Entrepreneurship vs Education

[Somnius]

I hesitated a little before posting this, but the desire didn't escape me over the week so here goes, would very much appreciate your wisdom in this situation...there are quite a few of these threads I know, each with their own subtleties however...This thread is quite long but I really hope you read through. Also, please don't take my personal metionings as an attempt at self-indulgence, even if I cared for it this would definately not be the place for it considering all my accomplishments are pretty much nothing compared to what a lot of 2+2 members have done. I just mention some things to illustrate the situation a little better.

My dream was forever to go to law school, it was the "thing to do". Graduated 2 years ago from an undergrad in psych, focusing mainly on neuropsych. Took a year away from school to work on applications, lsat, save up some money. I started my first website, got into online gambling etc. I ended up getting full scholarhip offers to a couple law schools in my desired states, I am from Toronto but wanted to go down south.

Anyway, things were going my way and it just didn't make sense to take the plunge into law school, so I took yet another year off, and now, want to take more.

I am making 6k/month now from websites and poker, and things are only beginning, in a couple months it should be 8-10, I also have tons of ideas for websites etc that I know I can make work, just a matter of time before I raise the capitol.

I mention all this because it's important for the comparison in question. Law school is almost the epidemy of "success/status/power/credibility" to the general public. The quotes by no means are meant to undermine its importance and value, but, we all know how many lawyers there would be if the income ceiling weren't as high.

My interest in the law was in the profession more then the discipline. I am sure I would find it challenging and intriguing, as I'm sure most lawyers here do. But, is it really worth, spending 3 years, and facing opporunity cost, for a piece of paper and perhaps worthwhile knowledge and outlook that most likely will not be used in the profession itself. I now know that I simply do not want a grinder career in a practice. I will forever want to do things my way and attain success on my own. Perhaps it's a little unrealistic I don't know.

I'm 24 now and will be spending the next couple years travelling and making money. My family insists I have a "career" by 30...perhaps they're right, maybe it's just not that simple.

There are plenty of successful people on this forum, in so many disciplines and ventures. Surely there is lots of wisdom you can pass down as to how to view this situation. I am simply having trouble wrapping my head around the contrats between what seems like merely a matter of tradition and that of free-thinking more modern ventures.

In all honesty, math and technology have always been where my heart is. Reading about Bill Chen and Brandon Adams, statistical arbitrage and behavioral finance, basically makes me salivate. Going through Mathematics of Poker is a great pleasure. I have always known this about myself and yet law was always, simply, what to do. I also think I have quite the gift for numbers, I got the highest introductory statistics mark in my university second year, and when the prof recommended I keep going in the discipline, I didn't...not sure if that even really means anything, but something to consider.

Granted, law does come with great worth, the credibility, power and knowledge of the way very important aspects of society and business work are probably great. But, how much benefit, ev, and utiliy is it really providing?

It's funny, I'm sure a lot of you have similar situations, those of you who don't have careers I would assume moreso. Seeing acquaintances etc, who went on to traditional careers, in law, medicine etc etc, and when they find out you are merely "playing poker" or "gambling" or "running some site", the arrogance reigns. Who cares...yet hard to ignore.

I could only imagine later on in life, when thinking about marriage later on in life perhaps, how much more annoying it would get without much traditional status or credibility....or am I wrong thinking this?

Bottom line, I was going to law school to reach a certain income stream early, move away from it once I raised enough capitol, did my own thing by 45 and spent my days back in school, learning about all the disciplines I really enjoy, getting phds in science etc and just upgrading to every accreditation I want.

This "stop-and-go" method of life seems so unnecessary these days if you're open to the possibilities that mainly the internet provides. And now it seems I might be able to have my cake and eat it too. Work on my own time in my own way raising more money then most people do. Setting up passive income streams and spending a life travelling, learning, and raising capitol for projects I am interested in.

Seems so realistic, but sometimes I think it just sounds crazy. How do you explain this type of life, if it does happen, to those around you or those you just meet? Does it even matter? Will having a law degree, especially if getting it for "free", really help make all this possible or simply be a waste of time?

I ask myself these questions quite a bit and will probably continue to do so over the next couple years as I explore this type of life.

I'm sure all of you have your own answers to these questions, from differing levels of success and varying disciplines.

