3 ms·

I would first of all argue that monetary value should not be the primary consideration of deciding to go to college. But fine, let's discuss money. The most gla

by zeteo 14y ago

I would first of all argue that monetary value should not be the primary consideration of deciding to go to college. But fine, let's discuss money. The most glaring weakness of your argument is that it only considers the first few years. I will argue that, over the long haul of a several decades' career, college still pulls ahead financially because: 1. Those social connections? They actually have monetary value. Unless you already come from an extremely well connected background, it's very likely that knowing a few extra people in disparate fields can come in handy for your future career. 2. Without a college degree, you'll sooner or later hit a glass ceiling. I know, I know, it's superficial of people to prefer that guy with a masters degree for promotion to management. But they do it anyway. 3. Last but not least, in college you learn to learn. Most schools these days force you to take a range of classes from history to foreign languages. (Some of these can come in handy on their own, see Steve Jobs' experience with calligraphy.) Learning to adapt to entirely different fields will be quite nice when, ten years from now, that hot new computer skill that's netting you extra cash right now inevitably becomes obsolete. Let's not mention the fact that there's a bit more to life than raw earning power; such considerations might seem a bit indecent to some of the folks here...

argonaut 14y ago
Some of your arguments are going against a straw man: > do not go to college just to earn more money. You need to have better reasons than that. > Now, that being said, the reasons I'm attending college instead of dropping out (I did take a year off to work at a YC startup): I value the unique social experience of college Connections are overrated in SV. As a software engineer it is extremely easy to network, since everyone wants to have coffee with you (cough recruit cough). From my year at a YC startup, I made more valuable connections than I've made in college - angel investors (trying to recruit me for their portfolio companies), startup founders, etc. I still see these people, though I do have to make an effort to keep the connections warm. Friendships are a different matter; see the beginning of my post. Steve Jobs dropped out of college and audited those calligraphy classes for fun as a non-student. So that's kind of a bad example, since if you really wanted to follow in his footsteps, you should drop out and then audit classes at Stanford or something. Let me give you my experience with "learning to learn:" Most students at top-tier colleges do not really care to "learn to learn." Students are more concerned with taking easy classes to fulfill their requirements than actually learning about subjects they have no interest in. If anything, it is people who are self-taught who have truly learned how to adapt. Who is going to have more developed autodidactic skills? A college grad or someone who had to teach themselves for 4 years?
- zeteo 14y ago
  >Connections are dramatically overrated. [...] From my year at a YC startup, I made more valuable (and warm) connections than I have ever made in college Congrats on making it into YC. Yes, it's probably better than college for profitable connections. For most people, however, being admitted to college is a safer bet than YC. I don't think Steve Jobs is a realistic model for the average person either. It was just a (side) example of how taking "fun" classes can sometimes turn out to be more profitable than an entirely mercenary course of study. And I don't see which of my three arguments were against a straw man. Care to elaborate? >Most students at top-tier colleges do not really care to "learn to learn." I didn't say they cared to, but that they had to. When you work, the short-term pressure is to specialize - learn a subfield and learn it very well.
  - argonaut 14y ago
    Just a side note. I worked at a YC startup, but did not found one. > I would first of all argue that monetary value should not be the primary consideration of deciding to go to college. Which I agreed with (I am in college right now, after all).

by zeteo 14y ago

argonaut 14y ago

Some of your arguments are going against a straw man: > do not go to college just to earn more money. You need to have better reasons than that. > Now, that being said, the reasons I'm attending college instead of dropping out (I did take a year off to work at a YC startup): I value the unique social experience of college Connections are overrated in SV. As a software engineer it is extremely easy to network, since everyone wants to have coffee with you (cough recruit cough). From my year at a YC startup, I made more valuable connections than I've made in college - angel investors (trying to recruit me for their portfolio companies), startup founders, etc. I still see these people, though I do have to make an effort to keep the connections warm. Friendships are a different matter; see the beginning of my post. Steve Jobs dropped out of college and audited those calligraphy classes for fun as a non-student. So that's kind of a bad example, since if you really wanted to follow in his footsteps, you should drop out and then audit classes at Stanford or something. Let me give you my experience with "learning to learn:" Most students at top-tier colleges do not really care to "learn to learn." Students are more concerned with taking easy classes to fulfill their requirements than actually learning about subjects they have no interest in. If anything, it is people who are self-taught who have truly learned how to adapt. Who is going to have more developed autodidactic skills? A college grad or someone who had to teach themselves for 4 years?

zeteo 14y ago
>Connections are dramatically overrated. [...] From my year at a YC startup, I made more valuable (and warm) connections than I have ever made in college Congrats on making it into YC. Yes, it's probably better than college for profitable connections. For most people, however, being admitted to college is a safer bet than YC. I don't think Steve Jobs is a realistic model for the average person either. It was just a (side) example of how taking "fun" classes can sometimes turn out to be more profitable than an entirely mercenary course of study. And I don't see which of my three arguments were against a straw man. Care to elaborate? >Most students at top-tier colleges do not really care to "learn to learn." I didn't say they cared to, but that they had to. When you work, the short-term pressure is to specialize - learn a subfield and learn it very well.
- argonaut 14y ago
  Just a side note. I worked at a YC startup, but did not found one. > I would first of all argue that monetary value should not be the primary consideration of deciding to go to college. Which I agreed with (I am in college right now, after all).