Life Decisions and College
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Ok. This is going to be a personal entry. Much more so than I’m accustomed to. So bear with me.
So those of you who follow me on twitter have already heard a bit about this. And perhaps heard it with a bit more certainty than I realistically have. In short, it looks like I’m going to be leaving college for at least a semester to try and pursue establishing a real business.
It’s been a decision I’ve really struggled with, and still am. I’m not going to lie and pretend like I fought my way up from the streets of the ghetto. I’ve lived my whole life in a nice suburb around 10 miles north of Detroit. It’s always been an expectation that I would graduate. An expectation held by those around me, and by myself. It’s completely petrifying to look at the future without that. I sound like a brat, I know.
So why am I making this decision?
- I Suck at School - As long as I can remember, I’ve been riding the line at school. Or in some cases, far below the line. I can remember a parent-teacher conference in the 5th grade where I was missing a whopping 46 assignments. Half way through the marking. Yes, that’s almost every one.
And things haven’t gotten much better. I could do quite will in school, I know. It would require less effort on my part than on the part of a lot of other people who manage to get through. But I’ve never been able to apply that effort. I’ve always had other things on my mind that completely overpower school. Things that actually make me resent it when I decide to attend class. I could be coding. I could be fine tuning a campaign. I could be handing some company their ass on a platter. But no, I’m learning about integrals.
Oh yeah, and at this rate, it’s going to take me forever to graduate. - I’m Good at Business - I hope. I’m doing quite good now(far better than I probably deserve), and have been on and off over the last 5 years or so. It’s far from stabilized, but that’s part of why I want to take time off(or not come back?). I want to see what I can do actually putting everything I have into something. I’m not at all confident. I’m confident I’ll be fine for now, but it’s not as certain. This is a new industry, all around. 15-20 years from now? 30? Damn. Computers 30 years ago were so insanely different from the ones now…
- Welcome to the “Ground Level” - How many people have looked at how many businesses in the past, and thought “Damn. Wish I’d gotten in on that back in the day.” For affiliate marketing and SEO, this IS back in the day. Neither have a dominating figure yet. College kids can come in with their “secured” credit card, and potentially school million dollar corporations.
How long can this last? I don’t know. But I doubt it can be forever. I see affiliate marketing going the way of SEO. Mini-corporations of highly skilled individuals busting their ass together on specialties, and outsourcing that which they don’t have time for. I want to be a part of that someday. And I figure that if I want to be doing that, now is the time. I’d love to get a few people living in the same area together splitting up the work or whatever, working together. Maybe that will pan out. I’m not agressively pursuing it until I solidify my own stuff.
So yeah. That’s the story. I had to let it out somewhere, and decided this is a good place. I’ve gotten a fair amount of input in favor of both of the possible options. And while I think it’s obvious what I’m leaning towards, I’m still a bit unnerved by it. On paper, my resume is nothing. If I do this, I’ll either have to be self-employed for the rest of my working life, get terribly lucky and find a good job with someone who doesn’t care, or end up crawling back here. So this action, should I truly decide to take it, is me betting on myself for the next 30 years.
On a related note, I’m considering opening up for SEO consultations. After a few practice runs of course. Not yet. But after I’m sure I could give people’s their money’s worth(when I have a decided format, and am capable of writing it in terms that the average joe could understand).
I don’t want this whole thing to come off as me not being confident. I feel I’m as confident as someone undergoing a major life change can be.
We’ll see I guess.
-XMCP
April 10th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Good for you!
But, considering the successes you’ve had with PPC and BH SEO I don’t see why you should bother with doing SEO consultations.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:01 am
Fucking go for it. You can always go back later, and go in style. Make the money while you can, ’cause things can change very rapidly in this business.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Leaving school at 17 before I finished 6th form (UK) was the best decision I ever made. I knew what I wanted to do and I knew what I was good at. School and university etc. is great if you haven’t yet decided what you want to do or what you excel at. You sound like you know where you are going, so good luck to you
April 10th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Didn’t know you were such a young guy, but I definitely understand where you’re at. I recently graduated college and couldn’t wait to get out to do “business” online. Good luck! At least you have that strong foundation down already.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:00 am
I’m in the same boat, constantly choosing between college and other priorities. One thing I might do is just take less classes, or online/weekend classes.
