Thread: should i quit uni

Hi
In my opinion you should not quit uni. If you have interest in building some sort of business you could make it after finishing from university. First you have to complete your degree for a save future. Just think what will happen if you quit studies and due to any reason your business also fails....you will be standing nowhere. So my suggestion will be to carry on with your studies.

Originally Posted by jessica_david

Hi
In my opinion you should not quit uni. If you have interest in building some sort of business you could make it after finishing from university. First you have to complete your degree for a save future. Just think what will happen if you quit studies and due to any reason your business also fails....you will be standing nowhere. So my suggestion will be to carry on with your studies.

A college degree is not a safety net. Far from it. If he's going to get back up on his feet, his tenacity and willpower will pull him through, not a college degree. He's studying math and economics; those aren't exactly technical or 'in-demand' majors.

However, I tend to agree that staying is the better option if you can afford it. If you're going on a scholarship, then why not stay? College is about building relationships and learning how to express yourself as an individual. I'm just a freshman and I've learned so much... not from the classes (although there is a certain class that I take that seriously prepares me) but from the people I've met and the things I've gotten to do.

You have to decide where your time and money is best spent. But a 'safe future' is never guaranteed, no matter the degree earned.

Hmmm, let's see....

Quit uni at one of the top ranked finance schools in the world where you can connect with current and future leaders in the investment world and potentially learn how to enter the world of entrepreneurial finance - hedgefunds where 7 figure paychecks are the norm.

Seems like a great plan.

finish the Uni.

I was in the same position, although I had 5 years of Uni to go when I started working online after High School. I didn't participate in any Uni social activities you've mentioned instead concentrated on my business. I just went to lectures, tutorials than back home to continue working on my business.

this teaches a valuable lesson - you learn to finish the things you have started and not drop them half-way through.

I never really agreed with all those gurus who boast about dropping out of Uni and continue on to becoming millionaires. Build your business, no doubt about that, but finish what you started first. The number of people I saw drop out of Uni hadn't become millionaires 10 years later.

Originally Posted by GlobalWealth

Hmmm, let's see....

Quit uni at one of the top ranked finance schools in the world where you can connect with current and future leaders in the investment world and potentially learn how to enter the world of entrepreneurial finance - hedgefunds where 7 figure paychecks are the norm.

Seems like a great plan.

Lets say I was a medical student, on the right track to becoming a 7 figure paycheck surgeon, but I don't enjoy medical school (but have 3 or 4 more years to go) or the thought of working in a hospital environment for example.

Would you suggest i continue but hate the process, waiting to hit the first 7 figure year (perhaps 7 or 8 years to go) so i can quit? Even then it wouldn't be near my 10m target.

My uni is great for a career in law, academia, banking or politics. Im not sudying law, academia will never get me to the fastlane and as a libertarian i have no interest in political life.

Banking/trading is an option but im trying to weigh up my odds of achieving my goal. Although I have done well at school, I have never enjoyed the environment. Uni is much the same and I can imagine corporate life being similar (although to be fair I wouldnt know given lack of experience). This is why MJs book resonated with me so much.

If you have experience in the world of "entrepreneurial finance" or hedge funds, Id be happy to hear about it. I enjoy systematic trading and wouldnt mind running my own fund and look to the likes of David Harding (winton capital CEO) as role models, but im not sure if i can see myself studying more years and working for somone else for the next ten years on the off chance that I get to a similar position.

I feel id rather pivot and start an online business (i know what business I want to start) and come back to trading if and when I have built and sold it and bought my freedom.

I am looking for advice and opinions so please let me know if you think im making a mistake in my thoughts.

Originally Posted by townhaus

Lets say I was a medical student, on the right track to becoming a 7 figure paycheck surgeon, but I don't enjoy medical school (but have 3 or 4 more years to go) or the thought of working in a hospital environment for example.

This is not a good comparison. A medical student has a very narrow choice of options for career paths. Someone with a finance degree from LSE has a huge range of options. From the doctors I know, they became doctors because it was something they knew they wanted to do.

For a finance degree, you can work in almost any field, entrepreneurial or otherwise.

Originally Posted by townhaus

Would you suggest i continue but hate the process,

Not if you were a doctor because the career options are so limited. But for a finance degree, yes. Education is work. Sometimes hard work. No one reaches any level of success without this step.

Originally Posted by townhaus

My uni is great for a career in law, academia, banking or politics.

This is where I see many young people make a mistake. They think there educational focus has limited prospects. Think outside the box a bit. For example, if you decide to raise money for a hedge fund, do you think having a finance or econ degree from LSE helps with you credentials? Would you invest $3m in someone's hedge fund who dropped out of uni after 1 year? I wouldn't.

Finance, law, economics are all excellent subjects for a career in entrepreneurship.

