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Should you finish college as quick as possible so you can start working?

4 points by freshfunk ↗ HN
I graduated Berkeley (EECS) 10 years ago but I went back to the CS building last night to attend a meeting of a group of entrepreneurial EECS students.

One thing struck me: It seemed that everyone was eager to graduate in 3 years. Some people I met already had done that. I didn't realize it had become such a popular thing to do (didn't seem that way when I was in school).

I admire this rush to finish school and start a company or start working. It's something like a rush to grow up.

But, personally, I think that it's not worth it in the long term. In short, the biggest realization I think many people have once they've worked for a number of years was _how much they missed college_.

It's not just about the parties, getting late night food down the street or hanging out with friends. It's the academic setting. It's the freedom to spend your whole day learning (Yes, I said freedom). It's the access and environment of being around brilliant people. It's learning.

Once you're on the outside, life is different. You worry about paying the bills and the choice of how you spend your time in the work environment is typically restricted based on what someone else says (unless you do your own startup).

I could dig deeper into it but I want to take these students, shake them by the shoulders, slap them across the face, and tell them to stay 4 years. Heck, stay 5 years and learn more stuff! The real world will still be there.

5 comments

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neostar
Hi there,

I am also exited to start a startup company. Its my last semester, and i think i should start the company as soon as possible.

But, hey wait a minute, but now i m also feeling that the freedom we(me and my friends) have in college, is going away.

some time it seems better to be in college for life time lol :)

Rajendra Pondel

nekitamo
You graduated 10 years ago. The college scene has changed significantly since then. We don't "learn" any more. We simply grind through stacks of mind-numbing busywork in the form of homeworks and midterms given to us by the TAs of professors who are too lazy to actually attend their own lectures since they're busy working on their own pet research projects. College is an orgy of work that ends when you've accumulated enough credits so that you can receive your little piece of paper that says you're eligible for a cubicle job for the rest of your life. It's not an education, it's a chore, another hoop that society deems you should jump through before you become your own man.

I am a 3rd year EECS student. I am graduating this year. I already have a company that I can hardly wait to throw myself full time into. Good riddance.

esw
I don't know that anything has necessarily changed, since you've described the university experience I had almost 20 years ago. For what it's worth, if you relate to college as a hoop that you have to jump through (I did), then you'll almost certainly have this experience.
jhowell
It's great that you are excited about the future. That's probably the most important thing.

Having graduated about 13 years ago now, I guess that the thing that I come to realize is that if you're not happy now, you probably won't be happy at the next "phase," so enjoy the ride.

Also, there seems to be an inverse relationship between happiness and responsibility. I don't fear or dodge responsibility, but I try to better understand its diminishing return in the scope of my life/happiness.

I could be wrong, but I don't think at the end of it all, I'll be wishing that I would have taken on more responsibility, earlier.

rdouble
The 140% tuition increase over the past decade might contribute to the sense of urgency about graduating.