My Unconventional Career Path
so since some people are asking for details, here's long version how i did my unconventional career path
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Age 14 - I was rotting in school
not much STEM programs or competitions. just memorizing stuff I didn't care about
and I stumble on this hack: you can take university entrance exams (IGCSE) without going to an international school & at any age (not sure about the age actually)
so I'm like... wait what? let's try it
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the constraints were brutal:
I registered immediately, but only had 4-6 months to learn 2 years of material. everything in English (had to relearn all the terms). RM500+ per exam. family couldn't afford tutors. still had to go to regular school during the day
so I just... studied on my own at night
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my "education system":
Khan Academy + borrowed textbooks + random YouTube videos
zero teachers. zero mentors. just curiosity and internet access
funny how the best education I got was free and available to anyone
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results? barely passed.
but here's the thing - I learned more in those 4-6 months than I did in years of traditional school
because I chose to learn. didn't feel forced. actually enjoyed reading the textbook every night
that's the unlock right there
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Age 15-16 - started uni in mechanical engineering
hated it. way too theoretical
so I taught myself to code, built an app, switched to computer engineering
the lesson? don't be precious about your path. pivot fast
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Age 17 - got my first internship as a software engineer
started freelancing on the side
and I learned something important: companies don't care how old you are. they care if you can ship
can you ship? cool, you're hired
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Age 18 - started a tech club. gave workshops. won hackathons
why? because I was terrified of public speaking
and I figured the best way to get over a fear is to just do it over and over until it's not scary anymore
worked pretty well tbh
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Age 19 - started an AI blog
that blog led to my second internship as an AI engineer and then this crazy opportunity to co-author a paper with MIT
still in uni doing all my assignments
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how? I just said no to everything that didn't matter
no partying. no random clubs. just focus on the stuff that compounds
one blog post can lead to infinite opportunities. that's leverage
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Age 20 - graduated with awards, gave the valedictorian speech
everyone's like "wow you're so smart"
but they didn't see me falling asleep on textbooks every night at 14
it wasn't intelligence. it was just reps
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Age 21-22 - started an AI consulting biz
freelanced while traveling
most clients came from people reading my blog
wild how that works - you write online, strangers trust you, they hire you
internet arbitrage is insane
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Age 23 - joined a VC-backed startup as cofounder/CTO
hit $5K MRR and 20K users 6 months after launch
also did hackathons, talks, TV, podcast, grew TikTok to 10K
everything just started compounding at once
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here's what I'd tell my younger self:
start before you're ready. learn because you want to, not because you have to. say no to almost everything. build stuff people want. write online consistently
that's basically it
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not gonna lie, I got lucky in a bunch of ways
but mostly I just started early and kept going
if you're thinking "I should do X" - just start today. don't wait for perfect conditions
they're never coming