My Unconventional Career Path
My Unconventional Career Pathso since some people are asking for details, here's long version how i did my unconventional career path───────────────────────────────────────Age 14 - I was rotting in schoolnot much STEM programs or competitions. just memorizing stuff I didn't care aboutand 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───────────────────────────────────────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 dayso I just... studied on my own at night───────────────────────────────────────my "education system":Khan Academy + borrowed textbooks + random YouTube videoszero teachers. zero mentors. just curiosity and internet accessfunny how the best education I got was free and available to anyone───────────────────────────────────────results? barely passed.but here's the thing - I learned more in those 4-6 months than I did in years of traditional schoolbecause I chose to learn. didn't feel forced. actually enjoyed reading the textbook every nightthat's the unlock right there───────────────────────────────────────Age 15-16 - started uni in mechanical engineeringhated it. way too theoreticalso I taught myself to code, built an app, switched to computer engineeringthe lesson? don't be precious about your path. pivot fast───────────────────────────────────────Age 17 - got my first internship as a software engineerstarted freelancing on the sideand I learned something important: companies don't care how old you are. they care if you can shipcan you ship? cool, you're hired───────────────────────────────────────Age 18 - started a tech club. gave workshops. won hackathonswhy? because I was terrified of public speakingand I figured the best way to get over a fear is to just do it over and over until it's not scary anymoreworked pretty well tbh───────────────────────────────────────Age 19 - started an AI blogthat blog led to my second internship as an AI engineer and then this crazy opportunity to co-author a paper with MITstill in uni doing all my assignments───────────────────────────────────────how? I just said no to everything that didn't matterno partying. no random clubs. just focus on the stuff that compoundsone blog post can lead to infinite opportunities. that's leverage───────────────────────────────────────Age 20 - graduated with awards, gave the valedictorian speecheveryone's like "wow you're so smart"but they didn't see me falling asleep on textbooks every night at 14it wasn't intelligence. it was just reps───────────────────────────────────────Age 21-22 - started an AI consulting bizfreelanced while travelingmost clients came from people reading my blogwild how that works - you write online, strangers trust you, they hire youinternet arbitrage is insane───────────────────────────────────────Age 23 - joined a VC-backed startup as cofounder/CTOhit $5K MRR and 20K users 6 months after launchalso did hackathons, talks, TV, podcast, grew TikTok to 10Keverything just started compounding at once───────────────────────────────────────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 consistentlythat's basically it───────────────────────────────────────not gonna lie, I got lucky in a bunch of waysbut mostly I just started early and kept goingif you're thinking "I should do X" - just start today. don't wait for perfect conditionsthey're never coming