It’s really easy to forget that the only reason you have these swathes of free time is because your life is funded by a student loan (which is usually the cheapest credit you’ll ever get in your life).
Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup
41–50 of 60 posts
Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup
#42Stop thinking about "doing a startup" and start thinking about "starting a business".
That's like saying stop thinking about eating an apple and start thinking about eating fruit. Startups are a proper subset of businesses. It's up to each individual what type he or she wants to start.
That's like saying stop thinking about eating an apple and start thinking about eating fruit.
It seems to me more like "stop thinking about eating durian and start thinking about eating fruit" -- true, one is a type of the other, but it's a wildly unusual type and certainly not one which is to everyone's taste.
Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup
#43There is a reason the average age of successful first-time startup entrepreneurs is something like 35. And this is something I only learned in retrospect, having precocious talent for being at the right place at the right time in my 20s and never really capitalizing on it. Yes, there are outlier cases but really successful startups tend to be led by people that already have a few iterations under their belt. Experien…
Your whole point is based on the "35 year-old" static. That being said, if you don't link to the resource you are getting that data from; your argument is likely not going that far.
I dropped for two years, and experience was the main bottleneck (though I thought I had a lot of experience when I did). I'd be interested to confirm that.
Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup
#44If you are not American, do not drop out. You will have issues obtaining a US work visa without a uni degree, i.e. you cannot go to Silicon Valley, i.e. you will be at a disadvantage.
Does it matter if I have a Uni. degree in Medical Studies and I'm applying for an engineering position? (say a Front-End developer)
Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup
#45In my early 20s. Dropped out of college to get "real world experience." In retrospect, the thought of having blocks of free time to pursue whatever I want is very appealing. For now I am stuck doing 40+ hour workweeks and trying to cram side projects in on nights and weekends. I wish I were back in college.
Could you elaborate more how college would have benefited you more now? Many people with college degrees are wearing your shoes.
Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup
#46In my early 20s. Dropped out of college to get "real world experience." In retrospect, the thought of having blocks of free time to pursue whatever I want is very appealing. For now I am stuck doing 40+ hour workweeks and trying to cram side projects in on nights and weekends. I wish I were back in college.
Could you elaborate more how college would have benefited you more now? Many people with college degrees are wearing your shoes.
I think in particular, I would/could have benefited more from the increased number of opportunities for free time and flexibility:
* No longer have seasonal breaks outside of the odd vacation time.
* Can't cram work into only a couple days a week as I am expected to show up every day.
* In college, you can skip classes that you already know the material for and only show up for tests (i.e. do the minimum possible to maintain a good grade). With work, you are expected to be 100% productive every single day. There is no chance to get ahead: If you run out of work to do, you are given more, or more will be created for you.
This mostly assumes that you're already very smart and while in college you are financially supported via loans or scholarships, but if you're attending Stanford, MIT, or Harvard, you probably meet both criteria.
It's not that I want a college degree. I want to be financially supported while having (more) time to work on the cool things I want to work on, which is actually the same reason I want to run my own company. College is one such example that provides that opportunity.
Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Choice is liberating. I find it to be overwhelming. I am routinely contacted by people asking if I am looking for work, and what they are doing seems like it could be an amazing experience, but you get comfortable in your six figure job that you love and taking the risk on something new is a huge decision. Like, "should you divorce your wife to date the interesting new girl you met?" kind of huge. I did not have th…
> I am routinely contacted by people asking if I am looking for work, and what they are doing seems like it could be an amazing experience, but you get comfortable in your six figure job that you love One percent (of developers) problems.
25% of the North American population are college educated. Based on the previous poster, I would assume at least 25% of the population have to deal with it. In fact, they probably have it worse given the more opportunities than I have access to.
Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your startup can fail at any time before people give two shits about it (and most do, quite quickly), but a good degree from a quality university will stay with you for life. Actually it'll stay with you for your first entry-level job, after which people will simply stop asking when/where you went to school.
No, College degree matters. In fact in many cases your resume may not even pass through the filters if you don't have college degree on it. People seriously need to think before dropping out. What do you plan to do, if your start up folds up? Which is a very likely scenario given how many start ups fold up. You can do the start up thing anytime. But going to college has always been a young mans game.
In fact in many cases your resume may not even pass through the filters if you don't have college degree on it.
If you want to be a doctor or lawyer, sure. If you want to work in technology, I've never met anyone who cares. In hindsight, I believe you can optimize your path for your career which often would not include college, but admittedly it is difficult to see that path as a youth, which I suppose could make college a good default.
Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup
#49If you are not American, do not drop out. You will have issues obtaining a US work visa without a uni degree, i.e. you cannot go to Silicon Valley, i.e. you will be at a disadvantage.
On the flip-side, if your reason for going to SV is to look for riches, the composition of the top 1%, according to Gallup, is comprised of:
23% college graduates
27% college dropouts, or less
49% post-graduates
Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Could you elaborate more how college would have benefited you more now? Many people with college degrees are wearing your shoes.
I think in particular, I would/could have benefited more from the increased number of opportunities for free time and flexibility: * No longer have seasonal breaks outside of the odd vacation time. * Can't cram work into only a couple days a week as I am expected to show up every day. * In college, you can skip classes that you already know the material for and only show up for tests (i.e. do the minimum possible to…
Why not try freelancing? Take on only enough work to support your living costs, which should be far less than a full time job if you are a developer (I'm betting you could get by on 5-10 hours per week if you are careful with your money), and leave the rest of your time free to do whatever you want.
You are not going to get rich doing it that way, but wealth doesn't seem to be a concern of yours anyway.