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Trapped in the corporate’s ‘hustle’ culture? Feeling stuck in a routine out of necessity or fear of the unknown? Well, many people experience this feeling, and it’s a completely normal part of navigating career and life choices. It often stems from a conflict between the security of the known and the potential reward of pursuing a passion or new path. But sometimes, even our ‘stupid’ choices lead us to new heights in our career that we’ve never even dreamed of. Something like that happened with the Fast Code AI Founder and Chief Scientist, Arjun Jain. Arjun Jain Quit Rs 1 Lakh/Month Job Out Of ‘Curiosity’ Taking to X, Arjun shared his inspiring story about how he decided to quit his Rs 1 lakh/Month job at Yahoo, back in 2007 and chose ‘curiosity over comfort.’ Recalling the day when he wrote his resignation draft, he wrote, “The day I chose curiosity over comfort: August 2007. Yahoo! Bangalore. I’m staring at my resignation draft. Rs 1 lakh per month. Stock options. The golden handcuffs every middle-class kid dreams of. But I’m suffocating. Another content push. Another database migration. Another week moving avatars from server A to server B. My engineering degree is screaming in protest. My mouse hovers over ‘Send’.” “On the other side of this email: A EURO 1,400/month internship at MICC – Media Integration and Communication Center in Florence. No job security. No visa certainty. Just curiosity about computer vision and exploring the world beyond Bangalore,” he added. What Did He Choose? Sceptical about the decision, his ‘curiosity’ made him hit the ‘Send’ button. Questions raised, with people calling him ‘stupid’ for letting go of the high-paying job. But was he actually wrong? See it yourself. Florence, a new city, a new life, came with its own significant challenges. “Six months later, I’m broke in Florence. Can’t get a job – wrong passport. The internship ends. I extend it because what else? Go back to content pushes? Apply to Columbia for a PhD. They say no – Bachelor’s from RV College isn’t enough. Masters? US/Europe fees are impossible. Even ‘free’ German programs need money for rent, food, and family back home. Those doors slam shut,” he mentioned. Did His ‘Curiosity’ Actually Help Him? Arjun further highlighted that ‘curiosity’ isn’t something Instagram-pretty. Instead, it brings a lot more challenges for the individual who dares. “It’s coding until 3 AM in a tiny Italian apartment, building computer vision models while others are at aperitivo. It’s visa anxiety. It’s everyone thinking you’ve lost your mind while you’re grinding harder than ever – just on something that matters,” the post added. But despite these challenges, curiosity can compound in ways that comfort cannot. That’s because “That ‘stupid’ choice led him to: → Saarland Graduate School (they had a program with stipend + PhD without Masters) → Max Planck Institute → Working with Chris Bregler → Yann LeCun becoming my office neighbor at NYU → Being there when deep learning exploded → Papers, patents, Apple, teaching at IIT, IISc. From content pushes to publishing with the godfather of AI.” Yahoo Resignation – The Best Life Decision Cut to 2025, Arjun calls his resignation at Yahoo, back in 2007, his best decision ever. “Not because I knew where it would lead. But because I didn’t. And that was the point,” he added. In 2025, he developed Fast Code AI, calling it his ‘latest curiosity experiment.’ But he is still learning, ‘Still choosing the unknown over the comfortable. Still grinding. Still curious,’ wrote Arjun. “Comfort whispers: ‘You have so much to lose.’ Curiosity whispers back: ‘You have so much to learn,’” he continued. Arjun Jain’s Message For Youngsters Lastly, he shared a message for all the youngsters who are still thinking of sending that Resignation and keep suffocating in their comfortable cages, unaware of what’s waiting for them in the outside world. He shared, “To everyone suffocating in their comfortable cages, staring at their own resignation drafts, wondering if the leap is worth it: Your curiosity is trying to tell you something. Maybe it’s time to listen. What comfort are you choosing over curiosity right now?” Arjun also shared a picture of his relieving letter from Yahoo, in which the company wished him best for his future endeavours, and mentioned, “They had no idea how right they were.” How Did Social Media React? An X user shared, “Oh man! Not only do I like this post, but I also bookmarked it. Love such dare stories and somewhere when you think, it may or may not and oscillate between have I or have I not taken the right decision – that’s exactly when possibilities show up. Risk-taking is for life-long.” Another one wrote, “Inspiring, I am on a similar journey.” One of them shared, “Saying goodbye to a high-paying job at Yahoo needs a lot of guts, but you have both guts and grit; not many people have such a wonderful combination. You are an amazing inspiration for those wanting to work for their dreams instead of just grinding in some boring job.” “Inspirational! Thank You for sharing!,” a comment read. Another one penned, “Great post. authentic curiosity takes one really far!” Inspiring stories like these highlight that defying conventional wisdom to pursue a deep passion or an intriguing question might lead to significant personal growth, unexpected opportunities and groundbreaking achievements.
