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There are a lot of comments here that echo my sentiment. Simon, I am a Canadian founder. I got my first job offer in the US (San Francisco) at 25 years old. I

There are a lot of comments here that echo my sentiment. Simon, I am a Canadian founder. I got my first job offer in the US (San Francisco) at 25 years old. I took it right away. It was not FAANG, though I was interviewed there many times: not once was I given an offer. My degree was in Biochemistry, not CS. I probably would have been over the moon to get an offer from FB. So I can understand how you feel. However; I think you should consider finishing your degree. The job offer from Facebook will always be around -- or some equivalent. If you can get that at 20/21 you can get it at 21/22. The only time where I'd recommend somebody drop out is if they're committed to a project that is either clearly a business or has the potential to be one and they're pursuing entrepreneurship. I know a number of founders that have pursued this route and are quite successful. That said; college is really a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I wouldn't trade my time in college for anything, even though coming to Silicon Valley at 25 years old made me feel ancient. If you focus your last year on personal growth, hacking, friends, your network, building relationships - both at McGill and around Silicon Valley - you'll be even more set up to succeed post-graduation. Re: the FB offer. The ugly truth you're glossing over is that working at FAANG can -- for many -- ultimately be just as boring as coursework in college. If you want to get into startups and like the energy surrounding them, my recommendation is use your last year of college to (1) kick college's ass and get that degree so immigration is easier and (2) start a badass side project. That's my $0.02 but YMMV. Shoot me a DM on Twitter if you feel like chatting.

jjeaff 5y ago
For me, the most important thing that college did is force me to study a bunch of stuff that I did not want to study. I never would have learned about philosophy or linguistics or advanced math were it not for university. In many cases I learned helpful things and gained an appreciation for subjects and people outside of my bubble.
brockwhittaker 5y ago
As someone who also dropped out, I think college will always be there for Simon. You go to college to become employable. I learned far more on the job than in school—and dropping out didn't hinder me becoming a good engineer—it expedited it. Go back to college when you're older and then study something you'll appreciate learning. Hungry kids like this who want to start making stuff in the real world should do just that.
- keithwhor 5y ago
  An undergraduate degree won't teach you to be a good engineer any more than it will teach you to be a good executive, or dentist, or doctor. It's why Waterloo's co-op program is almost universally regarded as the best training in the industry. I'm not surprised working in the industry expedited your growth as an engineer and it's a shame more schools don't adopt Waterloo's model. I have plenty of complaints about academia in general, but that's for a different thread. :) The argument here is primarily that college is a unique experience that you don't really get to go back to and, in this specific case, the investment remaining is minimal. I can wax poetic about socialization and being young and a whole load of other things, but college is really just what you make of it. It is entirely within somebody's power to make their last remaining year of college enjoyable in the same way they have the capacity to make their first year in the workforce enjoyable. Simon can do whatever he likes. The wonderful thing about his situation is that there are no bad options. That's when decisions are truly difficult, when you're maximizing EV between things that have unpredictable upside. I'd say -- from a pure EV perspective -- the downside of not having a degree (likely permanent) exceeds the upside of starting in the work force 8mo early (job offer effectively fungible, just have to wait 8mo). The scenario in which this would flip would be if the upside was an order of magnitude or more larger; like double-digit early equity in a promising company with traction that's starting YC.

jjeaff 5y ago

For me, the most important thing that college did is force me to study a bunch of stuff that I did not want to study. I never would have learned about philosophy or linguistics or advanced math were it not for university. In many cases I learned helpful things and gained an appreciation for subjects and people outside of my bubble.

brockwhittaker 5y ago

As someone who also dropped out, I think college will always be there for Simon. You go to college to become employable. I learned far more on the job than in school—and dropping out didn't hinder me becoming a good engineer—it expedited it. Go back to college when you're older and then study something you'll appreciate learning. Hungry kids like this who want to start making stuff in the real world should do just that.

keithwhor 5y ago
An undergraduate degree won't teach you to be a good engineer any more than it will teach you to be a good executive, or dentist, or doctor. It's why Waterloo's co-op program is almost universally regarded as the best training in the industry. I'm not surprised working in the industry expedited your growth as an engineer and it's a shame more schools don't adopt Waterloo's model. I have plenty of complaints about academia in general, but that's for a different thread. :) The argument here is primarily that college is a unique experience that you don't really get to go back to and, in this specific case, the investment remaining is minimal. I can wax poetic about socialization and being young and a whole load of other things, but college is really just what you make of it. It is entirely within somebody's power to make their last remaining year of college enjoyable in the same way they have the capacity to make their first year in the workforce enjoyable. Simon can do whatever he likes. The wonderful thing about his situation is that there are no bad options. That's when decisions are truly difficult, when you're maximizing EV between things that have unpredictable upside. I'd say -- from a pure EV perspective -- the downside of not having a degree (likely permanent) exceeds the upside of starting in the work force 8mo early (job offer effectively fungible, just have to wait 8mo). The scenario in which this would flip would be if the upside was an order of magnitude or more larger; like double-digit early equity in a promising company with traction that's starting YC.