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<p>If you want to get into an economic analysis, I think it has been shown that founding/joining a startup is, on average, one of the most lucrative financial choices you can make. That is, the average startup employee will make more , on average, than a comparable employee elsewhere.</p>
<p>Of course, the difference is that the variance in earnings is very large. In other words, for every 1 startup employee who ends up making a million in a year (i.e. from stock options), 9 will make zero. But that still means that the average person will make $100,000 a year. That’s how the numbers shake out. </p>
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<p>Again, see above. The expected value is almost certainly strongly positive. Google and Microsoft alone can compensate for numerous failures. </p>
<p>Look, I agree, the vast majority will fail. But the few that succeed are so successful that they easily compensate for all the failures. Think of it this way. Bill Gates is worth about $60 billion. Hence, even if 1000 other people tried to become Bill Gates and failed (hence, having zero net worth), all of them put together still made an average net worth of * $60 million *. </p>
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<p>Oh really? Not young? So what exactly is the age of the average engineering bachelor’s degree recipient? Almost certainly in the early 20’s, right? That seems pretty young to me.</p>
<p>As far as broke - again, yes, frankly, they are broke. Note, the notion of comparing them to their age cohort is meaningless - that entire age cohort is basically broke. In fact, that’s precisely my point - most young people are broke regardless of what degree they have or what they are doing. Most people in their early 20’s are paying off their student debt, and hence probably have net negative worth.</p>
<p>In fact, that dovetails nicely with what I discussed above. Startups are highly lucrative on an expected value standpoint. The problem is that they are risky. But it is PRECISELY when you are young is when you should be taking risk, because that is the time in your life when you are most able to take that risk. If you found a failed startup when you’re 40 with a mortgage and a family to take care of, that could be a serious problem. Far better to do that when you’re young and you have no such responsibilities, and you’re still used to living the life of poverty of a student. </p>
<p>What you seem to be saying is that nobody should ever join startups PERIOD, regardless of their age, because they’re risky regardless of how old you are. Well, considering that entrepreneurship is the lifeblood of the US economy, that is indeed a very strong stance to take.</p>