I’ve taken some semesters off in the past, and it becomes increasingly difficult to get back in school, especially as you get older and realize that you’ll be sitting next to 19-21 year olds.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:05 am
Why not take a leave of absence so you can have your options open? You might also find that you could switch to part-time study and do things like an idependent study with a business prof, where your assignments are keeping good track of your business experiences.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:19 am
I obviously don’t know your whole situation and I just want to say that if you take that half semester off, it will be a long while ’til you make it back to school, if ever.
Yes things are booming now, and it’s the time to get in definitely, you need to make sure you’re always preparing for the future too, investing a percentage of profits into retirement plans, rainy day/week/month funds, etc. to weather the storm of you down periods (like you said, it’s an up and down game)
I would recommend at least keeping one class so you have a somewhat of set schedule to follow but still tons of free time to pursue the things you’re passionate about.
What it really boils down to is finding what’ll make you happiest, and usually that’s going to be what you’re most passionate about– even if it means making slightly less bank. Right now thankfully, what we’re passionate about is booming so there’s plenty of bank to be made.. For me I know I can always go back to school if need be, however unlikely it seems at this point =)
Best of luck to you
April 10th, 2008 at 9:21 am
@Stever: I consider it a back up. The world of affiliate marketing and blackhat are both insanely unstable. I’d like some day to retire, so a stable business or sidebusiness is necessary if everything else proves too hard to stabilize.
@Hansolo: My thoughts exactly. I can go back to school, I can never return this market to how it is.
@Ryan: Glad to here it worked for someone.
@Gyutae Park: Do you find that the degree really helped?
@hp: That’s what I’m worried about..
@Rebecca: I’ll take a look at that. I’m going to talk to a “academic advisor” in the next day or two, see what my options are.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:25 am
I left school to pursue a full time course of girls and, er, other stuff.
It took me exactly 18 months and seeing two people with degrees picked and promoted over me to get my tushie back to school (part time).
Not having a college degree will affect your ability to get business loans, etc. Sad but true.
But leaving school was the best thing for me. Good luck!
-OT
April 10th, 2008 at 9:30 am
This is the best time of your life to take wild risks that could pay off big time.
Later in life with a family you can’t change course on a whim and just crash on a friends couch and eat ramen for a while if things go bad.
Just don’t burn any bridges unnecessarily.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I quit when I was 19 (I actually got kicked out cause I stopped going) to start my own business. I’ve had VERY good months, and I’ve had VERY bad ones.
You sound a lot like me, when I was in school back then I knew I had the ability to do well but I just didn’t see the point. I was a huge slacker. I got into business and suddenly turned into a workaholic.
I don’t regret at all leaving, but I recently went back part time in a totally unrelated field. And for the first time in my life I actually enjoy school. So don’t sweat leaving if you feel school isn’t relevant to you right now - but after a few bad months when I had to take a look at the job market, I’m sure as hell going back
p.s. I love college girls
April 10th, 2008 at 9:49 am
I say go for it buddy.
Good for you for taking the plunge. It’s not easy to do, and step away from the path that almost everyone else around you says is the right one. The bigger the risk the bigger reward.
You’re young and now is the time to take a risk. You can always go back to school. I went back after five years off and finished my degree. If you decide to go back it will be because you want to and you’ll do great because you’ll be focused.
Some will say you will never go back but so what, some will say you will never make it in business also. You don’t live your life by what others think. They can live their boring typical lives however they want. It’s obvious from this blog that you’re very intelligent and I bet you’ll do very very well. Good luck!
April 10th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Shady - I know you’re going to do great once you have the time to dedicate to a full time gig. That said, don’t undermine the importance of a degree, because sadly, we still live in a society that values that piece of paper on your wall. Now that said, go make your millions (or something close to it), and come back to school atleast part time.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Go for it.. I took 5 years off from college to “do other things”.. I simply wasn’t ready for school at the time and had more fun, and made far more money, by ‘taking a break’ and going out in to the big old scary world..
Just go clean and easy.. No need for drama on the way out the door..
And for the record, when I did go back I was much better at school and cranked out a major with 4 minors in 4 years, and had a lot more fun at it..
April 10th, 2008 at 10:13 am
If you mange to start and run a business you won’t need to worry about not having a degree or not having other “jobs” on your resume. Successfully starting and running a business tells potential employers a lot more about you than a college degree does.
