Now that the Thiel Fellows have been announced the media has been pouncing. If you don’t know, Peter Thiel is giving a bunch of bright-young-things some money to drop out of college (or not go to college). Here are the details:
As the first members of the 20 Under 20 Thiel Fellowship, the Fellows will pursue innovative scientific and technical projects, learn entrepreneurship, and begin to build the technology companies of tomorrow. During their two-year tenure, each Fellow will receive $100,000 from the Thiel Foundation as well as mentorship from the Foundation’s network of tech entrepreneurs and innovators. The project areas for this class of fellows include biotech, career development, economics and finance, education, energy, information technology, mobility, robotics, and space.
The media has expressed polite and impolite skepticism of the idea of not going the college route. They point out, correctly, that those who are college graduates have much higher earning power. If you think college is a waste of time, try getting a high paying job outside of manufacturing or high-risk labor. Since this is a site where I can express my own personal perspective, let me drop the mask of objective reportage and shift toward …