I recently read a fascinating column about PayPal co-founder, Peter Thiel. The 43-year-old with a net worth of $1.5 billion created a $2 million fund to find college students younger than twenty, willing to drop out of school and start a business with $100,000 that he would give each of them. Take a minute and read the story.
In 2011, a traditional college education is no longer a guarantee for a monetarily successful future. I know many college graduates working in the sales and service industry making minimum wage because they can not find better paying jobs. Their college degrees have turned out to be nothing more than worthless pieces of paper.
Many young people are searching for alternative ways to jump start a career.
Popular in our area are short term programs in technical and medical fields. One of our local colleges, A B Tech has great choices to select from. Graduates don’t end up with huge loans after they complete these programs. Most are able to find decent paying jobs, often with the assistance of the school.
With college debt in this country exceeding credit card debt, it is obvious we have a huge problem.
Peter Thiel’s idea of encouraging high school graduates to drop out of college and go into business may concern some of my generation. Many of us were raised by parents who worked long and hard to send us to college. Back then, a 4 year college education was considered the best way to become successful. Not anymore!
I will be curious to know how these young entrepreneurs are doing several years down the road.
