I never regretted dropping out of university 25 years ago. That's what I've been saying lately to the people asking me if I should have gotten the chemical engineering degree. You know, to have a backup plan if things don't go well.
And the truth is, a lot could have gone wrong when you risk your future in one of the most uncertain and misunderstood fields out there: gambling!
Now, more than two decades since I left the engineering classrooms and having changed careers more than 4 times, it's time for another change.
And maybe this one will be the last and the best.
But I definitely don't plan on going back to university desks; the ones I first sat in at 19 years old.
It Was Never My Dream to Become an Engineer
I remember back then, to get into university, in our senior year of high school we filled out the mechanografiko form. Basically, we declared which university department we'd like to get into.
It was March, about 4 to 5 months before taking the exams. So, without even having any idea about our scores, we had to declare the department and the corresponding city where we'd want to study.
At that time, I saw university as an extension of high school. Like gaining, let's say, essentially 4 to 5 or 6 years of carefree life.
Just like I was in school, that's how I'd be as a student. The allowance would come, my parents would support me, and it would be dolce vita for Jim.
So, back then, I'd initially declared all the engineering departments across Greece.
My parents had oriented me more toward engineering – toward science in general, but specifically I thought it was obvious that the goal was Engineering.
During that period, everything piled up at once: I was filling out the mechanografiko, and at the same time my dad decided to buy me a car earlier than usual, because there were rumors about Greece devaluing the drachma, our currency before the Euro.
The plan was to buy me the car when I got into university.
In fact, my mother asked me:
"Hey, my boy, are you sure you'll keep going? Will you be able to study after getting the car? I don't want you to get distracted with the car, and not pay attention to the exams."
To which I said:
"No, of course mom, obviously I'll stay focused on what I have to do."
Inside me, though, the only thing I was thinking was that as soon as the car arrives, I'd go crazy with joy. No way I'd sit down to deal with the lessons.
But from the moment I learned they'd buy me a car, and since it was a week before submitting the mechanografiko, I changed the schools I was declaring. I removed all the ones outside Thessaloniki, to save some expenses for my parents. I wouldn't want to get into another city and burden them financially with rent, since they had already spent on the car.
So, I declared only the schools in Thessaloniki. First the engineering ones and some lower-base ones, so if I didn't get into Engineering, I'd still get into some university class in my city.
And that's how I got into Chemical Engineering in Thessaloniki, almost last! For just about two points, I'd have gotten into Surveying Engineering instead of Chemical.
Once I'd gotten into the University and fulfilled my parents' dreams, life was pretty simple again. I just had to pass the courses. All expenses were covered, and my parents were happy.
But along the way, already from the first year, I began wondering if it was the right choice, and second thoughts started creeping in.
The Student Life Felt Just Like High School All Over Again
Already from the first year as an Engineering student, the course schedule hit me right away: math, physics, chemistry were three of the 5-6 main courses that year. It really bothered me that I had another full year ahead exactly like senior year of high school.
The same subjects I'd studied one or two years earlier just to get in.
These, again?
I was expecting new courses and a completely different life. Instead, I ended up with the same home-school, school-home routine. Only difference was I drove there now and didn't have as much studying.
At least until exams.
But it wasn't just the courses that turned me off.
It was also professors' attitudes and conversations with classmates. Through all that, I started doubting if I'd made the right choice following this path.
The Visit That Made Me Question Everything
It wasn't one specific moment when I decided to drop out of the university. It was gradually, a buildup of experiences that led to it. Just at some point, I said to myself for the first time:
"Probably, in the end, I won't finish it."
And as time passed, I got more and more sure I wouldn't get the degree.
One of the most impactful moments was when they took us to a cheese factory. There I came face-to-face with what a chemical engineer's job could look like. And I didn't like it at all.
Stench and working conditions were just like you imagine. It was a strong shock about what might be waiting for me if I got the degree.
I even discussed it with classmates on the bus ride back. They weren't as shocked as I was, but I remember sitting leaned against the window, looking at the school as we approached the building, thinking:
"No way I'm doing this."
I Looked at the Future – and Didn't Like What I Saw
Another conversation that discouraged me was about salaries in chemical engineering. Basically, how much we could make after finishing university.
We had professors talking about 2-3 thousand as starting salary. At the same time, other professors and engineers already working in factories told us about a thousand euros.
So we were hearing conflicting views and amounts that, personally, didn't satisfy me.
Many classmates saw going abroad as the solution. There, salaries supposedly started at 4,500 to 5,000. Whether those numbers were true, I wasn't in a position to verify. Even today, I don't know if they hold up. But I had another problem.
I didn't want to leave the country.
So I saw the whole thing as climbing a mountain. Gradually, more and more reasons piled up that would stop me from reaching graduation.
Computers – and Money – Were My True Passion
When I finally decided for good to leave university, I'd already started making my own money. And actually more than I'd expect as a chemical engineer.
Now I had no reason to go back.
While I was studying and hearing all these different stories, I started looking for ways to make my own money. But not the traditional way.
My path started with blackjack at casinos. There I began counting cards and managed to win some money for almost a year before they banned me.
Now I would have to start visiting casinos abroad if I wanted to continue as a professional blackjack player, as a pro gambler. Which of course I didn't want.
So I went back to university until I found something else, got my thesis done, but still had 20 to 22 courses left. I hadn't fully dropped it yet.
On the other hand, I'd seen what's out there and how much money you can make. So my mind was on trying other things while I still had time.
While studying and doing my thesis, I got into betting. Searching like crazy for something that worked, I stumbled on trading betting odds.
