Go to school and stay in it. Success is a function of (Performance, Credentials, Relationships) Read Pfeffer's "Power" for details. They are weighted differentl

Go to school and stay in it. Success is a function of (Performance, Credentials, Relationships) Read Pfeffer's "Power" for details. They are weighted differently in different fields. If someone is really smart, they can solve problems at higher levels of abstraction and with more open dynamics than in code. It's useful, but in that PCR triad, technical performance is only ranked highly in very narrow areas like hedge funds and a few tech companies. You can always leave academia but you can't pivot into it, so it may be worth just riding that system until you see an opportunity and only take it seriously enough to maintain its benefits. Use it to secure freedom to work on what interests you. People who make a lot of money tend to do it in a very short period of time, so there may be value in leveraging the relative freedom and low intensity of institutional living while you test concepts for traction. If you are really that smart, do this 'concepts in mathematical finance' course and choose a path that makes enough money that you can use it to scale your mind and ideas by investing in them, or solve the problems of the world as a philanthropist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUl4u3cNGP63ctJIEC1UnZ0btsphnnoHR https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUl4u3cNGP63ctJIEC1Un... . Bet on yourself and lose, then double down again until you don't. It takes a bit, but you need to be pretty smart just to understand what smart really is.