I scored top marks at the Science and Trade Institute, which got me fast-tracked into a mining corp's operations in Lonetrek. Spent my early days running a Venture in belts that were riskier than I realized at the time. The money was okay, the hours were long, and I learned more from loss mails than I ever did from textbooks.

Somewhere between the Tritanium hauls I started watching the market. Prices between stations, spreads at different hubs, what moved and when. It started as idle curiosity. It turned into an obsession.

Lost my first real ship to a gate camp in Aurohunen. That was the moment I decided I was done being cargo. Moved to Jita, liquidated everything, and started treating the market like the puzzle it is. Now I run a book of buy orders from Jita 4-4, work through AIR Career programs between trades, and keep a Caracal fitted for the days I need to remember I can still fly.

I don't mine anymore. But I don't regret learning it.