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I've been saying for long time that YC is just a new kind of university and now it starts appearing more and more like that. The goal of a traditional universit

I've been saying for long time that YC is just a new kind of university and now it starts appearing more and more like that. The goal of a traditional university is to enable financial security for students through high-quality employment enabled by a skill set provided by the university. YC effectively does the same -- it provides students with a necessary skill set to enable financial security through self-employment. The main difference is that education in YC is paid with shares, not cash.

adventured 9y ago
> high-quality employment enabled by a skill set provided by the university Neither YC nor a university are in the business of particularly providing such a thing. They provide a stamp of approval, aka vetting, which is what gets you the job. That you survive it, learn very minimalist skills, graduate and get that piece of paper in theory increases the odds that you possess such and such personal qualities. From there, the overwhelming majority of what you will need for your career, will be learned post-university. The university isn't doing much more than vouching that you represent at least a baseline, ideally according to / in-line with the university reputation. In the case of YC, their stamp of approval is what gets you the big money. They vet you. They do not make you a great hacker or leader, or give you those skills, you have to do almost all of that yourself. The best they can do is sometimes point you in the right direction and offer occasional help.
snikeris 9y ago
> The goal of a traditional university is to enable financial security for students through high-quality employment enabled by a skill set provided by the university. I believe universities traditionally aspired to loftier goals. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_education

adventured 9y ago

> high-quality employment enabled by a skill set provided by the university Neither YC nor a university are in the business of particularly providing such a thing. They provide a stamp of approval, aka vetting, which is what gets you the job. That you survive it, learn very minimalist skills, graduate and get that piece of paper in theory increases the odds that you possess such and such personal qualities. From there, the overwhelming majority of what you will need for your career, will be learned post-university. The university isn't doing much more than vouching that you represent at least a baseline, ideally according to / in-line with the university reputation. In the case of YC, their stamp of approval is what gets you the big money. They vet you. They do not make you a great hacker or leader, or give you those skills, you have to do almost all of that yourself. The best they can do is sometimes point you in the right direction and offer occasional help.

snikeris 9y ago

> The goal of a traditional university is to enable financial security for students through high-quality employment enabled by a skill set provided by the university. I believe universities traditionally aspired to loftier goals. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_education