Is the question really: am I better off completing college, spending a few years with a big company (or a startup) and then starting my own company... or is it: what do I want to achieve - e.g. build my own company in the xyz industry - and what is the best way for me to achieve that? If you know that you want to start 'a' company but don't know exactly what kind of company or what industry, etc the question may then become: what would I like to learn about and what will enable me to learn about that? The answer may well be to go to / stay in college and then work for a company or two in order to develop business skills and work out what kind of business you'd like to build. On the other hand, if you know exactly what you want to start, and have the skills and resources to 'just do it', maybe you are better off dropping out of college. Personally, I am almost a textbook example of Vivek's advice precisely because I wasn't sure what kind of business I wanted to start back in my high school and university days. I will say this, though, even if you stay in college or work for another company, I recommend starting some kind of business on the side. Not only will you learn skills you won't learn at college or in a big company - and you may stumble on the business you really want to commit to - but it will also help off-set the socialization (i.e. to keep that nice, high paying job with benefits) that can arise in a big corporate environment and that may stop you from ever taking the entrepreneurial plunge.
Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
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Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#42The comments here are a wall of text.
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#43There's just 2 problems with Vivek's position - a) Cost - In today's economic climate, I simply cannot justify an education that, on avg, costs over $100K. Especially when student loans are involved. b) Time - 4 yrs is an unnecessarily long amount of time for a bachelors degree, not to mention another 1-2 yrs for a masters. The opportunity cost of this time only compounds the first problem. Edit: Sorry, I should have…
I have a master's and have also taken all the prereqs for, and am halfway through a 2nd master's. Even if I had paid for all this, all of my education would not have come close to 100k (I know this has been addressed in other comments). All of my coursework after undergrad (roughly 24 courses) was done while working full time. The only real opportunity cost is in undergrad. Some of the first masters and all of the additional course work I've taken have been paid by employers.
Additionally I would say that the balance of course work (requiring an artist to take biology and a biologist to take art) is the most important part of an undergrad degree. In my experience well-roundedness is extremely important in real-world problem solving. It's not entirely surprising that the guy who discovered the quark also spent time reading Finnegan's Wake.
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#44There's just 2 problems with Vivek's position - a) Cost - In today's economic climate, I simply cannot justify an education that, on avg, costs over $100K. Especially when student loans are involved. b) Time - 4 yrs is an unnecessarily long amount of time for a bachelors degree, not to mention another 1-2 yrs for a masters. The opportunity cost of this time only compounds the first problem. Edit: Sorry, I should have…
I can kind of see the cost point - though most would argue that the lifetime earnings of someone with a college degree far outweigh a $100K investment. But the time thing kind of bugs me. As driven as HN is this may be a minority position but I really don't believe you should be working (in a 9-5 career style job) between 18-24. I really don't care so much abou t college, but have fun, go out, date guys and girls, tr…
How'd you finance that?
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#45[deleted]
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Some of the comments go so far as to claim that higher education is this era's biggest scam, which is an extremely ignorant view." There is a gigantic difference between medical school and University of Phoenix.
And between getting training on a job where you actually do the work involved and "watching videos online".
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Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can kind of see the cost point - though most would argue that the lifetime earnings of someone with a college degree far outweigh a $100K investment. But the time thing kind of bugs me. As driven as HN is this may be a minority position but I really don't believe you should be working (in a 9-5 career style job) between 18-24. I really don't care so much abou t college, but have fun, go out, date guys and girls, tr…
How'd you finance that?
Waiting tables and tending bar, great jobs for your early 20s ;-)
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
How'd you finance that?
Waiting tables and tending bar, great jobs for your early 20s ;-)
How much did you work? Given how little waiters make, it seems like you'd have to work something close to full time to get by, especially with enough excess to cover travel, which makes it no more free than a real job, but making less and doing less interesting stuff.
Now, consulting 5-10 hours a week (or a few months a year) while enjoying yourself and traveling could be appealing.
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#49It's funny, because even people like Zuckerberg eventually had to pull in experts with extensive educational backgrounds to help in developing the company. And if you look at any billion dollar company, those with degrees have played and continue to play a critical role in said company's growth and success. While I do agree that with a field like computer science, real world experience rather than educational backgro…
"Some of the comments go so far as to claim that higher education is this era's biggest scam, which is an extremely ignorant view." There is a gigantic difference between medical school and University of Phoenix.
You're right, there is. I never said all institutions that claim to offer higher education are not scams or not free; some are in it purely for business. The University of Phoenix is pretty much 'open source' online education with a price tag, which really just supports my point in that there's still a definite need for and lots of value in the traditional hands-on sort of education.
Re: Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School
#50The main point, really, is causation. Mark Zuckerberg (and Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, etc, etc) dropped out of school AFTER starting a successful business. Even Paul Graham quit his day job AFTER starting a successful business.
On the other hand, dropping out of school, or even quitting your day job, do not guarantee success.