I know so many people who got their jobs by pointing to a project online they did and saying, “Yep, that was me.” It didn’t matter if it was a site, an open source application, or a not-for-profit. In one case, the company came looking for my friend because they’d seen his work. Another friend had his open source project purchased for good money. No one hires the rock stars from their resumes, they hire them through word-of-mouth or via their projects. Seriously.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Go for it! When you get married, have kids etc. it will become almost impossible to take a major risk like starting your own business.
I understand the family pressure thing too. My family wasn’t very supportive of me dropping out of college to start my own business. But after 2 years of doing my own thing and showing that I knew what I was doing their opinions changed.
Besides, if worst comes to worst, you can pick up where you left off with almost no effort.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:36 am
I was in a very familiar sounding boat about 2 years ago when I left college to pursue a more professional life. I’ve never regretted the choice once and I actually feel proud when people find out that I am a very successful college dropout. I am sure I will finish someday, but on my own terms.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:36 am
“Do you find that the degree really helped?”
In terms of knowledge, probably not… but it does add a sense of security and accomplishment. If it ever comes down to it, it’ll be much easier to get a job if you have that degree.
April 10th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Definitely go for it, I’d say. As others have said, there’s never likely to be a better time when your relatively free of debt and responsibilities.
If it doesn’t work out you can always go back to college.
I wouldn’t hugely worry about the degree thing, I don’t think I’d want to work for a company where they didn’t value experience > a piece of paper.
Good luck!
April 10th, 2008 at 11:43 am
I am with Dev Basu. I am a recent graduate and I can tell you there are a lot of doors that the degree will open. Its strange, you don’t really have to have a degree in anything thats relevant, just get one.
You are obviously a smart guy. The degree will just make you that much more appealing to the big money in the world.
April 10th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
it’s straight man, I really wanted to drop out last semester because my business was doing well and now I’m struggling to balance both. I didn’t know you were from near detroit though, I used to live in grosse pointe farms and once you get a few miles outside of the city it really is a nice place. follow your gut.
April 10th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Go for it.
I left college after 3 years because I was bored, and did other things for a while. I did go back 2 years later and was much better at it and enjoyed it a lot more.
Yes my parents were pissed and worried at the time, but you can’t let that influence you.
Also: the degree only helps you get the first job or so, once you have a decent track record in the ‘real world’ nobody gives a shit about your degree.
Literally I think I could leave it off my resume and nobody would ever ask about it or care (I’ve been in the working world for 16 years now). If you are working for yourself it should matter even less.
Follow your passion wherever it leads, you won’t regret it.
Don’t quit giving me the good BH info though
April 10th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Most people spend their lifetime looking for something to do that they are passionate about and that will make them a living. If you are there now GO FOR IT.
I have been stalling my dream for far too long, I finished college, got a 9 to 5. Doubled my salary 2 years out. Living very “comfortable.” All my friends think I am doing great.
The truth is I put on the “golden handcuffs” of corporate world. I am comfortable but unsatisfied and miserable. Where will I be 5, 10, 30 years from now? Still grinding out in the corporate world trading my time for money playing by other people’s rules.
I decided to go for it and will be finishing up my employment within a month. I know I will be fine because in college I was able to get by on 1/6 of what I make now.
It is funny by closing one door I actually feel like I opened up a million others.
Two sources that helped me take the plunge.
NYTimes article on closing doors
and
Steve Pavlina’s 10 reasons to never get a job
Good Luck and keep us posted on your progress
April 10th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Hey , I’m on the same boat. I’m 19 years old and i’ve been complaining about how I have less time to do the things I really want to do. I feel like I could be successful if I take the risk, but just like you i’m expected to get a degree. I’m going to just try and finish up and do the things that I want during this summer and see how it goes. If I still believe that I can be succesful towards the end of the summer, I’m going to register for fewer classes ( 2 classes probably) after the summer. I think it would be cool to have a degree in something. I’d say take fewer classes so you still have plenty of time for work. But that’s just my conclusion right now.
April 10th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
also, college chicks are hot. Easy way to earn blowjobs.
April 10th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Hey you’ve got a really great blog here, and I’ve learned a lot from you. But you REALLY need to finish your education NOW, while you have youth on your side. Consider it a plan B - and you want to do business SEO consulting later? That bachelor’s will be an asset, either way you look at it- and an asset is an asset right?
