IT'S A CRAZY time we're living in. Not only are we at the beginning of a whole new -- far too over-hyped -- millennium, we are also living in the midst of a technological revolution. The entire economy is shifting, and with it the society that harbors it is changing as well. Ingenuity has become more important than experience when it comes to making money, as illustrated by 25-year-old technological geniuses becoming millionaires, even billionaires, overnight -- yes, even without Regis' help. I suppose, then, that it shouldn't be surprising that so many people are considering a college education less important than it was in the past. In the tech world, college can seem irrelevant -- even frivolous. Though prospects are bright, the wisdom of this mindset is questionable at best.
A friend of mine will not be returning to school for his second year of college because of a $75,000 a year job offer at a computer firm. He said, "All of a sudden, college didn't seem so vital." The young and computer-savvy of the country nowadays are beginning to ask themselves, "Who needs a college education when people with my skills are working to the tune of $70 thousand salaries?"
TechBoys (and Girls) are in high demand right now, and they know it. Instead of companies doing the interviewing, job-seekers are the ones asking the questions, as Internet hotshots see where they can get the cushiest opening salaries and stock options. Some companies are so desperate for new recruits that they even go scouting for computer-skilled high schoolers. With this dazzling smorgasbord of opportunity before them, kids are dropping out of college or forgoing it altogether in pursuit of tech gold.
Of course, our pal TechBoy hears stories, such as that of Jeffrey Arnold. Arnold, who founded WebMD, a health care site, never graduated college. He is now 29 and worth $321 million. Then there's that other college dropout who managed to become the richest man in the world. But for all the media hype that is generated around people like Arnold and Bill Gates, there are many people who enter the technology field without coming up with the Next Big (Highly Profitable) Thing. Not everyone can be Bill Gates.
So, if TechBoy forgoes college in favor of getting a $70,000-dollar-a-year job -- which seems like a lot to someone that young -- one of two things will happen to him. He could go on to super technological stardom and become fabulously rich, powerful and able to buy small countries as summer homes. On the other hand, his business plan might not succeed, or he could simply burn out. In the event that those possibilities become reality, TechBoy may find himself in a lurch. Without a college degree, he could suddenly be 43 years old and still stuck making that $70,000 a year when he has a spouse and four children to support.
Also, if TechBoy were ever to decide that he wanted to pursue a career not involving computers, he would need a college degree. By quitting school, he would be limiting himself to the technology world for the rest of his life. He may be dubious about ever wanting to leave the field, but he should consider that the average American makes three to five major career changes in his or her lifetime (www.montana.edu/wwwcp/process.html). What if TechBoy fits the norm? What if he decides, later in life, that he wants to "give something back" and become a social worker? Lacking the college degree needed for such a change could discourage or completely prevent him from pursuing his dream at all.
Finally, as hokey as this may sound, college truly is an invaluable experience in itself. Besides being a place to get an education it is the "best years of your life." Where else but college can TechBoy take a philosophy course on existentialism just because he feels like it? Where else can he talk about changing the world and actually be taken seriously? Youth, as any old person will tell you, is a valuable thing. It is short. It is the time to be crazy and stupid and pseudo-intellectual while you still can.
The technological revolution is not an all-out gold rush. The Internet has established itself as here to stay. It is not a fad. Yet there is an inexplicable sense of urgency about cashing in on it, and many young people want to get in on the action. Once they clear their heads and straighten their priorities, people should see that considering work over school is a bad idea. The real world, and the Internet, can wait till graduation.
(Laura Sahramaa is a Cavalier Daily Viewpoint writer.)
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