There's a big difference between being paid $100K to start a business and being paid $100K to have fun with. Thiel is funding the former. Out of that money you

There's a big difference between being paid $100K to start a business and being paid $100K to have fun with. Thiel is funding the former. Out of that money you will take living expenses, but most of the investment will go directly back into the business to make something of it. That is, after all, the goal. Almost nobody makes $100K, degree or not, ever, in their lifetime (the top 5% earners begin at just shy of $90K, from what I recall). You also won't make $100K to spend as you please by taking his offer either. The realities are that you will probably take $20-40K of that money to spend on yourself, which is definitely not an income out of reach of anyone with just a plain old job. Heck, flipping hamburgers at McDonalds will pay that much on the low end. It seems like a fantastic opportunity to me, but it's not a big money windfall. Not unless you can make something of your business.