Could You Get Paid $100,000 Not to Go to College? If You Know This Tech Mogul, Yes
- Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:09pm by
Jonathon M. Seidl
- Print »
- Email »
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Instead of paying attention in high school, Nick Cammarata preferred to read books on whatever interested him. He also has a gift for coding that got him into Carnegie Mellon University’s esteemed computer science program despite his grades.
But the 18-year-old programmer won’t be going to college this fall. Or maybe ever.
Cammarata is one of two dozen winners of a scholarship just awarded by San Francisco tech tycoon Peter Thiel that comes with a unique catch: The recipients are being paid not to go to college.
Former PayPal Chief Executive Officer Peter Thiel, left, and founder Elon Musk, right, pose with the PayPal logo at corporate headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., Oct. 20, 2000.
Instead, these teenagers and 20-year-olds are getting $100,000 each to chase their entrepreneurial dreams for the next two years.
“It seems like the perfect point in our lives to pursue this kind of project,” says Cammarata of Newburyport, Mass., who along with 17-year-old David Merfield will be working on software to upend the standard approach to teaching in high school classrooms.
Merfield, the valedictorian of his Princeton, N.J., high school class, is turning down a chance to go to Princeton University to take the fellowship.
Thiel himself hand-picked the winners based on the potential of their proposed projects to change the world.
All the proposals have a high technology angle but otherwise span many disciplines.
One winner wants to create a mobile banking system for the developing world. Another is working to create cheaper biofuels. One wants to build robots that can help out around the house.
The prizes come at a time when debate in the U.S. over the value of higher education has become heated. New graduates mired in student loan debt are encountering one of the toughest job markets in decades. Rising tuitions and diminishing prospects have led many to ask whether college is actually worth the time and money.
“Turning people into debt slaves when they’re college students is really not how we end up building a better society,” Thiel says.
Thiel made his fortune as a co-founder of online payment service PayPal shortly after graduating from Stanford Law School. He then became the first major investor in Facebook. In conversation and as a philanthropist, Thiel pushes his strong belief that innovation has stagnated in the U.S. and that radical solutions are needed to push civilization forward.
The “20 Under 20” fellowship is one such effort. Thiel believes that the best young minds can contribute more to society by skipping college and bringing their ideas straight to the real world.
And he has the shining example of Facebook to back up his claim. Thiel’s faith in the world-changing potential of Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerberg’s idea led him to invest $500,000 in the company, a stake that is now worth billions.
Still, the Zuckerbergs of the tech industry are famous because they are the exceptions. Silicon Valley is littered with decades-worth of failed tech startups.
Vivek Wadhwa, director of research at Duke University’s Center for Entrepreneurship and a writer for TechCrunch and Bloomberg Businessweek, has assailed Thiel’s program for sending what he sees as the message that anyone can be Mark Zuckerberg.
“Silicon Valley lives in its own bubble. It sees the world through its own prism. It’s got a distorted view,” Wadhwa says.
“All the people who are making a fuss are highly educated. They’re rich themselves. They’ve achieved success because of their education. There‘s no way in hell we would have heard about Peter Thiel if he hadn’t graduated from Stanford,” he says.
Thiel says the “20 Under 20” program shouldn’t be judged on the basis of his own educational background or even the merits of his critique of higher education. He urges his critics to wait and see what the fellows achieve over the next two years.
According to data compiled by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, workers with college degrees were laid off during the Great Recession at a much lower rate than workers without degrees. College graduates were also more likely to be rehired.
But for fellowship recipients like John Burnham, 18, such concerns pale next to the idealism of youth. At his prep school in western Massachusetts, Burnham started an alternative newspaper to compete with the school’s official publication.
The entrepreneurial experience of creating something out of nothing captured his imagination. Now his ambitions have grown.
