Ending University: I wasn’t sure what I wanted, but I knew exactly what I didn’t want

As I was ending my time in Durham, I felt even more confused. Instead of learning about influencing people and selling, I realized I had in-depth knowledge about neuroscience, psychophysics, and the human eye. Good to know in academia, but completely useless in the real world. During this period, I was also exposed to a subculture of online marketers who operated outside the norms of mainstream society. The sense of freedom in this subculture was extremely appealing and became an important aspect of my personality. I received offers for consulting jobs in London, but having experienced assessment centers and observed the corporate culture, I realized that I was a contrarian who wouldn’t fit in well. I decided to forgo the expected path of a prestigious corporate job and instead joined a small financial brokerage, where I focused on selling over the phone with a strong emphasis on commission-based compensation. At the time, it felt like a setback, moving from two prestigious academic institutions to a role where most of my colleagues had skipped university altogether.