The Indian and his insatiable appetite for the college degree
1–10 of 93 posts
Re: The Indian and his insatiable appetite for the college degree
#2At 22, he must have his B.Tech. Pretending to not have gone ... is this some hipster/ironic brand-building shtick?
Re: The Indian and his insatiable appetite for the college degree
#3At 22, he must have his B.Tech. Pretending to not have gone ... is this some hipster/ironic brand-building shtick?
Nope.
Re: The Indian and his insatiable appetite for the college degree
#4I have regrets on going to college when in 2001 I was a good coder and running a successful/profitable gaming oriented website/community. I was heavily discouraged from that path and it set me back a bit, when I got back into coding in 2005 I felt like a dinosaur. College was neat though.
Re: The Indian and his insatiable appetite for the college degree
#5This isn't specific to Indian culture. There are several cultures that will emphasize college degrees over entrepreneurship. I know this is hard to understand from a fairly successful entrepreneur's perspective but the cold hard truth is that most entrepreneurs fail. This is what causes the whole 'it's safer to get a college degree' mentality.
I've been an entrepreneur (fairly successful) since I was 13. Yet my folks said I should get a college degree. I did get an engineering degree while 'entrepreneuring' at the same time. Does my degree help me in any direct way ? Nope. But there are several indirect benefits that a degree can get you first amongst which are that in general people think you are capable and well educated. I don't personally subscribe to this thought process but hey, we have to live in this world with everyone else, right ? My degree has opened doors for me and made some people take me more seriously. It has had zero practical contribution towards my endeavors but sometimes opening a door is all it takes. Not only people but even governments sometimes want certain degrees for certain categories of work permits (even if it's totally irrelevant to your work but a degree helps you). Then of course you have the benefits of an alumni network, etc etc. but those are really what you make of them because you can network otherwise as well. But a degree is a formal qualification - treated as such by society and the government. Does it mean you know more ? Probably not. Do people in general think you do ? Probably yes.
I'd still say that in the world today, a college degree matters a lot depending on who you are talking to. It won't matter if you're talking to me but there are a lot of people out there who care about whether you have one or not.
Re: The Indian and his insatiable appetite for the college degree
#6I have regrets on going to college when in 2001 I was a good coder and running a successful/profitable gaming oriented website/community. I was heavily discouraged from that path and it set me back a bit, when I got back into coding in 2005 I felt like a dinosaur. College was neat though.
Why didn't you continue running your website while in college ? I did that and it worked out okay for me.
Re: The Indian and his insatiable appetite for the college degree
#7At 22, he must have his B.Tech. Pretending to not have gone ... is this some hipster/ironic brand-building shtick?
I don't understand, why must he have his B.Tech at 22? I assume he completed his secondary schooling and just never went on to an undergraduate degree.
Re: The Indian and his insatiable appetite for the college degree
#8This isn't specific to Indian culture. There are several cultures that will emphasize college degrees over entrepreneurship. I know this is hard to understand from a fairly successful entrepreneur's perspective but the cold hard truth is that most entrepreneurs fail. This is what causes the whole 'it's safer to get a college degree' mentality. I've been an entrepreneur (fairly successful) since I was 13. Yet my folks…
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Re: The Indian and his insatiable appetite for the college degree
#9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unshackled
I'm tired of this shit from incompetent mental health or FBI fucks.
It's fucken God. Get with the fucken program, morons. When I say "jump" you say how high. Until I see complete humility, not holier than though shit, you have not repented and humbled yourselves.
Re: The Indian and his insatiable appetite for the college degree
#10Firstly being entrepreneur and going to college are not orthogonal goals.
Secondly for any poor person in India, without any funding or support. No infrastructure, no exposure and having to fight a historic burden of poverty in the family. Not getting a college education means, the guy will eventually end up working at a tailor's shop or a garage or driver. Working whole life only to hope his son breaks of the cycle of poverty in the next generation.
Contrary to whatever you might think, you can't hard-work your way out of all problems all the time, I know that from personal experience. For a rich person a big financial failure means, a good decent chance to start up again. For a lower middle class person such a failure means, the end of life. Full Stop! Because the debts will drown you till you reach your grave.
The fact is for any lower middle/class and poor person. Getting a decent education is the easiest way to get a job, and then use that money to bootstrap their projects or start up.
You might not learn anything in a college, or a degree might not prep you up for prime time rock star development shops. But it will get you a job, buy you some financial freedom. And then you will have good enough time to iteratively learn and bootstrap your own business.
And beyond all, not everyone's family can write them a check to start something their teens or at any age. Most people live so hand to mouth, without a monthly salary they are pretty much bust!
Before criticizing some one please take into note the fact, they don't enjoy the same privileges and benefits as your do.