"The reason I suggested college graduates not start startups immediately was that I felt most would fail. And they will. But ambitious programmers are better off doing their own thing and failing than going to work at a big company. Certainly they'll learn more. They might even be better off financially. A lot of people in their early twenties get into debt, because their expenses grow even faster than the salary that seemed so high when they left school. At least if you start a startup and fail your net worth will be zero rather than negative. "
-Paul Graham
Sounds strange to me. I put alot of my own money and some of my parents into my startup, got seed financing and failed 2 years later. I am now 30 and still have to pay back my parents and havent saved a dime in my life while being a pretty decent software developer (not in the US).
I learned a ton, but financially it has been a disaster.
So a Big-Co job ist still not too bad when starting out imo, you probably wont learn as much but startups are high-risk if you take it seriously.
Well, the mistake you made (and that a 19-year old starting a company should avoid) was getting into debt in the first place, even if it was with your family.
> But ambitious programmers are better off doing their own thing and failing than going to work at a big company.
I wish I could have told this to my wife when we were 22!
"I'm sorry, babe! You need to pay the bills and support me while I work to get my startup off-the-ground! You'll see! We'll be raking in the money in no-time. Our 130K of student loan debt will be paid off before you can say `boo'."
If that is the constraint, then don't go to school.
If you absolutely have to go to school, student loans are the responsibility of the person who takes them out, and have nothing to do with the blog's point. Get financial aid, get a merit scholarship, go to community college - there are alternatives within your control.