If you stop now, you might never come back even though you mean to. Affiliate marketing IS something you can do while in school - try doing this when you’re married with kids. Get my point? I had sooooo much free time in college and I was on my dean’s list throughout my junior and senior year. If only I knew now what I knew then …
Even if you never use it, let it serve as something for your children to look up to. Entrepreneurism isn’t for everyone, and how would you expect your children one day to listen to you if you don’t have a degree?
April 10th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Work for yourself man. I was exactly the same as you. I’m smart but extremely unmotivated when it comes to school - damn homework! I tried two semesters of college, struggling through the first and completely failed the second (except my Java class, hehe). School just isn’t for me, and I’m far more motivated to teach myself things I’m interested in. I went the route of self employment doing SEO, web programming, web design, and some internet marketing. It too me a few years to build up my business, but I’m finally at the point where I can live comfortably on my own. And lately, a lot of good things are coming together so my girlfriend might be able to quit her job
April 10th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I guess I’m the contrarian here.
Don’t do it. Finish your degree. I was the same way. Academic probation every semester in college except the first one. Kicked out of 3 high school.
Once you leave, it will be really hard to get back. You’re in, you’re there. Ride the inertia through it. This industry will still be here when you get out, plus you won’t have this hanging over your head anymore.
If you’re going to be succesful now, odds are good that you’ll be even more succesful once you’ve completed college.
April 10th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Expectations from peers and family are tough, and some times the college graduate will have more success short term than the struggling entrepreneur. You have to do what makes you happy though.
Best of luck to you Shady.
April 10th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
you’re a big boy. whatever you do, do it well. be yourself.
you can obtain a degree, get patson the back & watch the smiles of pride from those that are proud of the degree and what a degree can lead to. but if you don’t go after what you’re most passionate about, you’ll never feel deeply happy. always wondering ‘what if’..
only YOU know if you can keep your head above water if theres setbacks along the way. continue to educate yourself by whatever means are at your disposal without sacrificing your passion.
always leaving a back door open, something to fall back on.
i think you’ve decided already. be the best at what you do. no regrets.
good luck
kimberly
this might sound gay to you but this is one of my favs: “Uncertainty will always be part of the taking charge process. ~ Harold Geneen cya
April 10th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Do it, your one smart cookie. You have already proved that bro. Do what your passionate about. You don’t need a traditional education to do that, you just need the desire to learn.
April 10th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
if you’re interested in doing some initial consulting on a few things, send me an e-mail. I’d like to talk to you.
School sucks. You seem like a smart guy. School is for people that can’t or wouldn’t do things on their own. It’s just a way to get a job. If you want to be self employed, there is nothing there you can’t learn online, from Amazon or at the library. And a lot more efficiently.
Good for you for trying it out on your own. You’ll know after a year if it’s what you want or not and then you can go back to school if you need to. It’s just one year. When you’re 70, you won’t even notice it but you’ll be far better off for all the lessons you’ll learn and the maturity of being responsible for your own future. All the best of luck.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Go for it Shady…
April 10th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
“Welcome to the ‘Ground Level’ - How many people have looked at how many businesses in the past, and thought “Damn. Wish I’d gotten in on that back in the day.” For affiliate marketing and SEO, this IS back in the day. Neither have a dominating figure yet. College kids can come in with their “secured” credit card, and potentially school million dollar corporations.”
I considered that too, thinking that there were no established companies in the SEO business here in Montreal, and that if I got more time for my business now, that I could make SEO ROI the go-to company in Montreal. Turns out that there were already a few established alternatives; I just wasn’t really aware of it. Some of the tech/business media here organize miniconferences, and it’s obvious who the established brands are cuz they get invites to speak (and thus get clients).
My point: Don’t let this be the deciding factor. You’re bright enough to get in on the ground floor of other industries that will crop up as the web develops further.
Also, I doubt that affiliate marketing is going anywhere. Salesmen on commission haven’t dissapeared offline, so why would they dissapear online?
And as to going part time - it’s hell. You’re ignoring homework to do business. Either take a semester off or stay full time. Part time ain’t worth it. I did it cuz my folks wouldn’t lemme out, n I’m not super happy about it all things told.
