Ian, a 20-year-old engineering student from Hartford, Connecticut, called into “The Ramsey Show” recently with a pretty rare dilemma: Should he travel the world for five months with a full-ride scholarship or keep grinding at a TikTok-based affiliate marketing gig that’s already bringing in serious cash?
Semester At Sea Or $2,000-A-Day Sales?
“I’m in a pretty blessed situation here,” Ian told hosts Jade Warshaw and Rachel Cruze. He said he started doing affiliate marketing through TikTok Shop about a year ago and it took off. In October alone, he said he brought in $180,000 in sales and cleared about $23,000 in profit. While the model relies on consistency and momentum, Ian said he's learned the ropes well enough to scale quickly.
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Despite that success, Ian admitted he isn’t enjoying his path in engineering and is considering a break to join the Semester at Sea program, adding that one of his best friends would also be on the trip.
The problem? The ship doesn't offer reliable Wi-Fi or the ability to receive packages, so his business would have to be put on pause.
Cruze and Warshaw both strongly encouraged Ian to take the trip, emphasizing that experiences like this are rare and time-sensitive. “You’re 20 years old. I feel like you have your whole life to earn money,” Cruze said. “There's something about a specific time in life that you can just never get back.”
Warshaw was all in, too. “Let me just say, percentage-wise, I am a 100% yes,” she told him. “You're going to have to convince me not to go.”
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Ian said he was also thinking about his long-term goals, especially wanting to get into real estate eventually. But the hosts reminded him that he wasn’t going to launch a real estate empire in the next few months anyway. “All that stuff’s going to be waiting for you,” Warshaw said.
Even the live studio audience weighed in, with almost everyone giving a thumbs up. “We got a lot of yeses,” Cruze laughed. Only one guy in a gray shirt looked “a little iffy.”
The moment ended on a light note with Warshaw urging Ian to enjoy himself if he stops in Paris. “Please eat a whole baguette just in the streets. A whole loaf of bread with no regrets.”
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