- Daniel George worked at Google X and was a vice president at JP Morgan after completing his Ph.D. In 2018.
- That year, he started investing most of his income, and by 2023 he was able to live on 2% of his investments.
- Daniel shares the five things that were important to him in achieving financial freedom and quitting his job at age 29.
This is a verbatim essay based on a transcript of a conversation I had with him. Daniel Georgeco-founder of Third year AI. Daniel George provided documents proving his finances. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
At age 29, I became financially independent and took early retirement.
After completing my PhD, in 2018 at the age of 24, I worked at Google X, leading AI on a secret early-stage Moonshot project. In 2020, I accepted the role of Vice President at JPMorgan and remained with the company until 2023.
Starting with just $1,000 in 2017, I aggressively invested my income in stocks and made my first million-plus in my late 20s. By 2023, I quit my job because my annual spending in the US was less than 2% of his investments.
You can work on what you're most passionate about because you don't have to worry about getting paid again. I spend my time building my startup, his ThirdEar AI. This is an AI that provides real-time help and suggestions without prompting.
Here's how I was able to do it:
1. Avoid education debt
I grew up in the Indian state of Kerala, where my parents earned less than $20,000 a year. Without taking on debt, I would not have been able to afford an undergraduate education in the United States or even attend a private university in India. So I decided to study at a public university in India, which is much cheaper.
I studied hard for the test that Indian students take every year to get into university. I was ranked in the top 0.1% and was able to study engineering and physics at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, a top public university in India. The total cost, including tuition, housing, and food, was only about $1,200 per year.
Instead of going into debt to get a master's degree, I directly applied for a Ph.D. program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
You can also apply directly to the doctoral program. It is also possible to pursue a program in the United States without first obtaining a master's degree. PhD students at US universities often have their tuition waived and receive a stipend (usually $2,000 to $3,000 per month) from the first day of enrollment. After two years of completing the doctoral program, he can earn a master's degree for free. The program saves you time and money.
I moved to Illinois in 2015. She earned her master's degree for free in two years. Just one year after him, I completed my Ph.D. As early as 24 years old.
My entire education cost me nothing overall. I only needed half of the scholarship I received to cover my living expenses. The income I had left far exceeded the cost of my undergraduate degree.
2. Actively invest in stocks from a young age
I also earned extra income while studying for my PhD. By working part-time or taking a summer internship at a technology company. Most of the money I initially earned was in a bank account, earning very little interest. In the final year of my PhD, I slowly started buying stocks.
I learned more about investing. When I started working full time at Google X, I started investing all my savings. I spent less than 10% of my compensation on Google X and invested every dollar after tax in the stock market (mostly tech stocks). I had no investments other than stocks and no cash savings.
The sooner you invest, the better, as exponential growth continues. However, this growth comes with a lot of risk and volatility. However, time on the market trumps market timing. Even if the stock price goes down, if you can wait long enough without selling, it will usually go up.
When you are young and working, you have income from your job and a lower cost of living that allows you to cope with risks and market fluctuations.
As you get older or retire, you'll want to diversify into safer, less volatile assets such as bonds, government bonds, and savings accounts.
3. work in an expensive city at first But don't settle there long term
Many jobs can pay much more in San Francisco, New York, and Seattle. This usually doesn't help you save money, as the cost of living locally is also high.
Moving to these cities early in your career, when you don't have many expenses, means you can take full advantage of this higher income and accelerate your savings quickly.
When I started working at Google X in Mountain View, California, I was making about $270,000 a year. He shared a nice apartment with friends, ate most of his meals at his Google office, and had no other major expenses, so his expenses were less than 10% of his income.
When you eventually want to settle down, you can multiply the value of your savings by moving to a place where the cost of living is significantly lower.
4. Learn to negotiate wages
My first job at Google X was offered to me right after I graduated from graduate school, and I accepted it right away.
I had a friend who joined the company in a lower level role than me without a PhD. However, because he presented and negotiated Google's counteroffers from other companies, he was paid three times more in stock.
Years later, when JPMorgan approached me for a job, I had a lot of clout because I had secured several offers from technology companies and hedge funds. I also spent time learning about negotiation strategies.
I took advantage of other offers, avoided specific numbers when talking about salary expectations, and considered every aspect of the salary package during my interview at JPMorgan. I successfully negotiated my salary and got almost double the original compensation they offered.
5. Find a partner with similar goals
My wife and I met at Google X. We were about the same age and both had Ph.D.s.
D for AI. We had similar incomes and each had about the same amount of savings invested in separate stock accounts.
We share the same philosophy about spending and investing, and we split our spending evenly. We both enjoy a minimalist digital nomad lifestyle, valuing travel and experiences over owning expensive material possessions. Therefore, I was able to retire early.
If you want a partner, finding the right one is one of the most important factors for long-term happiness and success.
