More importantly, you’re using far-mode arguments (general, long-term, non-specific) for pro and near-mode (specific scenarios that you have to actually do) for contra, which is going to be a painful awakening when you have to actually act.
This is a very, very important point. Thank you. I intended to talk about concrete non-college plans under “opportunity costs”, but never got there.
No matter what, my cofounders and I will spend at least the summer developing Poetic. If Poetic takes off, wonderful, but the default outcome is that it will die.
If Poetic does die, I can use its corpse for cover during the job hunt. To quote lsusr, who’s quoting Paul Graham:
When I was 24 I had a hard time getting a job as a software developer. As an self-taught engineer, I had no credentials.
To make sure I asked some friends who work for big companies. I asked managers at Yahoo, Google, Amazon, Cisco and Microsoft how they’d feel about two candidates, both 24, with equal ability, one who’d tried to start a startup that tanked, and another who’d spent the two years since college working as a developer at a big company. Every one responded that they’d prefer the guy who’d tried to start his own
company. So there you have it. Want to get hired by Yahoo? Start your own company.
“Hey,” I thought, “I’m 24. I can game the system! If I start a startup with the deliberate intention to fail after a few months then I can get hired as a software developer.”
I am 90% certain I can get hired at Introspective Systems, as my internship there was pretty transparently part of a talent recruitment pipeline, and the CTO told me college was a scam and tried to talk me out of going.
The uncertainty arises from the fact that that CTO has since passed away. However, the current CEO was her wife, and she was nice to me too.
I could resolve this uncertainty by calling them and asking for a job, but that would imply that I wouldn’t be working on Poetic full-time, and I don’t want to cut off my exposure to right-tail risk and/or throw my cofounders under the bus.
I also have a pipe-dream where I convince an EA institution to pay me money to feed mice lamivudine in my backyard, and record its effect upon the aging process. Worth pursuing, but not a secure career path by any means.
This is a very, very important point. Thank you. I intended to talk about concrete non-college plans under “opportunity costs”, but never got there.
No matter what, my cofounders and I will spend at least the summer developing Poetic. If Poetic takes off, wonderful, but the default outcome is that it will die.
If Poetic does die, I can use its corpse for cover during the job hunt. To quote lsusr, who’s quoting Paul Graham:
I am 90% certain I can get hired at Introspective Systems, as my internship there was pretty transparently part of a talent recruitment pipeline, and the CTO told me college was a scam and tried to talk me out of going.
The uncertainty arises from the fact that that CTO has since passed away. However, the current CEO was her wife, and she was nice to me too.
I could resolve this uncertainty by calling them and asking for a job, but that would imply that I wouldn’t be working on Poetic full-time, and I don’t want to cut off my exposure to right-tail risk and/or throw my cofounders under the bus.
I also have a pipe-dream where I convince an EA institution to pay me money to feed mice lamivudine in my backyard, and record its effect upon the aging process. Worth pursuing, but not a secure career path by any means.