John Burnham, one of two dozen recipients of a unique scholarship, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
s
Burnham believes that the world‘s growing population will put an unsustainable strain on the planet’s natural resources. That‘s why he’s looking to other worlds to meet humanity’s needs.
Specifically, he believes that mining operations on asteroids could hold the key. For the next two years, he’ll be studying rocket propulsion technology and puzzling through the economics of interplanetary resource extraction.
“This fellowship is so much of a better fit for my personality than I think college would be,” Burnham says. “When you get an opportunity of the magnitude of this fellowship, I couldn’t see myself being able to wait.”
Popular Stories
Does Misstated Marathon Claim Prove Paul Ryan Is Dishonest? (POLL) 677 Comments
‘Jumah at the DNC’ Speaker: ‘Muslims Visited America Prior to Columbus’ & ‘It Was a Muslim’ Who Guided Him to the ‘New World’ 529 Comments
Paper Details Obama Admin’s Alleged Secret Note Sent to Iran: If Israel Attacks, We Won’t Get Involved 418 Comments
Obama: RNC Like Watching ‘Black-and-White TV’ Because Romney ‘Did Not Offer a Single New Idea’ 373 Comments
Roseanne Barr: Most Billionaires ‘Violent Pedophiles’ & ‘Heartless’ Cocaine Addicts 329 Comments
Faith
This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 271 Comments- Pakistani Muslim Cleric Accused of Framing Disabled Christian Girl in Koran-Burning Case Read More
- ‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 279 Comments
Meet the Controversial German Imam Accused of Brutally Beating His Wife & Pushing Sharia Law Read More
‘Self-Proclaimed Messiah’ & Unification Church Leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon Has Died — Here’s His Life Story Read More
Business
President Obama Issues Major ‘Green Energy’ Executive Order 155 Comments- Germany’s Upcoming Court Ruling Will be Huge for the EU Read More
Ford Looks to Beat Toyota for Best-Selling Car in 2012 With This Model 147 Comments
Bernanke & QE3: Here’s What You Need to Know Read More- ‘Extortion’: Why Did the Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Farmers? 300 Comments
Technology
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 271 Comments
‘TaserDrone’: Hackers Weaponize Quadcopter With Actual ‘Shocking’ Technology Read More
Ever Heard of the Wild ‘Burning Man’ Festival in the Middle of the Nev. Desert? Here’s Your Primer Read More
Stanford Develops Technology ‘Better Than Steroids’ for Athlete Recovery Read More
Have You Pretended to Know What ‘the Cloud’ Is? You’re Not Alone Read More
Submitting your tip... please wait!
Comments (63)
NEAF
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 9:32amI am sure all the liberals, Marxist, and professors are pulling their hairs.
Report Post »benrush
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 9:32amBy the way, I‘ll never take advice from the vast majority of MD’s practicing “medicine” in the US simply because they have little to do with real health, but more to do with nursing your sickness until IT wins.
Report Post »quizibo
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 10:02amSo who do you take medical advice from? Your mechanic?
Report Post »roostercogburn
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 8:45pmHey, back in the day we had special doctor’s schools all over the country, they turned out some of the best doctors this country has ever seen, I was delivered by one of those, and then the government decided they had to shut those down, what a mistake, a buddy of mine had a daughter that had about ever test done that they could do and still she had problems, they were in a nursing home visiting some relatives and the other guy in one of the rooms was a 95 year old doctor, he diagnosed her in 5 minutes, and she has no problems at all any more, we are at the point where we have forgot everything we have learned because we are teaching things that don’t make sense, we have people teaching that don’t have a clue.
Report Post »MAProg
Posted on May 31, 2011 at 12:06am@Rooster: again, relying on anecdotal evidence to prove your pre-conceived notions. So you recall a single instance of a “buddy of yours” had. In that one case, an older doctor figured out the diagnosis that a younger doctor couldn’t. Because of this, you make a sweeping generalization that younger doctors must be inferior because they didn’t go to a “special doctor’s school.” First of all, again it’s anecdotal. Secondly, maybe the younger guy just wasn’t a good doctor, or maybe the older guy was a better doctor because of decades more experience. Lastly, a “special doctor school?” What’, like medical school that all doctors today must attend for 4 years?
