Remembering my high-school days, I am happy that I followed the conventional path instead of some of my crazy ideas. There were moments when I considered quiting school and starting a company with my friends. It probably wouldn’t end well… because when I actually started a company, 10 years later, it quickly went bankrupt. I lost my savings of a few years, but I already had a university diploma which helped me get some well-paying jobs later.
(The company went bankrupt partially as a result of our incompetence, and partially because of bad luck. But only in hindsight I realized that even competence and good luck often do not bring success. My more experienced friend insists that the most dangerous moment for a company is when it actually starts making profit… suddenly many co-founders realize they do not really want to share their first million with a guy who could be replaced by a moderately-paid employee. This is a situation when people often find themselves stabbed in the back, either because they signed a document where they didn’t read the small print carefully, or their partner simply started another company and redirected the business to it. Do not overestimate the importance of your skills.)
The advantage of the educational system is that you only do it once, and then you have credentials for the rest of your life. This will be very useful if you end up being an employee (the prior probability is quite high). But of course, after doing the “minimum + safety margin” to secure your future membership in the educated caste, turn off Reddit (or whatever it is kids use these days) and start the self-improvement spiral, as described in the article.
Remembering my high-school days, I am happy that I followed the conventional path instead of some of my crazy ideas. There were moments when I considered quiting school and starting a company with my friends. It probably wouldn’t end well… because when I actually started a company, 10 years later, it quickly went bankrupt. I lost my savings of a few years, but I already had a university diploma which helped me get some well-paying jobs later.
(The company went bankrupt partially as a result of our incompetence, and partially because of bad luck. But only in hindsight I realized that even competence and good luck often do not bring success. My more experienced friend insists that the most dangerous moment for a company is when it actually starts making profit… suddenly many co-founders realize they do not really want to share their first million with a guy who could be replaced by a moderately-paid employee. This is a situation when people often find themselves stabbed in the back, either because they signed a document where they didn’t read the small print carefully, or their partner simply started another company and redirected the business to it. Do not overestimate the importance of your skills.)
The advantage of the educational system is that you only do it once, and then you have credentials for the rest of your life. This will be very useful if you end up being an employee (the prior probability is quite high). But of course, after doing the “minimum + safety margin” to secure your future membership in the educated caste, turn off Reddit (or whatever it is kids use these days) and start the self-improvement spiral, as described in the article.