At the risk of sounding old (I'm 34): at 21 you're still scratching your arse and bumping into things. You still have a great deal to learn and you will be lea

At the risk of sounding old (I'm 34): at 21 you're still scratching your arse and bumping into things. You still have a great deal to learn and you will be learning for the rest of your life. Doing technical work at any organisation, even a 'boring' one will provide you with opportunities to learn and grow: 1) You may be a brilliant coder but you admit that you lack social ability. Do not view this as a permanent handicap but rather a skill to be developed just as you would a new programming language or methodology. Working as part of a team in a professional environment will teach you to communicate and provide opportunities to build your confidence. 2) You also admit that you have 'created dozens of projects but they were all unsuccessful'. One of the key tenents of building a "change the world" startup like the one that you hope to create some day is to build something that people want and will pay for, (see the notes from Peter Theil's CS183 for more on this: http://blakemasters.com/peter-thiels-cs183-startup http://blakemasters.com/peter-thiels-cs183-startup). Working in a real company will teach you the importance of building great products which customers want to buy. It might also teach you how you might convince customers that your product is great and that they want to buy. 3) You are fortunate that you will be able to earn a professional salary at such a young age. As mentioned in previous comments, this will allow you to enjoy life but also to put some money aside. If you want the flexibility to do great things, being financially independent is a huge plus, (Jimmy Wales talk about this here: http://www.quora.com/What-advice-would-Jimmy-Wales-give-to-the-young-generation http://www.quora.com/What-advice-would-Jimmy-Wales-give-to-t...). 4) You already have a qualification. With a couple of years of proven experience, some open source projects and a little money up your sleeve you will be in a great position to make your next move. That would be a great time to do some serious travelling or even temporarily migrate to another country. Nothing will improve your perspective more than seeing the world and the many ways in which its citizens live their lives. Hold on to your passion for doing great things. Don't become encumbered by consumerism + debt. Remind yourself every day of all of the things for which you are grateful. And above all don't fear the path you're on: the road is long and there are still so many forks to come.