WTF: Paypal Founder Pays Students To Skip College

This isn't all that shocking or surprising. For a lot of these kids college is a waste of time and money. They have skills and talents that are in demand now so they should strike while the iron is hot. Universities aren't going anywhere so if it doesn't workout for them they can go back.

College is fairly useless to someone who is determined, skilled and in demand. The majority of students in college are unfocused and are just getting their degree because it will help them get a job, so why not skip this step if you already have job offers?
 
I can sort of see his point. College these days seems to have become merely an overpriced trade school with absolutely no guarantee of job at the end of the gauntlet.
 
...as someone who has attended college, I can vouch for the paypal fella...its a gigantic waste of time. I would send your son to a trade school, where he will actually learn a career...there is no guarantee that with a diploma, you'll get a job...I think thats wrong, but colleges are making record profits, and will never change. College should teach the skills needed to pursue a career, not how to play extreme frisbee...
 
I can attest. At my new band practice yesterday the singer was talking about uni when the drummer asked if I had a degree. I told him I had a degree in politics and history and a postgrad in history ed.

He was very impressed until i told him it didn't take a whole lot of effort.

Getting a top notch degree = hard

Getting a degree = being able to drag yourself out of bed more days than not.


I must say I'd be very pissed if we had a US-like system where you're bent over a barrel financially to go through the hoops.
 
Kerouac said:
I was firmly in the not camp. I bet if I went back know I still couldn't. :embarrassed:
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My first foray into the halls of higher academia was a mickey mouse qualification in music business promotion which was taught by guys who'd been there, done it and wore the t shirt. Getting to the pub before the lecturers was quite an achievement so by time I got to doing a real course I'd kind of out grown the worst excesses of studentism.

I did manage to do 6 or 7 Fresher's weeks ona ccount of doing so many different courses :grin: good times.
 
jbj said:
I must say I'd be very pissed if we had a US-like system where you're bent over a barrel financially to go through the hoops.
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...I wouldnt say the US system is any better...the majority of college graduates leave college with over $50,000 in debt (a bit over £30,000 I reckon)...thats a massive debt, with no guarantee of work to pay it off...a tremendous gamble in a time where jobs are few and far between...
 
The Internet is quickly outmoding all the educational advantages of college. Today I can access reading lists of courses, watch university lectures online, and engage in high-level conversations on forums. I can publish research or creative projects on the Internet. The main advantage colleges will continue to have is name-branding and networking through connected mentors.

With college getting so expensive and questionable in quality, I wouldn't be surprised if more college alternatives like this one pop up in the coming years.
 
Coda said:
...I wouldnt say the US system is any better...the majority of college graduates leave college with over $50,000 in debt (a bit over £30,000 I reckon)...thats a massive debt, with no guarantee of work to pay it off...a tremendous gamble in a time where jobs are few and far between...
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That was my point. I ended up just under £20k in debt but I fucked around for a few years before getting my shit together and I'm a bit of an abnormality as far as student debt here is concerned. I'm pretty sure my brother paid his off years ago and he's 26.
 
College was fun... I majored in drugs, chicks, electric guitar, hacky sack, and surfing... :)

Anyways, if you have a specific goal that requires college, great... I had no goals, and I quit after four years... What I DID do after dropping out was become an electrician apprentice, and that proved to be one of the smartest moves I ever made...
 
I have my BA in Mass Communications and work in my field. Having the degree only meant I got paid a little more than if I had not. I did learn more in my first 2 months in my post-college job than I did in all 4 years at school. College really only served as a nice training course of independence and living on a budget - and a big time growing up experience for me.

BUT... my lady has 2 yrs worth of college credits (that likely won't transfer... everybody know the kind of bullshit that is) in pre-physical therapy, but she is a sales rep for Verizon and makes about 30% more than I do.

And another thing, here in NW TN, it seems having a college degree can hurt you more than help you. Over-qualification. In a lot of cases, the jobs that people went to school and picked a major based on something they were passionate about... those jobs JUST AREN'T THERE. Folks are going to choose the guy w the job experience over the guy w the degree every time (at least around here) - don't have to train the guy w experience, or pay him as much as the guy that has the degree.
 
gibby mcfender said:
Folks are going to choose the guy w the job experience over the guy w the degree every time (at least around here) - don't have to train the guy w experience, or pay him as much as the guy that has the degree.
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...thats the way it is everywhere...more experience = less training required...
 
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