Report Post »benrush
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 9:31amWe should sue the Dept of Education for false advertising. We should sue the Federal Reserve for counterfeiting. We should get off our duffs and make our country exceptional once more by removing government “safety nets” and back to our roots – rugged individualism based on honesty and square trading.
Report Post »swampbuck
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 9:02am“They’re way too many people in college who have no business being there..”
let me clarify this is not only my opinion.. It is opinion of a long time college professor who recently wrote a book on the subject.. The book basically details the fact that is tired of trying to teach stupid kids who never should been allowed to graduate high school much less go to college..
A lot of kids go to college and have to take remedial classes because they can’t cut college courses..
Report Post »quizibo
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 8:56amGoing to college is a very important part of the education process, just because someone has a hobby of medicine doesnt mean you would take medical advice from them. College is important for success, its where you further learn processes, make connections and network with others and gain new ideas. Just because a small percentage of people did not go to college and became successful does not mean everyone will. For example, just because a person who fell to earth and lived after his parachute didn’t open does that mean you are willing to do that same and expect the same results? 99.99% of successful people either had money to begin with or had a formal education. For Americans to tell their children to forgo a college education will eventually lead America into a dark age of stupidity.
Report Post »roostercogburn
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 8:28pmBut why is it some of the stupidest people I have ever met in my life were on a college campus, they don’t educate anyone anymore, it’s all about the money, they just hand out “paper”, I think the only reason our company is doing so well is that I “weed out” all the clowns with the degree’s before the interview I need someone who can learn and think on their own you will never get that from someone from a college they have been ruined and will never be able to think on their own.
Report Post »This problem seems to be mostly in the U.S., I am also in demand to lecture to college classes in Asia, some of the students in China are the smartest folks I have ever seen, but we can’t do it here because the system is broken, it has to be fixed before it’s too late..
roostercogburn
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 8:58pmActually if you would bother to look, very few of the successful people you speak of went to college, take some time and look around, you will find that the the group of very successful people that went to college is very small in the U.S., very small, most are painted into the corner working their dead end government jobs.
Report Post »Compare the college systems in any other country to what we have here and then tell me about it, they actually make an attempt to teach them useful information in other countries, I can’t list all the countries that I have traveled to on here, it would take too long, I make a special attempt to visit all the world war 2 sites that I can, it will open your eye’s if you allow it to.
MAProg
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 11:58pm@rooster: ” Very few of the successful people you speak of went to college…small in the U.S., very small”: this is a joke, right? Not only is the evidence completely contrary to this (on a whole, college educated people make more money in their lives), but you rely on mere anectotal evidence to justify your view that they are “stupid.“ Just because some of the ”stupidest” people YOU have ever met were on college campuses, hardly makes it proof that it is so. Were they a randomozed sample? Did you operationally define what “stupid” was, objectively? Was that definition a fair indicator (i.e. I.Q or standardized test scores)? Relying on mere anecdotes to form your opinions is logically flawed. Making base-less assertions that fly in the face of the evidence is just intellectually lazy at best.
Report Post »9thCommandment
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 8:53am100K not alot of grease in the west. Brillant idea for the backer, I’m sure any new innovations will be split 80/20 in Peter’s favor.
Report Post »BlackCrow
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 8:43amWait till they try to get an interview with Dell or Microsoft, they will never get an interview without a degree. I know, with 30+ years of experience in computer maintenance and information technology I am back in college pursuing a degree.
Report Post »bluzrider
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 8:15amDo everyone a favor before you set out to enrich these kids because of their tech skills. Teach them some people skills. Most of these tech heads have the knowledge in coding software that makes all of our lives a lot easier, but some of them couldn’t hold a live conversation, either in person or on a phone if their lives depending on it.
