Ask HN: Should I Go to Gradschool?

3 points by feyndev 5 years ago | 3 comments

During the summer of 2019, I did a coding Bootcamp which helped me land a job in a new startup as a full-stack developer. I worked there for a year, part-time (I was studying undergraduate economics too). It made me understand that I want to build products with other people. At the end of May, I'll have finished my bachelor of economics. I applied for a couple of Master's degree (business school) but I'm not sure I should go. A bit of context, I live in France, school is free and my parents (from whom I'm financially dependent) believe that graduate school is the only way to get a job. I applied to competitive graduate programs that I find interesting but nothing like working at a startup. I fell in love with building software and constantly improving my skills. I found it so much more fulfilling than academics. After working at a startup and acquiring coding skills, I gained confidence in my problem-solving capabilities. I'm hesitating between going to graduate school in Paris, like my parents want me to, or work at a startup abroad.

meristohm 5 years ago |

My experience, in short: I went to grad school by default, and without a clear goal. It wasn’t a complete waste, as I made friends and grew up and traveled and learned during that time, and the degree conferred “highly-qualified” status for teaching, but I think tradeschool or farming or something involving a healthier mix of physical and mental exercise would have been a better course, supplemented with time at the library. Whatever you choose may not be perfect, and that’s okay. Good luck!

david927 5 years ago |

That's a tough question; I've been there. I wouldn't ever give advice but I can tell you my own experience, and hopefully others will share theirs, so that you get a wide variety of responses.

After my undergrad, I moved to the Bay Area and I had a chance to get an MBA at a good school, but I turned it down to work on my own startup. For me, it's actually one of my few regrets because I can see now that it would have actually helped me in my startups later. Doing a startup is like rolling the dice; there's a lot of luck involved, strangely. If I had taken the couple years to get that degree, I think it would have bettered my odds later, and would have been worth it.

Again, that's just a personal anecdote and not intended to convey anything other than my limited perspective. Of course, if you're really sold on the idea, you could take a year off and just see what happens as well. Personally, I've worked in both Silicon Valley and France (the 06 :-). I would take France any second of any day of the week. It's a slice of heaven and nothing less. :-)

WheelsAtLarge 5 years ago |

Yes, if you decide what you want to do with it. Set a goal and decide how you can use your time in school to accomplish it. Don't go to school and hope that once you get out you'll figure out what to do.