47¢

My first Medium Earnings

My birthday falls on the 1st of August. This year, I received a very special “gift” in the form of an email: my very first payment notice from Medium, for my very first article that I’ve writtened here.

It wasn’t much. Just $0.47 (USD). But it is the best present that I’ve received this year.

You see, I’m 35 this year and I believed that I’ve more or less reached a pivot point in my life and career. As I’ve mentioned in my first article, over the past 10 years, I’ve been going through a employee to self-employed, salaried to performance-based renumeration cycle.

This 47¢ links me back to my first job as a hedge fund trader back in 2009, exactly 10 years ago. Then, I had a $0 basic with 8% PnL monthly payout on a $200,000 AUM. I still remember that my first paycheck comes at around $200. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for me to pay off my college tuition loan and I had to go for a proper job.

2 years later, I went back to trading on a special 2 months-only arrangement with the same boss. I managed to do better, fetching back $1,500 during the period. This time, I actually felt very fulfilled even though it is a huge pay cut from what I was taking as a salaried employee. I am earning from what I really enjoyed doing.