Why I'm doing a double degree

My dream was always to end up in technology.

It's the perfect intersection between difficult intellectual pursuit and practicality. You're not just arguing about ideas, or memorising, but you're building something.

I studied what was available to me in my home town. I graduated with a certificate in software development.

My plan was to move from my home town with a small population to the city, which is only about 2 hours away.

I hoped to get a full time job in technology and study at night.

This was 6 years ago, I never found a tech job. I still haven't.

My teacher told me I should go to university, she told me with all my skills already it would only take a year or two to graduate.

I felt like the job market was against me, I was never going to get a job.

So I wanted to branch into something which was both useful and interesting, and novel to me.

I decided to study robotics and artificial intelligence.

I love mathematics, so I wanted to study physics. I researched the curriculum and found it to be painfully difficult.

I saw a double degree in medicine and engineering.

I hated biology in high school, I never wanted to do it.

But I wanted to challenge myself, and I wanted to help other people, so I thought maybe I could break into the medical engineering field.

I was working at a fast food restaurant, and I was making below minimum wage.

My colleague convinced me to join the Army reserves, so I signed up.

My long term goal was to serve my country, serve other people and make an impact.

I was operating with a few assumptions:

1. I was never going to get a girlfriend, so my time didn't matter.
2. Money is meaningless as it is inflated beyond belief, so I'll never purchase anything tangible.
3. The government would support me while I study.

In an era where money and relationships are meaningless, my goal was to produce something which helped people who were suffering – knowing there was almost no benefit to me.

Simulatenously, I was driven by a fascination with Western Culture – the art, the science, the engineering, the philosophy, the history, the politics, the religion – and it's future.