11–20 of 20 posts
I'm going to miss the people here, but my idea is more important to me than a degree.
You'll find out what's really important to you. There's no real benefit to waiting, unless your idea needs the knowledge from a degree to execute. Waiting will just delay the idea and you'd probably loose passion on it.
If you're still un-sure work parttime on your start up til' you have a prototype.
D
To echo the other comments here, what prevents you from working on your idea without dropping out? Is it the kind of project that requires 16 hour marathon hacking sessions every day for months on end?
Technically? Yes. Probably? No. If you ever "need" a degree, you probably failed at your startup and are looking for a job. It's going to be tough going back. Worse, you're going to be older and probably have greater financial obligations. I never dropped out of college, but I started working full-time halfway through and it's been very tough to keep myself motivated to finish. If I had left and hadn't had that momentum I doubt I would've gone back.
You don't need to drop out to do well. You just need to sacrifice some of your social life and television (and Facebook).
Ideas are cheap, and the future is long. Your idea will still exist in a year or two and there's plenty that can be done part-time until then. You may decide in the future to change careers, to have a kid, to go to grad school. Having a college degree will be an important foundation for wherever you decide to go. It will be much harder to come back and finish later.
Gates and Zuckerberg dropped out because success had already arrived. Just as a smart investor waits for a proof of concept before investing serious money, you should do the same with your personal capital.
One more note: College may be the last time you'll be able to pursue off-the-beaten path interests and understand more about yourself. Take an extra course in calligraphy, or advanced operating system design, or mythology, or history-- whatever passions or passing interests you have never had a chance to nurture. In addition to shoring up your tech background, you'll become a more well-rounded person, which (besides the intrinsic benefits) is something companies like to see when they hire. Give serendipity a chance to happen in the great mixing bowl and incubator that college is.
Good luck!
Finishing college is important precisely because it gives you some idea of what it's like to finish something difficult (or boring).
You will likely become just as disenchanted with your idea, or your startup, or your company, or whatever, as you are with academia once the going gets tough. And it will.
Looking back of it, you'll stop believing it was a waste of time, and in the scheme of things, a few more years is nothing. Stick it out.
> I feel confident that I could start a successful startup around the idea.
How confident and how successful? Many YC companies aren't ramen profitable. What makes you so positive that your startup is a sure thing?
I'm not saying you can't do it. I'm just saying there are a lot of smart, miserable people in the deadpool--and you should know why you're special. Make sure your strategy is solid, check your assumptions, check them again, and good luck.
> I can always come back and finish.
Are you positive you'd have enough money to pay the remainder of your tuition and that the admissions department would welcome you back?
(20 years old, like the other person)
Reasons for not dropping:
1) YOU have a HUGE MARKET. Who know's other college students better then you or myself? Market your product to your peers and use them as your test pilot. VALIDATE your ideas.
2)Also, if you've come up with various ideas and keep coming up with them then you won't miss out on anything. Sure things may change, but also ideas grow and you create new ones.
3) If you're in Washington, DC contact me.
I go to Babson College and run into similar situations to this everyday here. For those running something techie (which I assume considering we're on HN), I don't understand why people cannot balance school and work. Not to toot my own horn but I've been running a web design firm (pulling mid 5 figures this quarter for me), gotten a 3.3 GPA and built out a new product http://upout.com . You don't need to drop out to…
Cheers to you from Georgetown Univ!
-Almost went to Babson... =) Let me know if you're ever in DC, I don't have tech background (currently learning). However, if interested in bouncing ideas... I have PLENTY.