[phxrsng]

I'm not sure I agree, for many reasons.

1 - a lot of grads have loans to pay off, and that $100k/yr job sure helps get it done quickly so you can focus on anything you want without that on your back.

2 - That $100k/yr job can help you meet a lot of great people to work on projects with at a later time. A lot of SCS grads come out having done nothing but stare at code for 4 years (I'm one, and I was saddened by the number of my classmates who made no connections on campus outside of SCS, connections that would be vitally useful in a startup). Working at a great company in the valley can help get you into the startup scene in a way that Pittsburgh might not.

3 - Nothing says you can't work on a startup outside of the 40-50hrs/wk you put in at your 100k/yr job. SCS grads are used to loooong work weeks; a normal work week seems short in comparison, especially right after graduation when you aren't (probably) supporting a family or anything else. That leaves time to make money AND try out some projects.

4 - Not being part of a startup =/= slaving your life away. There's a lot of great, rewarding work to be done in the valley and in the tech industry, it isn't an all or nothing thing with the all being becoming a startup founder. Being part of a company growing quickly and doing cool things can be just as rewarding as being a founder.

[sliverstorm]

You are spot on with most of that, but #3 is not exactly true. When you sign on for $100k/yr you are almost guaranteed to have signed a non-compete clause, as well as a clause generally surrendering rights to novel work.

It's somewhat of a blurry, contentious line I don't well understand, but if you are working for Google chances are you can't incubate a software startup by moonlight.

[phxrsng]

I agree - but I'd say Google is a bit of an outlier. Many software companies have non-competes with more limited scope by virtue of their product being related to one specific industry that you can't compete with.

So maybe its more of a "maybe you can" thing.

[holdenk]

I am not a lawyer, but it might be worth talking to one especially if you are in California and interested in moonlighting.

[nemothekid]

Number 1 is also a big one. Stanford is a much more finically generous school. I go to CMU currently, and I have a friend in the same income range as me that goes to stanford, and I pay almost double what he does.