For most NRIs (Non-Residential Indians), a cushy job in the corporate world or a dignified position in academia is one of the two most coveted ways of earning a living.Defying this convention was not easy for Zara Dar. The YouTuber recently revealed she had quit her PhD programme to join OnlyFans and become a full-time adult content creator. Taking to LinkedIn, Zara shared an emotional video in which she outlined her decision to quit academic pursuits and begin anew in a completely different profession.

Decision To Leave Was Stressful

In the video, Zara admitted that the decision to leave the ivory towers of academia was more difficult than she had anticipated. “I cried so much over this decision to quit. It was stressful,” she revealed.
She also owned up to the pitfalls of the profession she chose. “I sometimes wonder if the decision to become an OnlyFans member was a gamble or not,” she said.

She Still Experiences Doubts Over Her Decision

Zara admitted that she is no stranger to second-guessing her decision. “Somedays I wonder if I am making the right voice—when I open LinkedIn, I see people of my age, climbing the ladder with senior-level titles… I start feeling a twinge of jealousy and imagine what it would be like to be in their place,” she confessed. She also added that a part of her still wonders what it would have been like to wear a polished suit and work at a high-profile corporate firm or become a professor and work with the students, find solutions to problems, and write papers.

Stability Has It’s Drawbacks

She explained that although such a structured and stable life does have its appeal, it comes with its own trade-offs. “ These talented people are a part of someone else’s vision. They will spend their lives working for a company, doing things that they don’t necessarily enjoy.”

No Longer Dictated By The Bottom Line

She went on to say that their efforts may remain unacknowledged. “Their work might win someone else fame and wealth.”

“They will constantly worry about getting laid off, planning their lives around their salaries, budgeting to pay bills, and being tied down to a 30-year mortgage. Vacations are rationed and squeezed into limited pay and time off days,” she stated.

Zara felt that while her new profession may not offer much stability, it did provide her two things she had longed for: autonomy and emancipation. “I am no longer bound by the expectations of academic circles or the constraints of corporate offices. I can now learn whatever I want, not just topics deemed important by a funding agency or a company’s bottom line. And the best part is, anything I make will be completely my own. I am not contributing to someone else’s legacy. I am building my own brand and future. The rewards are my own to enjoy,” she said.

Zara Celebrates Her Financial Independence

She revealed that although she began her stint on OnlyFans on a whim, as a side project, that eventually became more profitable than she could ever imagine. Within a short time, she earned over a million dollars. It helped her family pay a mortgage and purchase a car. “Now I have an investment portfolio and am planning on buying a house soon,” she finished with a note of pride in her voice.

Silicon Valley Is Not What It Seems

While the Silicon Valley may appear to be the dream destination for anyone with a STEM degree, all that glitters is not gold, Zara warned. For all, it’s chatter about being a cradle of innovation and opportunity; ‘big tech’ is an exploitative world, brilliant ideas are seldom rewarded, and the brightest minds are often relegated to the shadows.

“Big tech for all its allure of innovation and opportunity, is a world where individual contributions are mostly invisible and rarely attributed to; instead, it pads the pockets of executives at the top. Employees are expendable. There’s a silent anxiety of layoffs. It’s a precarious, thankless existence,” she said.

Moving Ahead

Zara ended her video on an optimistic note. “This life I am building is a masterpiece in progress. Every choice I make, every challenge I face, and every success I achieve will be a reflection of me. There are no guarantees but that’s what makes it exciting.”

As per her LinkedIn profile, Zara holds an MS in Computer Science from the University of Texas.

Netizens React

The video, which was shared by an X user named Sensei Kraken Zero, has gone viral on the microblogging platform and gained almost 500K views. “She used to make videos about neural networks, machine learning, and other tech stuff; now she will be making content of a different genre,” wrote the user.

While some X users were skeptical about her decision, quite a few supported her in her career change.

“Sell what sells easily. But even there, there is too much competition these days. A factor that many of these girls are not considering… read one comment.

“In the end, no one asks whether you work on a neural network, AI, or make porn videos; in the end, it only matters if you are at peace and if you have money. I assume in her current profession there is no deadline, no pressure from her supervisors/managers—so no unnecessary tension or work pressure. She is an entrepreneur in a way, making decent money in a way she is comfortable with. She can work for a few years in the same way and then can retire with a good bank balance. And if she wants, she can resume her tech career during her retirement,” wrote another X user.

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