Graduating early helpful for an engineer?

[Data10]

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I was talking to one of my classmates today. an older guy today who has been going to Engineering school for a long time now, he struggled with a lot of personal issues, etc but he never gave up.</p>

<p>If I was a manager, I would hire this guy in a heartbeat over a 20 year old who finished college in 3 years.</p>

<p>Dude, no one is going to have you manage anything important at age 21 or 22 or even age 25, so I don’t really think graduating in 3, 4, 5 or 6 years is really that big of a deal.

The difference between graduating in 3 and 6 years could easily work out to an extra $100k in tuition. It might also lead to an extra $200k in salary while working. The person who graduates 3 years earlier also gains valuable work experience. In your hiring example, if the candidates were the same age, would you rather hire the new grad who spent 6 years in college or the guy who has a degree + 3 years of a full-time job with relevant work experience?</p>

<p>I’m not saying it’s the right choice for everyone, but there are some clear benefits.</p>