great place to meet people and network; you never know who will be doing what or who will know what in the future. It's not all about the classrooms, for better or for worse.

Additionally, your professors, if you establish good relationship with them, can be great sources for both recommendations (for job applications) and also for advice/contacts in the future.

(I may have a biased perspective because $60,000 isn't even the cost of two years at my university, so it seems like a fairly low-cost investment.)

So basically, take your time, make connections, and prepare for what you know you want to do. It will probably pay off in the long run, despite the stories of people like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth $60k and four years?

#3

Post by BenSchaechter » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 5:24 AM UTC

As someone who felt the exact same thing as you going through school, I say just enjoy school if you can. I loathed school -- but looking back, I wish I had embraced it more. Not necessarily the academia -- but the atmosphere. Plus, your GPA doesn't matter at all -- especially if you're going into the startup world (at least it didn't for me). I got a job at a startup right out of school and have since started a company with a few others. What is meant to happen, happens, in my opinion.

I now look back and wished I had spent a bit more time forming relationships with people and doing stupid things while I still could. It gets much harder to meet people after college as well in my experience. Just hack in your spare time and keep building projects. If one really takes off -- go for it.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth $60k and four years?

#4

Post by mapster » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 5:30 AM UTC

It depends on how you view education, as simply a means to a financial end, or as a personal enrichment, a chance to learn and grow. Money isn't everything, there are many wonderful things to study, and who knows, maybe you combine your major and being an entrepreneur in a fulfilling way.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth $60k and four years?

#5

Post by deffibaugh » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 6:16 AM UTC

It depends on your school and what you are learning. My advice is to take classes that you want to learn and don't worry so much about finding a job with your degree. College should broaden your mind and introduce you to new ways of thinking. I made the mistake of majoring in an IT degree. Besides the obvious problem of it not being Computer Science, it is incredibly outdated. I wish that I would have done a liberal arts degree and worked on tech on the side. I have learned so much about myself, life, and what I value from taking classes like philosophy, literature, etc. I really wish I would have realized college was about more than getting a job earlier so I could have switched majors.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth $60k and four years?

#6

Post by kotrin » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 6:16 AM UTC

You could always do your entrepreneurial things you wish and go back to school later. Mind you, it gets tougher each year to go back. But really, what's from stopping you from doing what you want? There is no need to "fall in" to the norms. Do what you want. It's your life.

I will say, though, that you miss many opportunities if you choose to pass up on school. I would take the advice of others and pick a major you truly enjoy. College is for you. It is not high school. Please, do what makes you happy, not what makes your parents happy. You are now grown up. Welcome to the world of responsibility and decision making. It's fun. Enjoy :)

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth $60k and four years?

#7

Post by rbyrne » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 6:55 AM UTC

I, a Junior now at a University in NY, have often have felt the same way as you. I've never liked school too much and probably won't really pursue anything related to my major, but I don't regret my decision to stick with it at all, due to one aspect: People.

Let's face it, college is fun. You'll probably have some amazing times and make some incredible and long-lasting friends along the way. Don't skip out on that because you know eventually you want to start/work for a startup. You will probably always be able to start a company, but can never really go back to school and enjoy it in the same way you can now.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth $60k and four years?

#8

Post by blake8086 » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 7:21 AM UTC

Hopefully one day there will be a better alternative to college, but right now it's the easy way to just fall into a nice job without having to try very hard.

Unless you want to try very, very hard, college is the path of least resistance.

Also, because of that, you won't meet many ambitious people. Most peoples' ambitions don't lie very far beyond "be comfortable".

You will also literally never be surrounded by as many 18-22 year old girls in the entire rest of your life. That's opportunity you should think carefully about passing up.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth $60k and four years?

#9

Post by skrish » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 8:26 AM UTC

I think you'll find this article very relevant. http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/01/hindsights.html All the best.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth $60k and four years?

#10

Post by _wo6a » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 10:50 AM UTC

As a junior at a university outside Boston who has dealt with the same questions, here's my advice:

Personally (this may not be you), I would say drop the lab job unless you're really enjoying it or it's very clearly worth the time. You've got a lot going on for a freshman and you can always explore a lab job again later in your undergraduate career.

I don't worry too much about GPA. You're at a well known school with a good reputation. I don't know what your definition of "do well in school" is, but notwithstanding the unfortunate fact that your school seems to have significantly less grade inflation than similar schools (which is bad when employers are looking at your school and GPA and don't know what the average GPA is, and assume it's higher than it is), I don't believe that having a GPA in, say, the 95th+ percentile is worth the potentially 4-5x more time spent studying than for a GPA in the 50-75th percentile, depending on what classes you take. If you can do something noteworthy as a result of the freed up time, it will be more valuable to employers than a higher GPA. (Looking at your resumé, you are more than on your way already).

There's nothing wrong with neuroscience as a major, but I do advise taking a broad spectrum of classes to expand your horizons. I've learned a huge amount just by exploring the available information about interesting subjects that have only been introduced in my classes. I also extol the merit of taking lots of compsci classes, particularly because they will give you lots of practice programming, which will help you spend less time building your own projects in the long run. They will also expose you to important theoretical computer science ideas that, while not talked about every day in industry, can be indispensable. Taking an algorithms class will make you stop writing grossly inefficient code, for instance.

I'm doing nothing for the next month before I go abroad (besides finding and building my next project) -- let me know if you want to grab lunch or something.

You might want to attend http://developersdevelopersdevelopersdevelopers.org/.