smart students getting paid not to go to college

[Farmer]

Don't worry about it. I ran into people thinking the UofC was some sort of Illinois public college all the time.

Those people probably never had to apply for college.

On the main issue:

College debt is a huge factor for young entrepreneurs. Instead of having the ability to pursue a risky startup venture in their "nothing to lose" years (i.e., right after college graduation or after a couple of years of industry), you are forced to work low-risk "in industry" jobs to ensure you can cover your debt.

Trust me, these people aren't concerned about "finding a job" or a "needing a college degree to get an interview." He got into CMU CS, which is pretty tough. If you went through or could get into a top 4 or top 2 in a standard technical major (especially CS), you're going to have no problem finding a "good" job in t he traditional sense. You're really more concerned about finding the job you want. Nowadays, that's the startup space for CS people. This guy is just getting some experience in that space, so when he does goto college, he'll know what he wants to do.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

Times have changed and your illustrious educational gods have fucked you. I went to a great university for undergrad and then got an MBA from a top 20 school. I was done by 1992 and I paid for it myself. I graduated with no student loans or debt of any kind. Hell I even owned a house while I was getting my MBA.

I got a top grade education for a bargain price and now you are getting a shit education for top dollar with little job prospects for many. It doesn't take a genius to see the writing on the wall. You have been lied to for quite some time.

Yup this is the problem, the costs have risen exponentially. The other problem is the benefits are more concentrated then they were in the past. Top graduates from a few select schools in their respective fields still do quite well. But if you fall just below the cutoff you may find yourself unemployed with a huge mountain of debt.

 

[Gibson486]

Sounds good to me.

He will probably learn more in those two years than all those grads will earn in 4 years.

As for the useless projects comment, at least it's a project. He is gonna take his own initiative to do something. That is what matters. Whether it has any use or not does not matter. He is doing it because he wants to do it, not because some boss is saying it needs to be done. DO you really think he could gain much more by making a chess game for his objecting oriented programming class?

 

[Codewiz]

Simple problem. People do not respect skilled labor anymore. There is nothing wrong with being a good mechanic or good plumber. However, our society has decided that anything less than college is a failure. It is a bunch of BS.

 

[xanis]

Simple problem. People do not respect skilled labor anymore. There is nothing wrong with being a good mechanic or good plumber. However, our society has decided that anything less than college is a failure. It is a bunch of BS.

Agreed. One of my cousins didn't go to college and almost dropped out of high school. He now works for Verizon doing FiOS installations and runs his own landscaping business on the side... he's making damn good money right now.

 

[gophins72]

I think this is great. The risk is that the kid is too young to know how to work hard. Most innovation fails because of work ethic not because of lack of innovation.

The beauty is that the kid is given an opportunity that some would be extremely jealous to have. I hope he succeeds.

 

[halik]

Sounds good to me.

He will probably learn more in those two years than all those grads will earn in 4 years.

As for the useless projects comment, at least it's a project. He is gonna take his own initiative to do something. That is what matters. Whether it has any use or not does not matter. He is doing it because he wants to do it, not because some boss is saying it needs to be done. DO you really think he could gain much more by making a chess game for his objecting oriented programming class?

Yeah, that top CS program in the country has nothing to offer..

Most kids I know (self included) have had relevant jobs and/or similar ventures during college. Passing up a CMU CS ticket for 50K a year job doesn't sound all that great.

If anything, that program should be geared towards NYU classical literature students with zero earning potential, rather than kids going to top technical programs.

 

[FoBoT]

sweet

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Ah shit. I read it with those words swapped. I saw University of Chicago at Illinois instead of.. you know.

Professors at ucla are exactly the same. There are maybe a handful that actually teach. All the rest chill and let their assistants do the work.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

I think this is fair. A few friends of mine are going to college instead of starting their own businesses full time just because it is so useful to get a degree and be a full-time student, even if the degree is useless and you just do enough work to pass. It's good that someone is recognizing that there are people like this out there and trying to genuinely help them fulfill their dreams instead of forcing them into college because there's no real alternative right now.

 

[yinan]

99.9% (totally accurate) of corporations require at least a B.A. to interview for a decent salaried job.
Until HR departments allow people without degrees to interview, the problem will not change.

This is so not true. I barely have any college experience and I have a very good salaried job.

 

[Gibson486]

Yeah, that top CS program in the country has nothing to offer..

Most kids I know (self included) have had relevant jobs and/or similar ventures during college. Passing up a CMU CS ticket for 50K a year job doesn't sound all that great.

If anything, that program should be geared towards NYU classical literature students with zero earning potential, rather than kids going to top technical programs.

Here is the issue. It's an entrepreneur program.

yeah, I agree, going to a top CS school is a meal ticket to 50K a year, but that is not how an entrepreneur thinks.

Also, 2 years of a real project out of school is different that a project in school. I am not saying that the MIT's of the world have nothing to offer, but no one will say, "Oh, he is from MIT...he automatically has what it takes to start his own projects".

 

[oogabooga]

He probably felt that it didn't really add value to what he is today. I could probably be where I am today, if not better, without going to college. Many people have "made it big" were college drop outs too.

If he had gone to school - he's a hypocrite.
If he hadn't gone to school - he's just lucky that he succeeded where most would fail.

I don't know how I feel about this, but I gotta say - dude is backing it up with cash, he can try it out.

I do think that college education has become quite watered down and not very meaning full. A lot of people would benefit from a tradeschool more and getting into some form of specialized labor.

 

[halik]

Here is the issue. It's an entrepreneur program.

yeah, I agree, going to a top CS school is a meal ticket to 50K a year, but that is not how an entrepreneur thinks.

Also, 2 years of a real project out of school is different that a project in school. I am not saying that the MIT's of the world have nothing to offer, but no one will say, "Oh, he is from MIT...he automatically has what it takes to start his own projects".

I think you misunderstood me, he's passing up the #1 CS program and instead going for a 50K a year job. Vast, vast majority of start up fails and vast, vast majority of people get rejected applying to CMU. The odds are not running in your favour.

Average CS student makes 80K base out of CMU CS program

 

[dpodblood]

I don't see any downsides to the people receiving this money. They are basically being paid 100 grand to pursue their passions. They will either succeed with their ventures, and go on to be highly successfully, or they will fail and go on to post secondary education later in life. Either way it's not a bad deal for them.

 

[wantedSpidy]

I think this is only applicable to the special case of CS. There are many opportunities for CS ppl without a college degree. Heck, the best developers I've met aren't CS majors anyway.

We are now in a higher education bubble. People 'believe' its required for success, just like it was 'believed' home ownership was a must have.

When things are overpriced someone has to question the existence of the service. College prices are still increasing by almost 5% annually. At what point do you say stop? 80k/yr? 100k/yr? Its ridiculous, especially when I think back and I can honestly say that out of the 36-38 courses I took over the course of 8 semesters, only 10-12 are relevant to me now.

Its ridiculous how we the clients/buyers are starved for options in this industry.