Juan David's Newsletter - August 1, 2021
The Facade of College & Optionality.
Hello again,
August is a bittersweet month. You leave behind the summer months as the fall months are right out of your door. For me, that means going back to college this week.
My summer pretty much came to end, I look back to early May when I thought how much time I’d have to work and tinker with random projects.
The opposite was true. I don’t complain as it was self-inflicted. I wanted to take summer classes, I wanted to study engineering. Being busy and being “studious” (whatever that means) was my summer.
Both of which I’m highly reluctant of.
But this experience made me reflect on a bigger issue, which is the combination of optionality and college’s facade. Optionality because we fear committing. College’s facade because we go there to become hireable, not learn.
Going and finishing college is a signal to employers. What does it send? It sends 1) you can be complacent, 2) you can get through long hours of boring and tedious work, and 3) you can have the willingness to put your head down.
Of course, I’m not supposed to be saying this. I’m supposed to shut up, keep studying, (and question little).
What about optionality? I know engineering isn’t my comparative advantage. Why? I didn’t put as much effort into math and science early on, and now it takes me twice or thrice as much effort to be as “good.”1 Then, I ask myself, “Is it worth spending that much time only getting good grades, not learning?”
I don’t care if I’m the best engineer2. I don’t have to be the best one. I only want to actually learn and appreciate the beauty of science and mathematics. But in the classroom, I’m forced to be the best because if I don’t get a good GPA, I can’t study engineering3.
We think staying in college seems like a non-risky path. But putting my head down and doing nothing4 for four years of the most productive years of my life is one of the RISKIEST things I could do.
For now, I will move back to college and, somehow, find the strength to keep my head down for another year. In the meantime, I wish we had a patronage model like the one da Vinci had.
(Big sigh…)
See you next week,
Juan David Campolargo
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But if I say this, I may sound like I don’t want to work hard to study math or whatever. In the end, math/science isn’t easy for anyone. I’d agree with that. It’s not that I don’t want to work hard, we have misaligned incentives and unnecessary pressures.
I need to get at least a 3.0 GPA to transfer to engineering.
Someone might say:
“How can you say this? College is the best time of your life. You can meet people, explore your interests, and have fun.”
I’d reply with, “Cool, thanks.” Internally, I’d think this person is either complacent or depressed or both to think college was the best time of their life.
What about 1) meeting people, 2) exploring your interests, and 3) having fun?
1) You’ll meet people who are there to get a job and will do anything to look hireable like joining boring-ass and tedious clubs with people you don’t like nor want to be with. However, if you’re lucky you’ll find a few who can’t keep their heads down and want to have a more interesting life than just a job.
2) Going to college is the absolute worst way to explore your interests because if you’re slow to pick your major, you’ll graduate later, which means more money. So the option to take classes isn’t really feasible for most. How about joining clubs? Most clubs are filled with people who are doing it because it looks good to get a job. Yet, there are a few that are worth your time and will actually help you explore your interests and meet cool people. There’s also the option of research which is a great way to explore but you have to be careful with who you work with. Most researchers only want to publish, and publish papers and not really learn. Yet, there are a few researchers who want to learn and research cool things.
3) Have fun? Oh, man. If having fun means drinking and doing drugs. By all means, this is your place.
In all three, there’s a pattern: a soul-corrupting facade.
Ignore most. Find few. Think for Yourself.