Zara Dar, a YouTuber who previously advocated for women in science and technology, has decided to leave her PhD studies behind and pursue a career as an OnlyFans model. In a video titled “PhD Dropout to OnlyFans Model,” she opened up about her choice, explaining that although it was a difficult one, she has no regrets.
Having garnered over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, Dar initially focused on tutorials related to machine learning and neural networks. However, despite considering a future in academia, she ultimately left her PhD programme. After weighing the pros and cons of an academic career, including the possibility of becoming a professor, she found that the trade-offs associated with that lifestyle no longer appealed to her.
Dar shared her disillusionment with the academic and corporate worlds, saying, “I realised that many people whose lives I once admired were working towards someone else’s vision. They are stuck in jobs they don’t enjoy, doing work that benefits others, but not receiving the recognition they deserve.”
In her video, she also spoke about the financial freedom she now enjoys. “I’ve made $1 million,” she revealed, highlighting how her decision to create content on OnlyFans as a side project while studying has paid off. The earnings allowed her to pay off her family’s mortgage and buy herself a car, adding that she managed to avoid student loans along the way.
She now enjoys the freedom to explore her passions without the constraints of academia or corporate life. “I can now focus on what truly interests me, without being limited by the priorities of funding bodies,” she said.
She also noted that in US, most professors earn around $100,000 a year, but often spend much of their time writing grant proposals instead of focusing on their research. This, she explained, was not the lifestyle she envisioned for herself.
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