As a 27-year-old black man, I've made an unconventional career move - leaving my $400,000/year job as a software engineer to become an influencer. But what drove me to make this decision? In this article, I'll share the surprising reason behind my choice.
The High-Paying Job
Before I dive into why I left tech, let's talk about the job that once brought in six figures. In January 2022, I joined Oscar Health as a full-time software engineer. My impressive MS in Software Engineering from Carnegie Mellon and negotiation skills earned me a total compensation package of $214,500. Not bad for a 24-year-old!
A Promotion and Bonuses
Fast-forward to the following year, and I received a promotion to Software Engineer II due to exceptional performance. This came with a significant increase in compensation, including a base salary hike to $159,500 and an annual bonus of $23,925. Plus, I received a refresher worth $67,500 over three years.
The Peak Price
As my compensation continued to grow, it peaked at an unbelievable $486,154/year. When you factor in the average price of Oscar Health stock ($16.57) in 2024, that's still a staggering $404,293/year. But I chose to leave this lucrative job behind.
Why Mobile Marketing?
Don't get me wrong - at heart, I'm still a tech guy. However, I've always had an insane plan to build my own marketing channel and unlock an infinite money glitch. That's why I became an influencer.
An Unconventional Approach to Marketing
As a tech enthusiast who built a B2C SaaS company, I struggled with traditional marketing methods. While writing Medium articles achieved some success (over 275K views at my peak), I wanted more. I explored other options, such as Reddit and UGC marketing, but they didn't yield the results I desired.
The Decision to Become an Influencer
I realized that if I wanted to grow my app at the speed I needed, I had three choices:
- Spend a fortune on advertisements
- Partner with bigger influencers for short-term gains
- Become an influencer myself
As someone who's built a B2C SaaS company and has a strong background in tech, I decided to take the third route.
Fixing the Broken Retail Trading System
Now, as an influencer, my goal is to fix the broken retail trading system. Most investors are degenerate gamblers, lacking the knowledge or strategy to succeed. That's why I built NexusTrade, an AI-Powered trading platform that helps retail investors create, test, optimize, and deploy algorithmic trading strategies.
The Problem with Retail Investing
Retail investors often:
- Don't do their own research
- Build trading plans but crumble under fear and uncertainty
- Obsess over getting rich quick without a sensible plan
NexusTrade aims to solve these problems by providing an AI-driven platform that empowers retail investors.
Join Me on This Journey
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