

Should I join CS major at college or start building my own startup? - desushil

As I have already joined college, I am having bad grades. I am in 3rd year now, one year left for finishing the college. May be I should feel shame asking this question, but I am sad that I am about to quit. Any suggestions?
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skadamat
I'm in a very similar position myself. I'm about to enter my 3rd year at UT
Austin, with a double major in Business (MIS) and Computer Science. I have
gotten offers to co-found 1 or 2 startup ideas with adult founders that have
had very successful companies in the past (that they started!). I was
originally only MIS, but my interest has always been in tech tinkering so CS
was a must.

I've talked to tons of people and asked this same question and I've learned
that a CS degree is VERY useful. Besides engineering, it's one of the most
valuable degrees you can get. Many companies don't care about you grades if
you're in CS / Engineering, they care about your experience, intelligence,
etc. I would strongly recommend working on a startup idea on the side and/or
getting an internship in the semester (if no startup) or a full-time
internship next summer. Grades are important, but honestly if you have around
a 3.0 - 3.2 and you're doing a technical field and you got good startup /
internship experience, you're much better than a 4.0 CS guy with very little
experience, hands down.

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hluska
Let me tell you a story....

In 1997, I was precisely where you are right now. I had just started the third
year of an accounting degree, I hated every moment of every single class, and
my grades had started to slip from all 90s into the mid 70s. Being a good
Gen-X'er, rather than outright quit, I decided to be a slacker for four months
while I slowly started doing market research.

By early 1998, I was ready to drop out and start my own company. That company
was reasonably successful and I sold it later that year (for a price I would
laugh at today, but I was 21). Most importantly, I learned more in nine months
than I had in my entire University career. About a decade later, I went back
to school and finished my degree.

Basically my friend, if you're not motivated and if your marks stink, why
waste money? You likely aren't learning much of anything, so either go out and
start something or get a job. Higher education is hard enough when you are
motivated; it is a waste of time when you are not.

Just my two cents - best of luck!

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nhangen
It depends on how skilled you are. If I were young, had little debt, and no
responsibility, I would go to college, have a blast, and build something on
nights and weekends. You have plenty of time, enjoy it.

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creativeone
Finish! You can start working on your startup on the side, but with only 1-2
years left, you'll have a degree that can be used in case of emergencies to
get you a job.

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glimcat
One year left: finish the damn thing. The ROI is pretty good there. You can
also do _other things at the same time_ like trying to sort out your career
plans.

People who dropped out of college and founded some giant tech company didn't
do it because they had bad grades. They did it because they had already
started developing the company and no longer had time for anything else.

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ChrisEYin8
Stay in school and utilize the school's resources to build your startup--
people, office space, tools, a huge market, etc. When you have milked the
school for what it's worth and your startup is ready to expand outside of your
college, quit.

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kmdent
That piece of paper makes all the difference. Hang in there for the last year
and you will be happy you did. It is tough to land a good job without a
degree.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

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louvipi
Try your startup for a time. If it looks like things are not working out, go
back to college. I hope you have some form of a team assembled, one person
starts are really hard. Have fun.

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JonoW
Finish college and work on your startup on the side for a year. Also, if you
need to do a major research project or dissertation, choose something that
will be of use for your startup.

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webbruce
Use school and get it done. Tons of resources and people to meet

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mrphoebs
agreed, do both.