Look forward to hearing more
April 10th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
I left college last year and it was by far the best decision I’ve ever made.
I left a guaranteed job of over 75,000 per year after graduation and had been given an internship for over 40,000 for this year.
I left because I decided that I didn’t want to live my life working for somebody else, I wanted to pursue my IM passions and try to make a stable career out of it.
So far things are going well, I am earning about what I would have been after I graduated. I am working crazy hours though and saving as much as I can because I know this might not last forever.
If you do decide to leave, know these two things:
1). Everybody is going to be shocked and think your making a mistake (those close to you will support you, but most will still think you’re making a mistake)
2). This might not last forever, you need to be putting aside as much cash as you can whenever you can. I’m saving about 80% of my income right now. If I can keep doing this for 5-10 years and my income keeps increasing then I’ll have enough to live comfortably.
A lot of these young hot shots are buying nice cars, blowing wads of cash on jewelery, houses and boats. I’d just hate to imagine what would happen if something changed and they revenue suddenly dried up.
At the end of the day you need to ask yourself a simple question, “Are you happy studying and are you happy with where it will lead you?”
To be honest, if you’re not going to get a full time job in the next 2-3 years after you graduate you might as leave take a leave of absence/drop out. Because I am telling you you’re not going to be employable with a college degree with no experience and no job references for the last 3-5 years.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:37 am
I would personally do this if the main reason you’re leaving is to try and establish a wh business. Do school part-time and try to work on your business at the same time. If the business begins to blow up, then you can leave and pursue it.
So you’d be following the Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates model of dropping out of college, which is better than dropping out simply on the dream that your business is going to work. They had systems that already were working, and it made more sense to devote all their energies toward expanding them. Just take one class or something so that you’re technically still in school. That way you please everyone, sort of.
But it sounds like you’ve already made your decision. College is really a 60% social, 40% academic experience, so I think the thing to be more concerned about is giving up the social experience.
I wouldn’t worry too much getting a “real job” w/out a college degree if it comes to that. This is one industry where a degree really doesn’t matter if you’re smart enough. One of my friends is working for Google, and he dropped out of college. Yes, believe it not, despite all the hype you’ve read, Google has employees w/out college degrees.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:44 am
I dropped out with 1 semester left because I just needed to concentrate on work. Staying at home all day doing affiliate marketing gives you so much freedom it’s unreal.
I will be back to finish soon but believe me I will be coasting it’s just b/c I have one semester left (done 7) and man there are hot girls on campus (this time I will be ballin)
April 11th, 2008 at 3:42 am
Man if you get a chance to get a degree do it. you can always come back and maybe get more out of it cause your older, but your going to be with wank kids.
a degree will get you jobs over other people, but better than a degree is the ‘fuck you, ive actually done this before and smashed it attitude’, but that and a degree is an even more superior combination.
a degree is validation that your not retarded and actually getting regular cash off your own back can be hard. its nice to be able to fall back and know someone is going to hand you loads of cash at the end of the month. working for yourself can be great, but only make the break when you know that it is right, there is so much time in life you can always break away again later - if your on it, there is never only one opportunity
April 11th, 2008 at 5:02 am
I would personally feel that education is more important. Heck, why not let some campaign “not fine tuned” and attend campaigns? You do not seem to monetarily dependant on this..
Education is the “stamp” of approval that I think will help you all your life.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:30 am
If the internet had been around when I was studying, I’d have done the same thing and not ended up spending 30 years in employment that I hated.
Some people have quick brains and short attention spans - I suspect you are one of them - school sucks as a result. In our industry standard education carries less benefit than for other fields - we learn more stuff faster in our cyber-uni.
I am 100% confident that you won’t regret it.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Take a chance and you won’t regret it. It’ll take a couple of years max for you to determine whether you made the right decision or not. And if you have to return to school because things didn’t pan out, then two years “lost” won’t make a difference even on your resume.
Just make sure you’re not leaving school to goof off because that would be a big mistake
April 11th, 2008 at 10:56 am
As a 50 year old with a degree….I say quit school. The only thing a degree gets you is your foot in the door of some large corporation you don’t really want to be working at 30 years from now anyway. Of course, if you leave school your odds of getting tear-gassed go way down
April 11th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Take some time off, but don’t drop out. And, definitely take on some clients…even if the hourly income seems low compared to what you’re doing on your own, you’ll learn a lot of peripheral skills that will help you down the road.
