"Today my advice to a young developer who is passionate about building great software is to drop out."<p>Perhaps a young developer might have other goals in life in addition to building great software? Dropping out of college could certainly give you a huge head start in your career, but the costs are huge as well: missing out on spending four years of your life having fun being around people your age.<p>The magnitude of how much four years in a college environment can change a person is difficult to underestimate. Some may decide that the experience isn't for them and that they should drop out to start their careers, but it's a decision that must be made very, very carefully.
I'm going to hijack this thread to mention that if anyone is interested in Timothy Leary, I found the following two NPR programs fascinating:<p><a href="http://www.onpointradio.org/2010/03/the-birth-of-new-age-america" rel="nofollow">http://www.onpointradio.org/2010/03/the-birth-of-new-age-ame...</a><p><a href="http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R201001191000" rel="nofollow">http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R201001191000</a><p>They are both interviews with the author of a recent book called <i>The Harvard Psychedelic Club</i> in which Leary naturally features prominently.
from comments: " I see too many students come through here who don't actually know what they want out of life or what to do with it (~30-40% of my students) and they go through the motions without having a clue as to why."<p>What a waste of resources, if true.