Engineer Escapes Poverty, Retires at 34 to See the World

A young engineer who once watched his father earn just $18 a month at a phone booth has achieved what most people only dream about: retiring before 35 to travel the world.

The 34-year-old recently shared his journey on Reddit, revealing how he went from growing up below India's poverty line to securing his financial freedom. His father worked at an uncle's telephone shop in the early 2000s for 1,500 rupees monthly (about $18), eventually moving to another job earning $48 per month.

Despite the financial struggles, the young man pushed through his engineering degree and landed a job at Nvidia, the American technology giant. He spent 10 years there, accumulating company stock that would later become his ticket to freedom.

In 2022, he left Nvidia even though the company was thriving, having saved enough to pursue his dreams. He worked at two more semiconductor companies to gain additional experience, eventually walking away from a job paying over $120,000 annually.

Now he and his wife are living their dream as a dual-income, no-kids couple. They've cleverly accumulated over a million hotel and flight miles through strategic credit card use, allowing them to explore the world at minimal cost.

So far, they've visited 32 countries with a goal of seeing all 195. "Given the horrible childhood and poverty, this feels like a personal win for sure," he wrote.

His story resonated widely online, though some cautioned that his timing with Nvidia's explosive growth was exceptional. One commenter noted that such early retirements are rare and advised others to keep working toward their own goals.

Still, the overwhelming response was positive. People celebrated his family's resilience and the fact that he broke the cycle of poverty in a single generation.

His journey highlights how India's booming tech sector, particularly in semiconductors, is creating life-changing opportunities for talented workers willing to study hard and make strategic career moves. The semiconductor industry has become a goldmine for skilled engineers, with top companies offering generous stock options alongside competitive salaries.

What makes his story particularly inspiring is that he didn't just escape poverty for himself. He's now living proof that the next generation can write an entirely different story than the one they were born into.