Most never have to do this, they communicate either by e mail, text messaging, or some other way of not having to talk with a live person. As a result they can’t interact with another human being.
This is my experience, I have talked with other people who have had a similar experiences.
If we can’t teach them people skills, we are going to have a whole generation of tech smart idiots and zero people skills kids, I think that spells disaster for us as a species.
Report Post »Bronco II
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 8:08amI wish him only good things and much success.
Report Post »Neesey
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 7:45amThat Duke Prof is exactly what is wrong with the Country. Hell- If someone had given me an opportunity to do this, I would have jumped on it. Are you kidding? If these kids have it going for them, and they can make it work, more power to them. I am a veteran with a BS degree who stayed home to raise 4 children. I *need* a job now, and no one will hire me…and I cannot afford to go back to school.
Report Post »I hope they kick some ass.
LibertyWon
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 7:08amIf I chip in $1000, can I have one share from each of the resulting companies? This is going to be interesting to watch.
Report Post »quizibo
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 4:01amAmericans are not telling children that pursuing higher education is worthless but in the same breath complain that their country doesnt produce enough doctors, scientist and engineers. It seems as though America is heading towards the dark ages.
Report Post »LibertyWon
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 7:16amYou do know who controls the licensing boards, right?
Report Post »Thankfully you do not need anyone’s permission to be an Entrepreneur.
Elon is showing NASA what an adhered to budget looks like to, lol.
MAProg
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 7:34pm@libertytown: while you may be technically correct that most licesning boards may be populated by mostly liberals (or at least political moderates), you seem to make the mistake of assuming that everything boils down to politics. You seem to imply that conservatives wouldn’t be able to get licensure in fields such as medicine, engineering, and hard sciences, when it’s doubtful that politics ever even comes up. I think you would also find that conservatives are well represented in those fields. They may be mostly populated by liberals (or moderates) but that has less to do with nepotism, and more to do with the fact that on a whole, more liberals persue the higher eduaction needed to get these jobs.
Report Post »Socialism_Is_The_New_Black
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 12:48amUsing it to find yourself and rack upon insurmountable student loan debt is probably the wrong idea. On the other hand there are plenty of fields where specialized training is required. I just cringe when I hear what some of the degrees people are working towards. I even get chills when I hear some trying to attain one of the many liberal arts majors. Plenty of those unemployed and working as baristas. My wife started entry level with no education beyond high school and worked her way up into bank management. It’s amazing how many inept college graduates she had the privilege to terminate. I don’t get how we think everyone needs to go to college. Perhaps we should look at doing things differently such as in Germany. Right around the time they are tweens Germans are splintered off into a specific learning path that will determine their careers in life. I think their approach to aptitude is a lot more realistic than ours. Too much is wasted on education in this country.
Report Post »MAProg
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 7:26pmStatements such as “Too much is wasted on education in this country.”: is exactly what is wrong with the United States. I‘m not sure if I’ll ever understand the rampant anti-intellectualism of the far right, but I thought we could at least agree that an educated populace is an asset to a society. The problem with the United States isn‘t that we don’t have enough workers in factories, it‘s that we don’t have enough doctors, engineers, and scientists doing work and research that will move us forward. The problem is that we are woefully behind the rest of the industrialized world in math and science. We need more people with Ph.D.’s in these fields, not less.
Report Post »Socialism_Is_The_New_Black
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 12:13am@Liberal_Atheist_Critical_Thinker The only purpose you serve here is being the indifferent troll. Your comments typically are those of someone trying to feel a sense of superiority.
“EXLIBERALGRL – Fantastic idea! Liberal colleges are marxist indoctrination and elitist propaganda establishments.”
“Liberal_Atheist_Critical_Thinker – Not true, Look at how I turned out.”
