<story><title>Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School</title><url>http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/25/students-stay-in-school/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>kyro</author><text>It&apos;s funny, because even people like Zuckerberg eventually had to pull in experts with extensive educational backgrounds to help in developing the company. And if you look at any billion dollar company, those with degrees have played and continue to play a critical role in said company&apos;s growth and success. While I do agree that with a field like computer science, real world experience rather than educational background may be far more valuable (read: Diaspora), I hope this mentality is limited to those within that demographic. This certainly does not apply to people pursuing medicine, law, finance, etc. Some of the comments go so far as to claim that higher education is this era&apos;s biggest scam, which is an extremely ignorant view. I attend medical school currently, and am certain that the value I gain from the plethora of resources available, from discussing cases with professors to sticking my hands in a cadaver, is significantly more than that I&apos;d get out of watching a few videos online, or taking some dissection tutorial. And these resources aren&apos;t free.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>todayiamme</author><text>You are making a mistake. It ultimately comes down to the drive that powers you.&lt;p&gt;If you are in it to be a billionaire then you&apos;re looking at it in the wrong way. It&apos;s a testament to the quixotic nature of life that you never, ever get what you&apos;re looking for.&lt;p&gt;I am in it to learn and grow as a human being, while trying to figure out what it means to be me on this ball of rock and liquid metal. I don&apos;t care if my start up makes a million dollars or a billion or a ridiculous trillion. I will work towards that goal, but my first priority is creating something beautiful and keep showing up everyday no matter what.&lt;p&gt;So, where does an education come in over here? Are colleges the only way I can learn in my life? Except for a few fields where direct intervention from a teacher is required I can learn a lot of things on my own. Whenever I face any problems whatsoever there is something called the internet to collaborate on.&lt;p&gt;Then again the question arises, why do people still fail? We&apos;re back to my initial point; drive. You can be an autodidact only if you are driven enough and there is a voice inside of you that tells you that you &lt;i&gt;need&lt;/i&gt; to learn. Some people need flogging and &quot;discipline&quot; to do the same thing. They need to go to an institution to internalize things and get things done under a Damocles sword (exams).&lt;p&gt;Most people are like that. Some aren&apos;t and this is the difference between them zuckerburgs and me.</text></comment>
<story><title>Students: You Are Probably Not Mark Zuckerberg, So Stay In School</title><url>http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/25/students-stay-in-school/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>kyro</author><text>It&apos;s funny, because even people like Zuckerberg eventually had to pull in experts with extensive educational backgrounds to help in developing the company. And if you look at any billion dollar company, those with degrees have played and continue to play a critical role in said company&apos;s growth and success. While I do agree that with a field like computer science, real world experience rather than educational background may be far more valuable (read: Diaspora), I hope this mentality is limited to those within that demographic. This certainly does not apply to people pursuing medicine, law, finance, etc. Some of the comments go so far as to claim that higher education is this era&apos;s biggest scam, which is an extremely ignorant view. I attend medical school currently, and am certain that the value I gain from the plethora of resources available, from discussing cases with professors to sticking my hands in a cadaver, is significantly more than that I&apos;d get out of watching a few videos online, or taking some dissection tutorial. And these resources aren&apos;t free.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>nostrademons</author><text>&quot;Some of the comments go so far as to claim that higher education is this era&apos;s biggest scam, which is an extremely ignorant view.&quot;&lt;p&gt;There is a gigantic difference between medical school and University of Phoenix.</text></comment>