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Comment by t17yog | Hacker News Reader

Back in my day, I have graduated with M.Sc. at age of 17. Eleven years later, still my country's record.

Ask me anything about later life of child prodigies etc.

Are you happy? Do you have rewarding work? Do you think your early degree came at the cost of something else? If given the chance would you do it again?

I'm happy. My work is fairly rewarding, though I have some small regrets I wasn't able to pursue an academic career.

I don't regret doing this. I was a super-fast learner, and I don't think I would be able to bear a full-length school+university circuit.

What was your M.Sc in ?

Many people consider child prodigies to be incredibly talented and thus expect great breakthroughs in research from them, e.g. Terrance Tao, but do you feel that talent alone is enough?

Apart from inherent intellectual horsepower, what else during your formative years could have played a role in you being able to learn faster?

Incredible amount of support from my parents through all childhood years definitely played a part. Also, since my baby years, I've always had a lot of learning stimuli - books, computers, extracurriculars etc. Although our family was fairly poor, me having access to knowledge always has been a #1 spending priority.

Can you say that you are ahead of your current peers in terms of learning capacity / knowledge?

Can you still learn new subjects / fields ?

Did this academic achievement translate into achievement in your career?

My career is doing well. I'm a mid-level manager (~40 people report to me) at a multi-billion dollar tech corporation. Although nothing crazy, I'd say it's not bad.

Did you ever felt like you would be wasting potential?

What advice would you give to a teenager attempting a similar feat?

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