the first thing every kid needs to learn is opportunity cost. the second is very basic finance and how compounding interest works. after that a lot of the decision process will naturally fall into place by itself.
Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
11–20 of 69 posts
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#12Students: You are probably not Mark Zuckerberg, so pay $200,000 to put up with old-fashioned syllabi and badly-designed courses employing poor methods of evaluation and professors who do their best to make feel as mediocre as possible!
Those that can do, those that can't, teach, and those that can't teach get tenure.
If this guy was an econ professor at least he would know he was just talking his book. You don't need a symposium on entrepreneurship you need to sell stuff at a higher price than you bought it to paying customers. Thats it, it's a sentence not a 2 year degree program.
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#13Wasn't Zuckerberg given this same advice, that he wasn't the guy who founded Friendster, and should just stay in school? Should a business fail can't you just go back to school? How many great business opportunities does one get in life? I'm betting it's far less than the opportunities to blow two hundred grand on a piece of paper.
If professors knew what business ideas would succeed and which would fail then they'd be investing instead of teaching.
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#14One commonality between many successful dropouts like Zuckerberg and Gates is that they dropped out to do something specific, not because they were too lazy or undisciplined to finish. Had the right opportunity not come along, I suspect many celebrity dropouts would have cruised to graduation.
That's an interesting point (re: doing something specific) which applies not just to college students. The truth is once you have clarity and vision, what ever it is you are doing seems like poor usage of your time. Having said, it's not easy arrive at that kind of clarity or vision.
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#15One commonality between many successful dropouts like Zuckerberg and Gates is that they dropped out to do something specific, not because they were too lazy or undisciplined to finish. Had the right opportunity not come along, I suspect many celebrity dropouts would have cruised to graduation.
Of course a lot of students who are lazy and undisciplined do not think that they are lazy and undisciplined
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#16Those students are probably not Zuckerberg too.
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#17I am a complete proponent of pursuing an undergraduate degree at a traditional school. The constant networking, opportunities to round yourself as an individual from field experts, and development of general life skills are nearly invaluable to become a successful leader.
MBA's are a different story.
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#18Students: You are probably not Mark Zuckerberg, so pay $200,000 to put up with old-fashioned syllabi and badly-designed courses employing poor methods of evaluation and professors who do their best to make feel as mediocre as possible!
Amen.
Whereas graduate studies in certain disciplines can help advance your career, the basic undergraduate curriculum has become increasingly useless. Work experience is what counts for more than anything. Ideally you would attend a reasonably priced institution with good teachers and be given enough time to explore independent projects - business ideas or artistic pursuits depending on what your interests in life are.
For tech, something like Y Combinator, sponsored by the University perhaps, should be a part of every campus scene and students should be given the time to launch projects on the side. Many will fail, but the lessons learned will still be invaluable in life.
This is how we will remain an economic powerhouse and create the next generation of leaders.
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#19You're probably not Mark Zuckerburg, so find your own passion.
And think twice about exhortations to follow in the footsteps of the masses too.
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#20Students: You are probably not Mark Zuckerberg, so pay $200,000 to put up with old-fashioned syllabi and badly-designed courses employing poor methods of evaluation and professors who do their best to make feel as mediocre as possible!
It does rather depends where you are - there is a fair amount of outrage in the UK because Oxford and Cambridge have said that they may increase their fees to £9000 a year.
[Edit: £9000 is the fee for EU citizens, probably a good bit more for anyone else]