The Value of Going To College in the Midwest if you are Interested in TechIf you think you will be or are already interested in technology and business, then you may be hesitating at the validity of this article.
If you think you will be or are already interested in technology and business, then you may be hesitating at the validity of this article.
Value of tech? In the midwest? Don’t they grow cows there or something like that?
I hope that by the end of this short expose you will have at least a better insight into what it is like to go into technology while going to the school in the midwest.
To give you a quick perspective to where I am coming from: Hi! My name is Jordan and I am originally from Arizona. I just finished my sophomore year at Washington University in St. Louis and I am studying Finance and Computer Science.
But enough of the boring stuff and a bit of a transition into why I am writing this article and why I think it really matters that you read it.
I am of the opinion that there are benefits and disadvantages to any decision in life. A lot of the time, we (me included) tend to focus on one end of the spectrum or the other. We polarize our decisions as either good or bad because it is easier for us to do so. A decision that a lot of people do that to when looking at colleges, or careers for that matter, is the “value” or “strength” of the school.
So let’s dive in…why is a midwest school like washu a good school to go to if you are interested in tech? Like I was.
The first advantage — that is pretty clear to me — is the shape of the network.
Unlike big cities, St. Louis (and most other midwestern cities) have low density. IE people are spread out What that means is that there are many gaps in the ecosystem. Some peole see these gaps as a bad thing but the reality is that they are a good thing. A really good thing if you know how to hustle. These gaps mean that less peopel are connecting. It means that if you really work for it — you can connect those gaps. And that is exactly what I did when I first came to campus — I made an unusually purposeful effort to reach out to people in the community .
Unsurprisingly — most of them got back to me — and it helped me to get an internship in the first semester of college — working a “dream job” in venture capital.
Another really big advantage to going to school in the midwest, specifically St. Louis, may really surprise you.
There are lots of problems in St. Louis. There are a lot of vacant lots, lots of poverty, tension, unemployment, stagnating economy in areas…These all sound like really bad things.
(here comes the entrepreneurial perspective) — These problems are all low hanging fruit, waiting for intelligent problem solvers to come along and catch them.
Going to a place that has not been saturated with thinkers gives you the first mover advantage as a student and a real opportunity to make an impact in the community.
I’d say the last reason is another one of optimism — you can live on the coasts for the rest of your life. But never again may you have the opportunity to go out of your comfort zone and enter a whole new culture — the midwest. Trust me the food is good!
Originally published at gonen.blog.
By jordangonen on July 5, 2017.
Exported from Medium on February 17, 2018.