Ask HN: What is the best major for a start up?

1 points by edwardy20 12 years ago | 1 comment

I am a high school senior about to go into college, and I wish to work for or found a start up in the future. My most immediate plans are to go to college next year, and I have disregarded the possibility of dropping out, since 1. As Paul Graham says, waiting a few years to do a startup isn't a big deal, 2. A degree sounds like a good backup plan in case things go south. With that being said, I'm deliberating in what to major in. Computer Science seems like an obvious choice, but I'm also considering Electrical Engineering or Physics since they seem more broad-based and will teach things impossible to learn by myself. Does HN have any advice?

ASquare 12 years ago |

Anything to do with project management or marketing.

Running a startup means having to juggle many priorities efficiently. Being able to manage timelines/resources/deliverables etc requires a completely separate & necessary skill set to raise the odds of your startup surviving any reasonable period of time.

As to why marketing, read this: http://ventureburn.com/2013/07/dave-mcclure-says-silicon-val...

While its clearly a blanket statement, there is a lot of truth to what Dave McClure said.

Not knowing how to market what you've worked so hard on is pointless if you can't bring it to their attention in a way that makes them want it.

The other benefit of having project management/marketing knowledge is that they are transferable skills. If your startup doesn't take off, you will be in a better position to take advantage of opportunities in pretty much any industry (and every industry needs good project managers and marketers).

Ultimately whatever you choose to major in, it's worth thinking about what transferable skills that degree could provide you.