After 2-3 years as a sports trader and having made even more than from casinos, I'd figured out by then that I wouldn't go back. But I needed that final push. And it didn't take long!
One time I went to renew my student ID. There in the department hallway, the professor in charge of my studies ran into me. The one I'd done my thesis with years earlier. I hadn't seen him in ages.
"What's up Jim? You're still here? What are you doing, either finish it or leave."
So simple! And I left! Just like that, thanks to him!
But my betting strategy started not paying off anymore shortly after. Then came the poker era. Same story there. I was winning until I wasn't.
And from poker, I moved to websites. Blogging, SEO, display ads, and building a career around the business model of writing useful stuff and monetizing traffic.
Websites were more my thing. I'd always wanted to get into computers.
When I filled out the mechanografiko to take university exams, my first choice was Electrical and Computer Engineering, not Chemical. It was, after all, the top department in Engineering in terms of prestige and scores. The hardest to get into.
But when I saw friends studying there, I realized very few got into computers the way I imagined. Most I know ended up in energy, production and transfer of it, or renewables.
So maybe I wouldn't have finished even if I studied there.
I Never Had Doubts About My Decision
Adjusting as a university dropout after finally leaving was easy. And that's because as long as you have income, you don't have second thoughts.
The problem comes when the money tap tightens, when revenue drops and things get tough professionally. Like now with my websites, which had a 75% drop in traffic and consequently in ad revenue.
Of course, I've been here before.
Blackjack, betting, poker – all ended for me at some point. And those periods are the hardest.
You start doubting your decisions.
You look for mistakes that maybe weren't even made. You might even regret getting comfortable in the comfort zone you'd created – working from home alone, not answering to anyone.
But regret university? I never did. I'm sure I wouldn't have been happy following it. I'd end up doing something that didn't fulfill me and constantly wondering "what if..."
I'm a lone wolf type.
I want to do my own things, rely only on my own strength and skills. That's why everything I tried was individual – I never built a team or joined one. That's why I prefer individual sports like swimming and tennis, where my success doesn't depend on teammates.
I never thought "maybe I should have gotten the degree." Not once, even in tough times. Of course now in the hard times, everyone jumps at the chance to remind me. But when everything was running smoothly, no one ever asked.
The Life I Lived – Not the One I Didn't
First off, if I hadn't dropped out of university, I wouldn't have found all the things I've found now. And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gone through some moments of absolute happiness – amazing moments that I lived through the things I got into.
I think the happiness and that feeling of success I've experienced a few times wouldn't have come my way on that other path.
Of course, that's a big statement – don't bite off more than you can chew, as they say. Maybe there too I would've felt successful at some point, depending on what I might have achieved as a chemical engineer.
All that aside, I know I've been happy for a really long time with my decisions.
I have complete freedom to do whatever I want. For 20-25 years now, my schedule is whatever I decide. I wake up without an alarm, just from the excitement I have to get up in the morning and dive into what truly fulfills me. What truly excites me.
I doubt I'd have that as a chemical engineer.
Not saying chemical engineers can't have those moments. I just believe that I wouldn't have with my personality.
So I think I chose a path that gave me things I couldn't have had if I had finished university. And it's given me moments that are truly unforgettable.
I Didn't Know Why Dropping University Was So Easy for Me – Until This Week
Not finishing university upset my parents quite a bit, I imagine. If I were in their shoes, I'd have been upset, seeing my kid put in all that effort, investing money and time to achieve those things and in the end watching them tear down everything they'd built for so long.
Spilling the milk bucket, as they say.
But I think they're the only ones who were really upset. I don't think anyone else paid much attention to my decision.
For sure my mother was looking forward to hanging the chemical engineering diploma on the wall. Right above my room door, where she's left space next to the school awards, the parade photos I was in, the prizes I won... does any of that stuff have a point, really?
But personally, I don't think I paid any heavy price for what I did.
The most interesting part is something else: how easily I decided to leave university, while how hard it was for me to move from one line of work to another.
How hard it was when the time came to look for something else.
- Like when I stopped blackjack, because they kicked me out of the casino.
- Betting, when suddenly my strategy wasn't working anymore.
- Poker, when the online companies left and stopped accepting players from Greece. Poker was dead for me.
And I discussed this recently with friends. I told them: "Look at this, how easily I decided not to finish university, but how hard it was when the moments came that I had to quit what I enjoyed doing."
I loved playing blackjack in casinos. But the moment came when I told myself: "Man, I can't play here, now what? How do I chase this dream? I have to do this. Yeah, I know there's money there, but how do I play more? You have to do this, you have to do that. Jim, make a decision. No, I can't do it anymore, let’s find something else."
That was way harder than leaving university.
Then with betting: I saw my strategy not working, slowly losing when I'd been winning every day, feeling others were faster than me. The moment came to say, "You know, you can't win anymore. Accept the defeat."
Same with poker: really bad variance, math not holding up, probabilities not working as well as they should, my game had gone bad and I was making mistakes.
Had to say "that's it, poker over."
All those hours you've put in, books you've read, videos you've watched, time you've dedicated. It’s all over, time to throw the towel, leave it behind, and go find something else.
It’s a similar thing about now, with everything I did with websites. I learned how to make money from websites, executed the ideas, got the sites to a good place.
Now the world is changing. AI is coming and I have to change with it. Like before, when the games changed, I had to change too.
Adapt or die.
This is a much harder decision, for me at least, than deciding to leave university.
And when I discussed this the other day with friends, guys and girls, they said: