Hi all,

I'm a 21 y/o (from Pakistan) studying B. of Mechatronics Systems at the University of Melbourne. I'm originally an international student, who came to Australia in March 2020.

After high school, I decided I don't want to do University, because it'd be a waste of my time, and my family's money. I'd rather self-educate myself and then start a business. I began reading a lot and started doing a lot of entrepreneurial ventures (most failed), however, I learned a ton in the process.

Long story short, I was convinced by family + people on Reddit that I should at least get a basic Bachelors degree at a good University (say UniMelb) because:

1. Easier to get investments for my future entrepreneurial ventures if I'm a Uni Student (esp Prestigious)
2. Networking opportunites
3. I have an option to start a tech-related startup since I know about engineering from a Uni that's doing cutting-edge research
4. A possible option to rely on engineering incase my business venture(s) doesn't work out or something.

and so on..

Now the catch is, that I'm living in a college paying like $A30,000/yr for accommodation and food, and then $A45k/yr for University. The bachelor's degree is for 3 years, and I'm already done with my first year.

There were some financial issues and I decided I'd drop out of the residential college, and then live in a sharehouse and get a job. (I haven't left the college yet, because I didn't like the dish-washing job).

I tried dish-washing for one day, and bruh! I feel like I'm not made for it. It's soooo frickken labour intensive.

Everyone here is doing odd jobs, like cleaning toilets or dishwashing etc. Pandemic means fewer jobs as well.

I know if I work in a job like that, it'd barely pay my bills (accommodation + food - after I move out), and it'd drain me so much I cannot do anything else for my business/self-learning.

I'm currently running a podcast, aimed at helping teenagers go through the challenges they face while growing up (I'm thinking of monetizing it when I start gaining traction and taking steps in that direction); and I'm self-teaching myself to make professional resumes so I can freelance ASAP I can.

I'm reading as much as I can and educating myself about life, finances, and relationships, etc.

Do you guys think I'm on the right track?

I clearly don't want to grind in an odd job like dishwashing. Can you guys think of anything Entrepreneurial I could do, other than podcasts/resumes that would make me some $?

I have this inner voice that says I'll be successful in the next 5 or 10 years, and I'm just thinking backward about the steps I need to take to get there.