I would suggest that even if you are good at business for somebody your age, in actuality, you have a lot to learn about in the business world and you should spend some of your free time learning more in this area.
Also, buy a house as soon as possible and be smart with your money:.)
April 11th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Monkey left school at 17, although had a web hosting company to sell onto his next employer.
It was the best decision he every made, as the Universities were trying to teach him things that he learnt many years ago.
Monkey started at the bottom and worked his way up to co-owning a big consultancy, and couldn’t have done it without climbing the ladder and learning business and company politics.
Options:-
a) Build your affiliate income up enough to earn more than you would through working for someone.
b) Join a company that needs your knowledge but can give you big clients and business experience.
Monkey does not like Universities that tries to teach you skills that are better learnt in the real world.
Monkey is going to sleep now.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
You were in school for online marketing? I need to go back to school and get that degree. Oh wait I have high priced education that never gets used. All it did was open a couple doors earlier for me than had I actually worked.
I quit school for a while and realized not having a college dgree wasn’t going to work for me. I towed the line. As I sit in some wall street office I hope that I don’t get noticed. So go do your thing. Life has a funny way of figuring things out for you.
April 11th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
My $0.02 on the subject:
I stopped going to college because I couldn’t make it a priority over my business endeavors and realized I was just wasting time/energy. I can’t say I regretted it. By the time my friends were graduating college and struggling to find jobs with their degrees I was already living in one of the nicest neighborhoods in town driving my 2nd Mercedes
I eventually developed some academic interests in the area of economics (initially went for marketing) and last semester I went back to school for the first time in 5 years. It was surprisingly unintimidating. I didn’t stick with it as I was experiencing too much frustration sitting there when I had something else I wanted to work on.
One of my friends in affiliate marketing “took a year off”, built up a nice network of sites that supplied him with great recurring revenue, then went back and finished his degree.
I really don’t think you’re making a “permanent” decision. I also think your fears of having to be self-employed for the next 30 years are a bit unfounded. The degree might be requisite in bigger corporations, but a lot of highly profitable small businesses still hire on merit.
As an effort to hedge against the ups & downs of affiliate marketing I also started up a “real” consulting-type business. I was excited at first with the challenge but as soon as it was making money I got bored with it… some of us just weren’t built for stability
Best of luck in whatever you choose!
April 11th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Go for it! You already know a million times more than what they teach in college. You can always go back to school anytime you feel you need to for whatever reason.
April 11th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
“I was excited at first with the challenge but as soon as it was making money I got bored with it… some of us just weren’t built for stability ;)”
Yea, consulting gets tiresome by its intrinsic nature. Explaining the same thing over and over again to people can get boring. Unfortunately, it can also get annoying when people begin to bitch about nonsensical things.
It’s funny that this post would end up being one the most commented on your blog. What you could do is change your major to some bs thing and then work on your business while you are there, if it will please your relatives etc. If you were in grad school at Stanford, this wouldn’t even be an issue because they actually encourage you take as much time off as you want to pursue your own personal projects (one example is the birth of Google). Unfortunately, undergraduate schools don’t let you do this because they assume that there wouldn’t be anyone advanced enough there to have a worthy personal project. Seems dumb in light of what happened with Facebook. But when you’re too advanced for the structure built around you (as you are in this case) you just have to go with your gut and not let less intelligent people dictate your actions.
April 12th, 2008 at 12:40 am
i was doing this while i was at high school I left high school in 5th year (17 year old) to explore how far i could take this, at the time i was doing client work (design, coding etc), if i had stayed on another year i would have gone to university, 4 years in and i dont regret it one bit…. now my brother is off to university and i dont envy him at all…
April 12th, 2008 at 2:35 am
Good for you! You don’t need college. You have what it takes to really do something. Just get going and do it.
Wish you a lotta luck!
:O)
April 12th, 2008 at 4:20 am
Screw it, drop out of college, you don’t learn shit there anyways. I wish I took my entire college tuition and went on a 4 year hiatus to China, India, Hawaii, etc…
I’ve read your blog for a while, and I always thought u were a damn millionaire and like late 20’s early 30’s.
Best of luck! I know you will do well. If you want some SEO work consulting for large fortune 500, let me know.
