More and more students are dropping out of Taiwan’s most prestigious colleges to follow their passions — and it may not be the worst financial decision they make.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/06/22
By: Rosemary Chen

“Growing up in Taiwan, it’s hard to find our fields of interest before entering college because we are bombarded with exams and grades in high school and middle school,” said Jing Yien-liang (金彥良), 20.

Two years ago, Jing dropped out of college midway through a degree in statistics at National Chengchi University (NCCU, 國立政治大學). He left because it was difficult to juggle the numerous graphic design projects he was working on and maintain a good academic record.

Jing is a self-taught freelance designer. But while he has left university, he hasn’t stopped learning.

He has hosted many design workshops, been contracted to design sales kits and launched an online graphic design course — the course has already had close to 2,000 purchases at NT$1,500 (US$50) each, roughly 10 times more than the average salary for college graduates.    [FULL STORY]