Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You • Hacker News Board

Re: Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

#71

Post by throwaway1979 » Fri, May 03, 2013, 1:00 PM UTC

pat_punnu wrote: post #29

DanBC wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you. Part of going to college is using their funding to get access to their equipment. Most people have no chance of getting to use a particle accelerator unless they go to uni or work with one. You also get to hang out with a bunch of people doing similar things. You compete with them; you learn from them; you learn by teaching them. You get to talk to people who have done important things in the field…

Here's what I think people are missing: if you don't go to college then you don't know what you don't know. These people with no education think they know it all anyway, but that's because they're blind to what they could have learned. It makes me angry because it's so fucking arrogant! There are people working at colleges who have a lifetime of experience, hundreds of peer-reviewed publications and grants, and peopl…

The anti-intellectualism in tech is quite surprising today. I find it shocking that we live in the age of CS yet great professors are quitting their faculty jobs to do startups and working at Google. I think the problem is lack of social status and compensation mismatch. Physicians still get some respect. Professors and researchers don't.

Re: Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

#72

Post by umsm » Fri, May 03, 2013, 4:27 PM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #56

umsm wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saving can include investments. Real-estate is a good one.

Real estate is a horrible investment. Houses appreciate at a much, much lower rate than index funds.

I know individuals that have made millions, including family.

Re: Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

#73

Post by atwebb » Fri, May 03, 2013, 7:50 PM UTC

hnriot wrote: post #32

127001brewer wrote: post #5

Another point would be to save . When you're young, it's easy to spend and not save. However, it's important to get into a disciplined habit of saving - don't depend on someone else to force you to save. Also, while it's financially advantageous to have a two-income family, once you have kids priorities might change. The better choice may be to have a parent at home with the kid(s) instead of utilizing day-care. You'…

this is very bad advice. saving money with a near nil interest rate is a huge waste of money. spend money on travel, do things with the money you have, life live. It is through expanding our horizons that opportunities present themselves which lead to a far more fulfilling live. Simply hoarding cash for the rainy day scenario seems like such an awful way to live life. Sure, don't over spend, don't waste, and don't fr…

I cannot disagree more emphatically.

It's not a hoarding of cash. It's living on a proper financial diet and it is crucial that you learn it early and abide by it because, when the money does start coming in, you don't get fat and slow, you stay lean and strong.

Also, it isn't all about interest rates. It's about opportunity. Having 100k and being able to borrow 100k are 2 completely different things and the first lends oneself to be much more flexible, opportunistic, and comfortable. (Also, if someone's paying you 3% or whatever, you can bet that their making more than that elsewhere.)

I completely understand what you're saying and there are many people pushing the "rice and beans" stuff. I think that's fine for getting out of a bad spot but not sustainable.

It may seem like an awful way to live, but I wouldn't have it any other way and, so far, it's paid off several times, both financially and through incredible opportunities I couldn't have otherwise taken.