April 12th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
@Everyone: Thank you all so much for the comments. I’ve read each one, and really appreciate the personal stories, blessings, and concerns of everyone who commented. There’s an insane amount of comments, so I doubt I’m going to be able to respond to each individually, but I just wanted to make it clear how much it all meant to me.
April 12th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
If you’re gonna quit school and you’d like a sweet job by the beach I’m sure we could keep you very busy.
April 12th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
I would say go for it. To be honest, very little you learn at school/university helps you in this industry. It’s all about skills. When I hire, skills aways come before any consideration of qualifications.
*However* if you’re planning on joining large companies, they will look at your degree. Search for ‘glass ceiling’.
There may come a time when you want to go into management rather than be hands on.
As someone else suggested - lack of qualifications can also affect your ability to get loans.
It’s not hard to go back and do courses later though. I took 4 years out and went back to do my A-levels/University at 22. It actually worked better, the relationship between you and the tutors is very different as a mature student.
You never know - by that point they may actually have some courses which are vaugely relevent to what we all do!
Best of luck to you -
April 13th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
@SlightlyShadySEO. I’m pondering it myself as is Gab. I’ve already got my bachelors degree I’m doing my masters degree now but still have like two years ahead and it’s holding me back from what I really want to achieve and costing a ton.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Do it. Do it and don’t look back. There is an absurd amount of money in starting your own SEO consulting company right now… Company I started about a month ago is well on track to break 6 figures by the end of Q3
With the network and skill set you have. If you just have 3-4 clients on a small monthly contract… you’ll be making about twice that of any entry level thing you will find…
Save that money now… so if all of a sudden SEO goes away, you’ll have the funds to start something else… or just retire
April 14th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Good luck man, but please graduate from college.
April 15th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Man, if you can justify leaving school you should. Since I’ve graduated I have had one job (high school teacher) that relied on my actual education.
I’ve had 5 other jobs now from call center operations to e-commerce that have all been learn on the fly. They’ve been fun, profitable and basically always lead to new opportunities.
Do what you can while you can.
April 15th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
I made a similar decision last year and it is working out well for me.
Do what you love and you will be successful.
Good luck to you.
Matt
April 15th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
XMCP, as smart as you are and the way you think - BET ON YOURSELF. You’ll never be happy working for others. You’re an entrepreneur and a damn good one already, so trust in yourself and go for it.
April 15th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
I read an article a while ago about a survey done at Yale. They asked all the sophomores if they had clearly defined goals for the next 30 years of their life. 15% did.
30 years later, that 15% accounted for 99% of the class income.
April 15th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
The thing is in society when you say you to somebody that you didn’t finish school they nearly feel sorry for you, that sucks and even having a lot of money doesn’t bring respect from “those who graduate”. I also droped school 2 years ago just before my bachelor exams in architecture and now I’m seriously thinking about going back to school just for the paper.
Ps: Personnally, I’d love to work with an experienced seo like you, the only problem is I’m in switzerland.
April 16th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
XMCP,
Good on you if you pull the trigger. I actually went to college, but it was to one that my parent seriously objected to…But I can say that it was definitely the right decision. Part of what you’re feeling I think is that no decision is ever binary…more like 51/49.
Good Luck Man
April 16th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
“so if all of a sudden SEO goes away, you’ll have the funds to start something else… or just retire :P”
People needing traffic to their sites will never go away thankfully. So if SEO dies (and I don’t see how this will happen, even in a nightmare scenario where you have to register with Google to have your site indexed) you can just re-brand yourself as an SMO company or something.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:27 am
Entrepreneurs don’t need to show anybody a diploma, they just need to produce. Follow your gut. If you want to work for someone for the rest of your life and climb a corporate ladder then stay in school. If you have a business plan and the passion and discipline to pursue it BAIL on school and make it happen. During more difficult phases of my business life (read: those when I’ve been broke) I’ve thought “hmmm if I had stayed in school I could go get this job or that one” - F-THAT - Working for other people sucks. Go get’em.
April 24th, 2008 at 7:49 am
I’m probably just a year or two older than you, had no SEO experience (or work experience for that matter) but landed a job at a great company where I’ve had scope to learn/teach myself the ropes. It just goes to show you can get lucky if you put yourself out there. If you want to go the steady-job route approach companies, put your blog on your CV and someone will take notice
Good luck!