MOVING TO ANOTHER COUNTRY TO BECOME AND ENGINEER, BUT BEING A FULL-TIME CONTENT CREATOR
I graduated high school in 2012, I didn’t have the best grades especially after the 2nd grade, Why? Because the more I grow up I found out that my interests are different than when I was 10 years old. My teacher in primary school used to tell me that
You’d be a great lawyer.
I used to read a lot. I thought about that, for real. In high school I was into tech more than anything, in the first month I got my first desktop computer I was 13 years old, I met technology quite late considering kids playing with tablet pcs these days. I went to the nearest book shop I new, and bought all the computer, tech related magazines I could afford. I was learning quite fast, I think I was good at learning, or I knew how to learn stuff, if I’m into it of course.
Years passed the more I spent time with computer, tech my grades got lower and lower, while getting A from my favorite subject which is Physics in the first years of high school, I failed in the last year. I knew that I wouldn’t be successful in science.
In the last year of high school while saving money for my first smartphone, I bought an slr-like camera, that was unexpected but I had that thought in my mind,
I can make money with this, so I can buy even better phone.
Maybe that was the moment when my whole life and dreams changed, I just didn’t know.
Things changed in the last year of high school, with the frustration of failure at school and not-so-great family relationships, I decided that I’ll go away, I will move the another country, and study anything there, didn’t matter at the moment. With the help of my mentors at school I’ve decided to move to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Why? That’s another topic and kind of related to this article as well.
I grew up in an financially not-so-powerful family, we always think twice before buying anything, going anywhere, that was the reason I chose Sarajevo, because that was the cheapest, most affordable option for my family. I also didn’t want to have too much financial pressure on me, in case of failure, I think I felt that what was coming.
After one year break after high school I moved to Sarajevo. It was a good and productive free year, kind of free, I worked and bought my first DSLR camera, so I could make better pictures, perhaps I would make money this time.
Things were great in the first year of my life in Sarajevo, I learned the language that was required to be able to study here, which why English, thanks to the Prep school, now I can write this article without Google translate :)
2015, the year things started to change, all of my friends new that I had a camera, so I started taking their photos. Even my professors new, so they started inviting me to the events to take photos there. I was building a network, but I just didn’t know that, whole thing was a hobby to me, meanwhile I was in the first year of the college, studying Electrical and Electronics Engineering, how related is that ? :)
It took me 2 years in Sarajevo to get my first paid gig, it was a wedding of one of my professor’s sister, I charged quite less than what average photographers would charge, but hey it was my first gig, and money helped me to buy many coffees.
I got back to my hometown for the summer, thanks to all the political and economical reasons university’s fee doubled. I was paying the same amount in Euros, but in Turkish liras it was a lot more. Everything got expensive quite fast. I had a feeling that I should try making my own money, and help my family, at least cover the difference with the last year. First thing I did was telling someone at the college that I want to work, do you have anything for me here, I can keep taking photos of events, just like last year, but paid. And I got it, at the first year I had %25 scholarship in return. That helped a lot indeed but it wasn’t enough, currency wasn’t helping, and after a year cost of living here tripled. Whatever I spent in the first year of college, now I need to spend three times more. That’s when it hit me, I started taking photos that would help me promote myself, instead of taking photos of coffees, streets, I started taking photos of people or places, these were the photos someone actually would hire me for.
After getting some gigs, making actual money, I was even able to invest in my hobby while that was becoming my part time job. It started to be too much at the same time. Studying engineering and working as a photographer, apparently it was something I wouldn’t manage to do at the same time. My advisor at the college realized that and he suggested me to change my department, study something easier and work more efficiently, he knew that I would keep working as a photographer, that extra cash was helping me a lot, I even became the main photographer at the college and got more scholarship. I knew it would be disappointing for my family to hear that I quit the study I was enrolling and changed it to something quite different, it was Management department. That was the first step I took to be able to work as a freelancer more, and even become maybe financially independent.
Studying something that takes less time than engineering, helped me a lot, I had more clients, I started charging more, and finally I was paying the college fee all by myself by working in and outside of the college. No offense but studying Management is taking less time than Engineering :)
It was all good for a year, but you know what? The more I work I started getting a lot more clients in return, every gig I had brought me two, three clients. I suddenly became full time freelancer, that’s what I wanted for a long time, but I wasn’t ready for this, I started failing subjects one by one, I was behind other students, assignments. I was working to pay the college, but failing at the same time, it was a loop, stupid loop where I only loose time and money. I didn’t have any progress for a semester.
It’s going to be alright next year
that’s what I said, but apparently It wasn’t getting any better. I prioritized being freelancer instead of being a student, I don’t regret tho.
I prioritized being financially independent, even helping my family, didn’t care if I finished the collage, if I was going to drop this too, be a double drop-out.
After 5 years in Sarajevo, I got into totally different path, I had no passion left for studying, currency wasn’t helping, everything was three-four times more expensive than my first year here.
In the end, I made it, I was totally independent from my family, I had many photo sessions, I had 25+ weddings in one year, even local photographers were having less wedding sessions. I think the day I decided not to bother with college was the day I invested all my savings in my freelance work, I went home for the summer, managed to save over 5000$ in a year, that was a great amount considering that I was a “ student”, that’s how all my relatives, friends knew me as.
Now I’m working as a freelancer content creator, doing photo sessions, commercials, as well as side hustles such as stock photography, outsourcing other creator. You know how did I invest that 5000$ I mentioned above? I got into filmmaking, I spent it all in one day, bought many equipments that’d help me create videos, not only photos. I listened the demand on the market, that’s another topic perhaps for another article. :)
This is How and Why I quit my study, twice. Now I do what I love doing.
Independent, free, little tired :)
There are many things to get from this article, whether call me lazy guy who can’t even finish one degree, dropped-out two, or call me the guy who prioritized being financially independent so wouldn’t be a burden on family, or call me the guy who did what he wanted to do be a creator.