Originally Posted by townhaus

and as a libertarian i have no interest in political life

I too am a hardcore libertarian - actually probably closer to anarcho-capitalist, but that doesn't mean understanding of law and politics isn't of benefit to my life. As an investor myself, I can tell you that to ignore law and politics is suicidal for your investments. If you don't understand these things you are flying blind.

Originally Posted by townhaus

If you have experience in the world of "entrepreneurial finance" or hedge funds, Id be happy to hear about it.

I run a small private investment partnership, so yes I have a little knowledge here.

Originally Posted by townhaus

I feel id rather pivot and start an online business (i know what business I want to start) and come back to trading if and when I have built and sold it and bought my freedom.

Why not run your online business while in uni? There is no requirement on your LSE contract stating you cannot run your own business during you studies. Many highly successful entrepreneurs started just this way.

To be clear, I don't think uni is a requirement for success. Many people achieved great success without it or even after dropping out of uni. Most of the drop outs though started their successful business while attending uni and only dropped out to attend to their business.

At your age (as with most of us at that age) we sometimes make short term decisions with long term negative implications. Worst case scenario if you finish at LSE you have postponed entrepreneurial success by 2-3 years. Don't be so impatient. However, what you learn at LSE may shave years off of your journey to success from what you learn or who you connect with.

For your research, there are several threads on this forum discussing this exact topic. Do some reading to get some ideas from the others on the forum.

Originally Posted by townhaus

Also, in the UK tuition fees have recently increased from 3k to 9k, while im only having to pay the 3k since i'm already at uni.

Should i quit, get a min wage job and build my business, or continue for 2 years (i can still try and start my business at the same time) and try to get a better paying job at the end, then start my business (at the risk of failing to get a decent job/more debt or if i do, becoming too comfortable and abandoning my dreams).

This makes no sense to me.

How come people can always afford to go to college, but the second they quit college they have to get a minimum wage job?

Does college pay you?

Originally Posted by biophase

This makes no sense to me.

How come people can always afford to go to college, but the second they quit college they have to get a minimum wage job?

Does college pay you?

student loans from the govt which cover fees/living expenses

Originally Posted by townhaus

student loans from the govt which cover fees/living expenses

And the student loans originate from taxpayers.

Originally Posted by townhaus

student loans from the govt which cover fees/living expenses

You are still paying out money. Just not right now. I would stay in school and do whatever business you would do if you dropped out. If you drop out you will be working a job and complaining how the job is taking away from your business time. It's the same situation.

Originally Posted by Pinnacle

And the student loans originate from taxpayers.

...

Why should you care, it's not your government/country? So it's not your tax money.

Originally Posted by Lights

Why should you care, it's not your government/country? So it's not your tax money.

I wish I could have pressed the "thanks" button about 10 times for this post! People bring up the most random things that are completely unrelated to the discussion. Geez!

I think the medical analogy is very poor when it comes to this situation. If someone were interested in starting a company in the medical field, then it might not be such a good idea to continue on for a few years to make friends with a bunch of future doctors (UNLESS doctors wouldn't be your market, in which case it would be a terrible idea).

Originally Posted by GlobalWealth

Quit uni at one of the top ranked finance schools in the world where you can connect with current and future leaders in the investment world and potentially learn how to enter the world of entrepreneurial finance - hedgefunds where 7 figure paychecks are the norm.

Seems like a great plan.

Sometimes sarcasm isn't effective in getting the point across - though it is entertaining.

Finishing your degree is going to take a lot of work, but if you are really at a top UK university, you are "rubbing shoulders" with the future leaders or executives, at least, of the field you are studying. To me, it seems like a good plan to hang out with these guys and make a ton of friends until you graduate. That doesn't mean you have to get a job in finance when you graduate, but you might have an even better idea and a better idea of how to execute it.

But if you have found that you hate what you are studying, and you are borrowing too much money (don't become a slave to your debt), and you know 100% that you won't want to start a business that has anything to do with finance, and you feel like you already have built enough connections to help you out in business (considering your age, this one is not likely), then maybe you should consider switching majors (I don't know what you call it in the UK). I really hate to suggest that you quit school, but if all of this applies to you, then... well, I won't suggest that you quit school, but the decision is up to you.

Maybe you could make a chart where you list pros and cons, or follow MJ's decision making analysis suggestions that he gives in his book? It's hard to take the emotion out of decision making.

I like your idea of still starting something on the side... if things go well, then the decision you should make will be more obvious. Good luck deciding!

Don't quit! Use your time to make "Contacts, Learn More and Mature More". I'm sure there are some people, organizations, etc. that know other people in the industry that will give you a head-start if you take the time to investigate and assert yourself!

If you leave some people will judge you as a person trying to "Step on the toes" you won't get that same reaction as a student.

That's my opinion but I understand its your life.