It would be great to get your thoughts and wisdom as applied to this situation.

Thank you for reading if you got through it all. Your words will definately filter through me to others when the day comes.

[Somnius]

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tl;dr

entrepreneurship+education is probably the answer

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lol...alright fair enough, thanks...I guess.

[OtZman]

You say that you'd like to study further later in your life and receive PhD's etc, why not wait with law school as well, and study what you find interesting after securing a steady income from online venturing etc?

[Tien]

You're family is not right. I cringe inside everytime I hear an entrepreneur being persuaded to take on a "career". You don't need a "lawyer" status to be successful as an entrepreneur. 99.99% of successful entrepreneurs aren't lawyers at all.

[censored] law school and [censored] careers if you can make more / year being an entrepreneur than you would make if you became a lawyer in 3 years.


Be an entrepreneur, keep making a boatload of money, do whatever the hell you want to do in life.


If the only reason why you are going to law school is to appease your wage slave parents, then you are making one hell of a big mistake. Your parents are NOT entrepreneurs. Your parents only know how to advise you to become like they are. Do you want that career life? Or do you want to be free?

[Tien]

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How do you explain this type of life, if it does happen, to those around you or those you just meet?

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I don't explain my life to people who cannot grasp nor understand.

I only go into deep conversation about my life and my views about life with other entrepreneurs.


One summer I had a host of family members come over and the more I spoke with them, the more my mind was being polluted with "career", "get a job", "finish your degree" garbage. It took a full month to recover from the damage.


Surround yourself with more entrepreneurs and you won't have to second guess what direction your life will be.

[ItalianFX]

I want to follow in Mark Cuban's path someday, but I have yet to figure it out.

[Somnius]

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You say that you'd like to study further later in your life and receive PhD's etc, why not wait with law school as well, and study what you find interesting after securing a steady income from online venturing etc?

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That's definately the ultimate goal. I just wonder if getting a legal education would help this, even if just as a backup, I mean, goals are one thing, the reality of the future can be quite different...also, especially considering that it's "Free"...I would have to have good reason to ignore it.

[Somnius]

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How do you explain this type of life, if it does happen, to those around you or those you just meet?

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I don't explain my life to people who cannot grasp nor understand.

I only go into deep conversation about my life and my views about life with other entrepreneurs.


One summer I had a host of family members come over and the more I spoke with them, the more my mind was being polluted with "career", "get a job", "finish your degree" garbage. It took a full month to recover from the damage.


Surround yourself with more entrepreneurs and you won't have to second guess what direction your life will be.

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It is these emotional products of the situation that are the problem. Lets say, you "finished" your degree or whatever, only for the sake of ridding your life of such talk, would not that increase overall utility? Now, lets say you did it not JUST for that, but also because there are benefits. For example with the law degree, what you can learn, the credibility you earn, the fallback you have if anything goes wrong or astray etc...is that not worth it then?


The first reply to this thread, as funny as it was, was pretty spot on I think...The most EV is probably trying to balance both in some way.

Still, is law something that can really benefit you later on in ventures outside of the career itself? I hear a lot of yes answers to this question from many people, but, I've never really seen it broken down or analyzed much.

[Tien]

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Lets say, you "finished" your degree or whatever, only for the sake of ridding your life of such talk, would not that increase overall utility?

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No, my answer to that is I just ignore all the talk from employees. They don't understand and will never understand. I won't waste 3 years of my life to "appease" them and shut them up. The simple solution is to simply ignore.


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For example with the law degree, what you can learn, the credibility you earn, the fallback you have if anything goes wrong or astray etc...is that not worth it then?

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Credibility to whom? Your parents? Your future spouse's parents? [censored] that. 5 / 10 of the richest Americans are dropouts. Credibility with a name is not as important as credibility with taking ACTION.

And the fallback if things go astray. Things ALWAYS go astray for an entrepreneur. The only thing I have to say to that is when things go wrong, an entrepreneur picks himself back up and KEEPS GOING.

If you plan to quit being an entrepreneur when you face a bit of hard times, then don't plan on being one in the first place and don't call yourself one.


Yes law can benefit you. But the opportunity cost of losing your time getting a degree is not worth it if you aren't going to do anything with it.