I am with you, it about when I was 15-16 years old it dawned on me that there had to be a better way to make money, with your brain instead of your back and I decided I needed to go to college, get an education and do something different, I ended up spending 38 years in computer tech support....started with Burroughs in 1981...
I helped start National Semiconductor in Santa Clara in 1967, ended up retiring from Texas Instruments at the end of 1994. All chip-making.