One day about a dozen years ago, I interviewed with a bored-looking Vivek Wadhwa for a sysadmin position with Relativity Technologies. I didn’t get the job, perhaps because I don’t have a college degree. In hindsight I am glad I wasn’t hired because Relativity soon tanked, finally being bought by Micro Focus (which also bought my former employer, Intersolv). Perhaps the company would’ve been more successful with a few more creative, independent thinkers like me.
Wadhwa is now making a case against forgoing college. For some professions that make sense, but for others like IT one does not need a degree to be successful. Sure, a degree is fine if one wants to work for someone else, but for many entrepreneurs that time is better spent making things happen.
The best thing college gives you is connections. If those connections can be gained through other means, like hackathons, user groups, or the like then one wonders if loading oneself up on massive student debt is as wise a move as it once was.
Experience is, and always will be, the best teacher.
Vivek Wadhwa, a former high-tech entrepreneur in the Triangle who now teaches at Duke and Stanford universities, is matched against billionaire Peter Thiel Sunday night in a CBS “60 Minutes” segment exploring the value of a college degree.
Thiel is paying 20 young people $100,000 a year to drop out or not go to college in order to pursue new business ideas.
Wadhwa says Thiel is sending the wrong message.
via Duke professor, billionaire debate higher education’s value on ’60 Minutes’ :: WRAL Tech Wire.