Should I leave Austin?

[mechahunter]

I started Physics grad school this Fall, but I have recently considered dropping out in order to find a job in industry (I'd like to work at a startup). I know this could look really bad to employers, but I just have no motivation to continue my studies

Recently I've been working on a programming project on my own (a sort of video game), as a way to improve my programming skills, and I've been working on it with alot more motivation than studying for my Physics classes. I'm still fairly new to programming so I can't say I'm committed to programming over Physics yet

Anyways, the semester is almost over and I have to make a decision soon as to whether to move back home (Los Angeles) or stay in Austin to find a job. After reading Paul Graham's essays, I think I'm willing to take the risks involved in running my own business, or at least joining someone else's startup, as opposed to living like a caged animal in a corporate job

But my programming skills aren't that great and my statistical analysis software skills aren't either (I've only used SPSS minimally). Also, I have no idea as to what kind of startup I'd like to work for. I'm not interested in Iphone apps, social networking, etc. But analytics seems pretty interesting.

Would I really be missing out on alot of opportunities if I moved back to LA instead of staying here in Austin?

[daveb1]

Hi Mecha,

Dropping out of school is a huge decision and something that should be carefully considered. I am not sure it wise to drop out of school with no plan other then to start your own business or to try finding a startup to work for (LA and Austin are not exactly start up central either - more the Bay Area for that dream). Starting your own business is a very very large task and is usually done by people who are already very talented in a field of expertise or have a very clear vision of what they want to do with lots of financial connections to back them up. Switching majors to a more programming related field might also be one route to go. I think my advice would be to stay in school and work as hard as you can to get a degree that you enjoy. With your free time work on your business ideas and seek an internship or part time job in the fields you are most interested in. You could could even move back to LA and stay in school I am sure as there are many great programs to pick from (UCLA, USC, LMU to name a few). A huge key in succeeding is stay business and be constantly moving towards and end goal. If you drop out of school and then sit idel for 6 months or more it will be tough to get back on your feet or feel good about yourself. It sounds like you really do not know what you want to do yet (typical for most all of us) so I would stay in school for the structure and resume builder until you find something on the side worth quitting for. A lot also depends on your financial situation of course. I guess my overall advice would be to stay in school and get a job / start a business on the side. Once that job/business shows greater opportunity then school then you can consider leaving the education on hold for a while. Hope this helps any specific questions just let me know as I lived in Los Angeles for a long time.

[mechahunter]

Well, this is grad school. I already have my undergrad degree, so having a graduate degree in Physics does not look that much better to employers and to my resume.

Starting your own business a very very large task and is usually done by people who are already very talented in a field of expertise or have a very clear vision of what they want to do with lots of financial connections to back them up. ..With your free time work on your business ideas and seek an internship or part time job in the fields you are most interested in.

The problem is that I would like to get that expertise in some business area so I can then start my own business. That is why I would like to get some kind of programming job in a business that I think I would like enough that I can become an expert in it (ie Analytics). Therefore, I see myself as wasting time by staying in grad school. The question I'm dealing with is whether it really is worth it to stay in Austin to try to find an Analytics startup (however, I haven't seen many job listings online for analytics startups), or just go back to LA and work for an analytics non-startup.