Story of a Kenyan Man Who Quit a Bank Job to Sell Pencils in Nairobi

Edgar Otieno, a Kenyan man, shocked online users when it was revealed that he left his prestigious job as a banker at Barclays Bank only to end up selling pencils on the street of Nairobi.

The young man returned to selling pencils, the job he held before entering the banking industry because he felt his pay was woefully inadequate.

Sometimes the trauma of wearing a big suit and tie every day while your pay does not increase is worse than losing your job entirely. In fact, try not to be envious of bankers when you see them driving expensive cars and wearing sharp clothes.

The 42-year-old man admitted to selling pencils on the streets since he was 25 years old before even becoming a banker, according to a local media outlet, he would buy the pencils in large quantities from a specific company and sell them on commission.

"I was so good at it that I repeatedly won the title of the best agent. I chose to keep working after the company went out of business in 2005," he told the local outlet.

In sales, people buy you before they buy whatever you are selling, he explained. "Some people wonder why I show up every morning sharply dressed yet my job involves chasing after customers and convincing them to buy pencils."

The determined man claimed that the pay at Barclays Bank was egregiously insufficient for him, which was why he made the decision to resign and free up more time for his passions.

Some of his former coworkers in the banking industry attested to the fact that he was a banker, but he later switched to strict hawking, which he does with no remorse.