11–20 of 75 posts
I think the dropout # is more important than the "never went to college". Because those are the people who saw success early on.
Aah, more of this madness. The only people who can afford to drop out of college to pursue a startup are those with parents who will subsidize them while they do it, have extensive contacts or those who get very, very lucky. It's just not practical advice and society doesn't treat folks in the status quo particularly well who do so. You might get far, but inevitably you'll get stuck in a rut somewhere along the way,…
I have to disagree with this. I dropped out of college, spent the winter as a snowboard bum in Colorado, moved back to Boston, and started working for minimum wage in retail. Managed to save enough money to buy a new computer. Got a better job, rinse & repeat. At no time was I subsidized by anyone else. I also don't think I was "very very lucky". Sure, I consider myself lucky in general, but the path from dropping ou…
If you're over the age of 27, your example just doesn't count. It's not nearly as easy today to do what you did, than it was a decade ago. The economy has changed dramatically and ancedotal experiences aside, it's hardly a blueprint for mass success.
There is no inverse relationship between "hard work" and "success" in a startup. But that's a fallacy that a lot of folks here seem to believe. If it worked for you, that's great. But it's not some sort of reality for everyone.
If you look at it the other way around 80% of self-made billionaires went to college
Less than 50% of people went to college.
Despite that, 80% of self-made billionaires went to college.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have to disagree with this. I dropped out of college, spent the winter as a snowboard bum in Colorado, moved back to Boston, and started working for minimum wage in retail. Managed to save enough money to buy a new computer. Got a better job, rinse & repeat. At no time was I subsidized by anyone else. I also don't think I was "very very lucky". Sure, I consider myself lucky in general, but the path from dropping ou…
I certainly didn't tell everyone to create startups. But reading here, that's what it seems like it trends towards. If you're over the age of 27, your example just doesn't count. It's not nearly as easy today to do what you did, than it was a decade ago. The economy has changed dramatically and ancedotal experiences aside, it's hardly a blueprint for mass success. There is no inverse relationship between "hard work"…
If your point is: for the average person, college is important to success, then sure. My point is that for the tech startup founding type people here, college is probably not very important to success.
You called out startups in your OP "The only people who can afford to drop out of college to pursue a startup" so that's what I'm focusing on here.
Put another way, 70% of self-made billionaires completed college. This strikes me as higher than the national average, so completing college increases the chances of you becoming a billionaire. Also, with a sample size of only 292, I find it hard to believe you could precisely determine what made them a billionaire. In fact, for all they measured, you could probably find 100 people of each who shared all of the same…
Your conclusion does not follow from the data.
http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html
Warning Sign I7: Confusing Correlation with Causation
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't really see this as a problem. After college, nobody asks or cares if you went to college. So while you do need to have some skills to get a job, you don't need a piece of paper anymore. (Not in the programming industry, anyway.) If you want to do a startup, spend the 4 years that you would have spent in college learning how to program and making money doing that. Then, you'll be able to support your own start…
And if you fail, go back to college and get the degree. You say that no one cares. But job postings all over the web pretty much speak the opposite. Google doesn't just want degrees, they want degrees from top schools. So sure, if someone wants to work for a fly-by-night operation that MIGHT strike it rich, have a blast. But if they actually want health insurance someday, then it might be handy to get the degree abou…
I've never had another company turn me down, even if they specifically "required" bachelors in CS, etc... in the job posting. And I'm not talking about "fly-by-night operations". Large companies, Fortune 500s, traditional non-tech focused companies, etc...
Assuming that you aren't on a 100% scholarship, someone (your parents or you by working part time) is paying for your rent and food. I think most places (Google aside) would hire someone with 1 year of contributing to a relevant open source project, or a couple small web applications launched, over someone with 4 years of learning the technology from 2-5 years ago. Experience DOING relevant work always trumps a college degree, especially in the tech field.
If you want to get a degree, that's great. I won't look down on you or even think for a second that you're wasting your time. But it's certainly not the only or even the best path.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have to disagree with this. I dropped out of college, spent the winter as a snowboard bum in Colorado, moved back to Boston, and started working for minimum wage in retail. Managed to save enough money to buy a new computer. Got a better job, rinse & repeat. At no time was I subsidized by anyone else. I also don't think I was "very very lucky". Sure, I consider myself lucky in general, but the path from dropping ou…
I certainly didn't tell everyone to create startups. But reading here, that's what it seems like it trends towards. If you're over the age of 27, your example just doesn't count. It's not nearly as easy today to do what you did, than it was a decade ago. The economy has changed dramatically and ancedotal experiences aside, it's hardly a blueprint for mass success. There is no inverse relationship between "hard work"…
It's even easier. Enlightened hiring managers just want to see output: github, websites, blogs, downloadable software, etc. At the startups I've worked for recently we only looked thoroughly at a resume if the person had no online presence (which was already a red flag).
Maybe you won't get hired at Google or an investment bank, though.
If you look at it the other way around 80% of self-made billionaires went to college
Furthermore: Less than 50% of people went to college. Despite that, 80% of self-made billionaires went to college.
(eq 'correlation 'causation) => NIL
see: http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html
Warning Sign I7: Confusing Correlation with Causation
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't really see this as a problem. After college, nobody asks or cares if you went to college. So while you do need to have some skills to get a job, you don't need a piece of paper anymore. (Not in the programming industry, anyway.) If you want to do a startup, spend the 4 years that you would have spent in college learning how to program and making money doing that. Then, you'll be able to support your own start…
And if you fail, go back to college and get the degree. You say that no one cares. But job postings all over the web pretty much speak the opposite. Google doesn't just want degrees, they want degrees from top schools. So sure, if someone wants to work for a fly-by-night operation that MIGHT strike it rich, have a blast. But if they actually want health insurance someday, then it might be handy to get the degree abou…
Sure, if you want a top job with no proof that you have any ability to program, you need a degree.
But if they actually want health insurance someday, then it might be handy to get the degree about the way.
FWIW, I didn't finish college, and I have a great job, and even have health insurance. I have only interviewed for one job ever, everything else came to me by way of reputation.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
And if you fail, go back to college and get the degree. You say that no one cares. But job postings all over the web pretty much speak the opposite. Google doesn't just want degrees, they want degrees from top schools. So sure, if someone wants to work for a fly-by-night operation that MIGHT strike it rich, have a blast. But if they actually want health insurance someday, then it might be handy to get the degree abou…
Google cares. A lot. They reached out to me to offer me a position, and then retracted the offer once they learned the lack of degrees on my resume wasn't just a space saving mechanism. I've never had another company turn me down, even if they specifically "required" bachelors in CS, etc... in the job posting. And I'm not talking about "fly-by-night operations". Large companies, Fortune 500s, traditional non-tech foc…