Ramanujan Redux

Okay, that’s a little harsh. But the more I look at it, playing out the clock for your degree is not getting you anywhere but middle management hell. You’ll get a job with nice pay, but probably nothing you love doing.

What’s more important? Befriending a professor. Doing meaningful social work. Reaching out to others. Finding people equally passionate in what you enjoy. Taking a risk. Not shirking away from responsibility. Knowing what you’re comfortable with. That’s what useful about college.

College is a place to discover what you don’t want to be. Everything after that crystallizes what it is you want.

As college students getting ready to enter the real world, we will most likely do one of two things in our life–we will accept or reject conformity. We will take the easy way into a well-paid job with insurance and security, and even though we might not like anything about the position we take, we accept it for what it is.

Then there are others who fly right into their passions, things they love doing and would do all the time–but the pathway is not so clear to making money, to making your way through the world. Without a rudder, you’re not sure where you’ll end up.

But an important question beckons–can’t we be doing both? Is it possible to live within the system to meet our salary needs while finding our passion outside of it? Can we make the compromises Tim Ferriss make, outsourcing our boring work to people better equipped to handle it?

How do you choose between risks and security?