Please tell me you were being sarcastic! Do you not understand how her statement correlates to that response and others you have made? Why do you choose such a screen name to polarize others? You don’t realize being an elitist is a turnoff? How about come into the enemies base of operations and try to turn a few to your cause. Why do you liberals act contrary to how you expect others to conduct themselves? The veiled hypocrisy on the right pales in comparison to the emotional unhinged chaos the left brings to the table.
Report Post »vtech61
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 11:53pmOMG >>> PayPal?
Report Post »Where’s Sandy Purins?
(Lieword operative)…
llotus
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 11:27pmThe gov. would probably like to do this with the ilegals. Givem a chance to suceed over any one here legaly. Its getting to be like living in a world where wrong is right and right is wrong. God help us through this mess we are in. Lotus.
Report Post »ozzie
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 11:15pmGreat concept, but they’re choosing to focus on things that are way out there- seems like a waste. It’s his money, so I guess it‘s all good as long as the government isn’t using tax dollars to fund such risky endeavors.
Report Post »Elliotac
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 10:38pmSounds like a big waste of money to me. Thiel and Musk would get more bang for the buck if they used their money as scholarships to graduate universities. These people who made it big without higher education did it at a time when the industry was just emerging. No individual is going to come up with a new computer operating system or break through biofuel with 100K.
Report Post »NOBALONEY
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 10:24pmEntreprenneurs reign in a capitalist system.
Report Post »GoodGenesis
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:49pmHooray for forward thinking and visionary leadership. Actually, it is just common sense. Alot of companies will be doing this soon I bet.
Report Post »nuttyvet
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:45pmGood for them! Although, when I was 18, I was too immature for $100k and it wouldn’t have lasted long. I get the idea they are goig for… inspire the “not yet inspired” but I think a kid who successfully handles $100k will be a rarity!
Report Post »teachermitch32
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:33pmFirst on their 2 year trek should be a class on the Constitution. Anything else they do will pale in comparison.
Report Post »llotus
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 11:20pmLiberal ACT…..your not one of those educated fools are you. You no, the ones that think they are smarter than most everyone. I find it to be a trademark of most liberal democrats if not all. Lotus.
Report Post »exliberalgrl
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:32pmFantastic idea! Liberal colleges are marxist indoctrination and elitist propaganda establishments.
Report Post »Liberal_Atheist_Critical_Thinker
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:38pmNot true, Look at how I turned out.
Report Post »teachermitch32
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:42pmLACT,
We are looking…at your posts. That’s how she draws the conclusion about our institutions of higher learning. Watching you.
Report Post »Liberal_Atheist_Critical_Thinker
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:46pmYou don’t think I take rational well thought out stances on things? I challenge people here all the time and rarely do they understand how critical thinking works.
It’s mostly just “I believe such and such and that’s the way it is !!!”
Report Post »Meyvn
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 6:42am@exliberalgrl: LACT is your proof. A perpetual dumba$$, always asking questions that have already been answered.
Report Post »hi
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 12:57pmLACT Liberals are brainwashed! They are NOT critical thinkers.
Report Post »MAProg
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 2:27pm@exlib: really? i would like to understand how marxism makes its way into, say, an engineering program, ora chemistry lecture, or a molecular biology major, etc. sure, by their nature, universities are cosmopolitan, but that’s hardly a bad thing. it means there is diversity of thought. i wouldn’t deny that colleges tend to have a higher ratio of liberals anymore than i would deny that a factory would have a higher proportion of conservatives. that correlation doesn’t mean the instituion itself is pushing an idealology.
as for LACT as an example to confirm your beliefs, you need to understand what anecdotal evidence is. you can latch onto one “bad” example if you like, but it’s hardly the rule and intellectually lazy.
@hi: nice sweeping generalization. try to accept the idea that there are intelligent liberals out there, and that they have honestly adopted their philosophy though intellectual means. anyone who implies that an entire group of people are “duped” and “just don’t get it” is themselves a fool. it is possible for someone to be intelligent, and weigh the evidence, and come to a different conclusion than you.
