A techie’s decision to quit a high-paying job at Uber to pursue teaching and content creation on YouTube has impressed social media users, with many praising his courage to choose passion over stability.
In a post on X, Akshay Saini, a former Uber software engineer, shared his journey of quitting a secure corporate role 5 years ago - a move that was widely questioned at the time but ultimately helped him build what he calls his “dream life”. Today, Saini has over 2 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, where he teaches coding.
“When I left Uber, a lot of people thought I had lost my mind. Good salary, big brand, stable life. And I was walking away from it to do YouTube, teaching, content creation. In India,” Saini wrote. He added that at the time, several people warned that leaving a safe job was not a wise decision. Some suggested he teach on weekends while keeping his corporate role for security. Others even offered unsolicited personal advice.
“One of them actually said, with the Uber software engineer tag, get married first, then do whatever you want. Because being a teacher won’t get you good marriage options,” he recalled, adding that he was shocked as marriage was the last thing on his mind. “I was just trying to build a career I could respect,” he said.
Saini said he did not rush into another job. Instead, he took nearly 10 months off without a salary to reflect on what he truly wanted from life.
It was during this phase that he began working on NamasteDev, a platform focused on teaching and developer education. “Earlier I was just a software engineer. Now suddenly I had to be a founder, CEO, marketer, sales guy, product manager, finance guy, and sometimes even customer support. I had no idea how hard this would be. From outside startups look shiny. Inside, it’s a mess most days,” he wrote.
Despite facing criticism and online hate over the years, Saini said the negativity barely affects him when he looks back at how far he has come. “It’s been five years now. I live in my hometown, Dehradun. I work with a small, strong remote team. I spend time with my family. I live a slow life, and I genuinely enjoy my work,” he shared.
“This is the life I always wanted. And I’m very proud that I chose it, even when it didn’t make sense to most people. Sometimes the right decision looks stupid at first. You only understand it when you live through it,” he added.
(Also Read: Techie from Tier 3 college shares how she landed a job at Google: 'You don’t need a perfect start')
Social media reactions
Saini’s post resonated with many on social media, sparking conversations about unconventional career paths and redefining success.
“This is gold, reminder that “sensible” decisions often lead to comfortable lives, but not necessarily meaningful ones. It takes courage to trade certainty for a life you actually want, and patience to let it grow into something real,” one user wrote.
“Respect Akshay. Walking away from comfort to build something meaningful takes courage. From my experience too, the safe path is not always the right one. Real success is when your work, lifestyle and values actually align. Glad you trusted your instinct. Keep it up,” commented another.
“In India, ‘safe job + marriage’ is treated like a life formula. Breaking that script and still building something impactful deserves massive respect,” wrote a third user.
“Quietly powerful. This shows how clarity, patience, and ownership beat external validation in the long run,” said one user.