By the end of the book, you think to yourself, "Huh, I've never thought of doing that! These are great ideas, but if I were opting not to go to college, would I want this to be the book I refer to when I inevitably get asked how I came to my conclusions?"
James Altucher seems to have compiled this mini-book from blog posts. You can tell because he tells the story about how after years of studying computers in college, he supposedly couldn't even turn one on for his job. I think he's exaggerating when he says that he worked 40 hrs a week while taking 6 courses per semester, but the book isn't about him. Even if it were, the question to ask is what could motivate someone who got a full-ride into grad school to write a book about college alternatives.
As with books on this subject, Altucher makes the case that college is expensive, can sometimes under deliver on quality of education and so on. I think the benefit of the book is really more about being creative when making of life decisions - recognizing that there are way more options than you think you have. He says that the book could easily have been 100 alternatives and 40 was just an arbitrary choice.
A good takeaway point I liked was this: Even if you're interested in a profession that absolutely requires degrees, it's still a good idea to do something else before going straight to college. For example, if you want to be a lawyer, try to take the bar in California and maybe work as a paralegal for a while. If you want to be a doctor, go change bed-pans for a few weeks and see if you have what it takes to treat the sick. Doing these activities are super important because down the road you will want someone to give you a recommendation. Why should someone take their time out to support you in pursuit of a profession that you only think you want? Altucher provides the kind of thinking that helps those who want to go to college and those who want alternatives.
Ultimately, I would not have been satisfied if I had paid the $5 for this book (I got it for free by subscribing to James Altucher's podcast). I would approach it this way: If you got the book for free, used one of its ideas and had success with it, send Altucher the $5. If not, then you still might have learned something and so your time wasn't really wasted.
Here is the summary list of 40 alternatives: www.slideshare.net/JamesAltucher/james-altucher-40-alternatives-to-college
My favorites:
- vipassana meditation retreat
- become a connector
- backpack el camino de santiago
- do the appalachian trail
- virtual mentor every week
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