4 ms·

I've heard an even crazier idea. Have colleges charge a percentage of a student's future income. This aligns economic incentives for the student and the colle

I've heard an even crazier idea. Have colleges charge a percentage of a student's future income. This aligns economic incentives for the student and the college.

dangrossman 14y ago
What if I just want to take a few foreign language classes? Does a percentage of my income as payment make sense? Or I'm self employed and want to get another degree at night just because I can. Does a percentage of my income as payment make sense? What if I studied art history, but the side project I was working on after classes was acquired by Google for $30 million and now they're paying me $200k/year as part of the deal. Does a percentage of my income as payment make sense?
- learc83 14y ago
  You're arguing with a straw man. Nothing about that plan precludes a fixed fee option in situations where a future percentage doesn't make sense.
  - randomdata 14y ago
    > Nothing about that plan precludes a fixed fee option in situations where a future percentage doesn't make sense. That doesn't really answer his questions though. Professionally, I work as a software developer and a farmer. If I had taken the percentage of future income option while receiving my CS degree thinking that's all I'd ever do, would the school be entitled to the profits from my farm too? I didn't even consider farming until I was 26, so it's definitely in the realm of possibility.
    - philwelch 14y ago
      I'm massively curious about how you got into farming and how you do that alongside software development.
      - randomdata 14y ago
        I grew up on a farm, so I was not without connections, but it was actually on the suggestion of my father that I got started down that path. I knew pretty early on that programming was my thing. That was where I put all my focus, getting my first part-time dev job in high school. Farming wasn't even a consideration in my mind. It was only after working full-time in the software game for a few of years, dad approached me and suggested that I take some of the money I had earned, find some land to rent, and buy some crop inputs with it. I agreed that it sounded like a good plan, and he helped me put it in motion. My farm is strictly cash crop, so the work is highly seasonal. Right around this time in the spring and later in the fall there is a lot of work to do, but the rest of the year is fairly light on the time required of me. The second thing that made it work is that I was already telecommuting and my hours were flexible. There have been days where I've been in the field all day and working on code all night. Additionally, it's not completely unheard of to find me writing code from the seat of the tractor. Mobile internet access has been a lifesaver. I hadn't really considered this to be an interesting topic to the HN crowd, but maybe I should write up a more detailed blog post about it?
        learc83 14y ago
        >but maybe I should write up a more detailed blog post about it? Yes you should write more about this. It's fascinating. And to answer your previous question about whether the college would get a percentage of your farm income, I would have to say yes. The option of limiting their stake to a particular profession would introduce too many loopholes. For instance I could get a math degree, and sign something giving them a share of all future earnings as a mathematician--then work as a programmer instead. That being said I'm sure there could be some sort of maximum. Student loans already work somewhat similarly. There is an option to pay off loans based on a percentage of your total income, so you are in effect paying x percent of your income for y number of years.
teamonkey 14y ago
Do you mean that, for example, studying law would be more expensive because there is a high probability of future income? Whereas, say, astrophysics would be very cheap because there's a good chance that you'll stay in academia?
- dlitwak 14y ago
  uhhh no, opposite. the university would have a greater incentive to foot the bill for your law degree because lawyers will probably make more money, therefore giving them more money.
dlitwak 14y ago
too extreme. I like the concept: less students would be funneled into liberal arts majors that don't have a high return if the schools realized that they could get a percentage of every bill gates they spit out. some cs and engineering programs are shut down because they are the most expensive to run. this would reverse that trend. seems kind of like VC applied to schools. but then the schools would have to be completely free: we are giving away a percentage of our company, we share in returns with our investors, but we sure as hell aren't paying them.

I've heard an even crazier idea. Have colleges charge a percentage of a student's future income. This aligns economic incentives for the student and the college.

dangrossman 14y ago

What if I just want to take a few foreign language classes? Does a percentage of my income as payment make sense? Or I'm self employed and want to get another degree at night just because I can. Does a percentage of my income as payment make sense? What if I studied art history, but the side project I was working on after classes was acquired by Google for $30 million and now they're paying me $200k/year as part of the deal. Does a percentage of my income as payment make sense?

learc83 14y ago
You're arguing with a straw man. Nothing about that plan precludes a fixed fee option in situations where a future percentage doesn't make sense.
- randomdata 14y ago
  > Nothing about that plan precludes a fixed fee option in situations where a future percentage doesn't make sense. That doesn't really answer his questions though. Professionally, I work as a software developer and a farmer. If I had taken the percentage of future income option while receiving my CS degree thinking that's all I'd ever do, would the school be entitled to the profits from my farm too? I didn't even consider farming until I was 26, so it's definitely in the realm of possibility.
  - philwelch 14y ago
    I'm massively curious about how you got into farming and how you do that alongside software development.
    - randomdata 14y ago
      I grew up on a farm, so I was not without connections, but it was actually on the suggestion of my father that I got started down that path. I knew pretty early on that programming was my thing. That was where I put all my focus, getting my first part-time dev job in high school. Farming wasn't even a consideration in my mind. It was only after working full-time in the software game for a few of years, dad approached me and suggested that I take some of the money I had earned, find some land to rent, and buy some crop inputs with it. I agreed that it sounded like a good plan, and he helped me put it in motion. My farm is strictly cash crop, so the work is highly seasonal. Right around this time in the spring and later in the fall there is a lot of work to do, but the rest of the year is fairly light on the time required of me. The second thing that made it work is that I was already telecommuting and my hours were flexible. There have been days where I've been in the field all day and working on code all night. Additionally, it's not completely unheard of to find me writing code from the seat of the tractor. Mobile internet access has been a lifesaver. I hadn't really considered this to be an interesting topic to the HN crowd, but maybe I should write up a more detailed blog post about it?
      - learc83 14y ago
        >but maybe I should write up a more detailed blog post about it? Yes you should write more about this. It's fascinating. And to answer your previous question about whether the college would get a percentage of your farm income, I would have to say yes. The option of limiting their stake to a particular profession would introduce too many loopholes. For instance I could get a math degree, and sign something giving them a share of all future earnings as a mathematician--then work as a programmer instead. That being said I'm sure there could be some sort of maximum. Student loans already work somewhat similarly. There is an option to pay off loans based on a percentage of your total income, so you are in effect paying x percent of your income for y number of years.

teamonkey 14y ago

Do you mean that, for example, studying law would be more expensive because there is a high probability of future income? Whereas, say, astrophysics would be very cheap because there's a good chance that you'll stay in academia?

dlitwak 14y ago
uhhh no, opposite. the university would have a greater incentive to foot the bill for your law degree because lawyers will probably make more money, therefore giving them more money.

dlitwak 14y ago

too extreme. I like the concept: less students would be funneled into liberal arts majors that don't have a high return if the schools realized that they could get a percentage of every bill gates they spit out. some cs and engineering programs are shut down because they are the most expensive to run. this would reverse that trend. seems kind of like VC applied to schools. but then the schools would have to be completely free: we are giving away a percentage of our company, we share in returns with our investors, but we sure as hell aren't paying them.