Report Post »sing it out
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:31pmHmm, interesting. I’m a current college student, and I just don’t know if I would have the nerve to do something like this! I like learning, and I would feel a little bereft at the thought of no college. Still, it is very bold to go out and take a risk. I like the confidence that these guys have!
Report Post »staythecourse
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 1:24amJust their ‘confidence’ in going after their dreams show them to be a breed set apart. Kudos to them for their courage to follow their dreams.
Report Post »roostercogburn
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 8:21pmKeep your eyes open things have changed, my experience has shown me that you will find some of the stupidest people you will ever meet on a college campus, most are total morons, a very small group gets through with some brain cells left.
Report Post »Back in the day I went to a “technical college” wow, I make more than any of my class mates from high school ever will, and travel the world, I custom design controls for machines in factories all over the world, because the electrical engineers have proven they can’t do it, but for some reason I can come in with a notebook and a laptop and make it all work, when I go to India I am really glad I have allergies, that place really stinks, have to head back to the middle east in a month or so, then Europe and Asia again, just learn something, actually get educated, you won’t get that in college trust me on that one.
82dAirborne
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:28pmWe need this X1000!! Our country was built on going against the conventional wisdom of the day! (Among other things) Education is a wonderful thing, but there are other ways to grow & learn in addition to sitting in the classroom.
Yes the gigantic success stories are rare but they are the only ones that that grab headlines. That doesn’t mean there aren’t thousands of others that only result in a few tens of millions of dollars and a few hundred good jobs for others.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:32pmSilicon Valley lives in its own bubble. It sees the world through its own prism. It’s got a distorted view,” Wadhwa says.
Report Post »—————-
I take that as a compliment .
And what they call a ‘ distorted view ’
we here in SillyCon valley call ‘ can- do- why- not spirit ‘
I’m sure Wadhwa would have no idea what the even means, he is too focussed on keeping his funding and grants going for whatever its is that he calls ‘ research’
poverty.sucks
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:42pmIf they‘re not crack addicts and stay away from strip bars I’m sure they’ll do well.
Report Post »revel222
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 10:39pmThis is awesome!!! College is a money making operation anymore….they are giving degrees away anymore…What a great concept. We need more people like Thiel. I hope the kids take it serious and do amazing things…
Report Post »thebarbarian
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 10:54pmthis is true .Collge is now for every one. and look at how the left has made it nearly impossible to get anywhere without that piece of paper. the institutions even admitt openly that the goal is that piece of paper and not an education. what would the following say to that:
Report Post »Einstien
Bell
Westinghouse
LeVanHooke
Koch
Beethovan
Temulgen
Hummel and his teacher W.A.Mozart
all of wich iether were self tought or learned through apprentiships. NOT a gov. controled dis information anti-educational system. lets face it this list of names is not even a scratch on the suface of astounding individuals throughout history who made the modern world. now the collectivist seek to distroy all of those achievments in a single act.
Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 11:20pm@82ndAirborne
Indeed, this is what is needed. The chance to make your dreams happen, and become a success or have taken the chance to do so; that is what America is about…even if they fail, they still have made the effort, and learn more of themselves and steps on the road to other successes in their futures.
Report Post »SchiffRadiodotcom
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 1:42amCollege isn’t the problem, its the exploitation by colleges and universities. 10-12 years ago, tuition and fees were fair. Now it’s astronomically and unrealistic high.
Report Post »grandma7
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 3:19amYes!!!!!!
Report Post »GODSAMERICA
Posted on May 30, 2011 at 3:48amWe DEFINITELY need this! Perhaps them skipping college might save some of these bright young minds from becoming perverted, stagnated and downright contaminated from some of the communistic and anti-American views that the university professors are required to teach to these kids going to college.
Report Post »