CZ Reflects on Early Career Journey From McDonald’s Worker to Tech Entrepreneur

Binance founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), shared insights into his early life and career path in a podcast interview clip reposted on X.CZ revealed that one of his first jobs was at McDonald’s at around 14 years old. At the time, the minimum wage in British Columbia, Canada, was CAD 6 per hour. However, due to a special exemption policy, McDonald’s paid CAD 5.5 per hour.He began learning programming in high school. When choosing a university, CZ said he hesitated between the University of Waterloo and McGill University. Influenced by a friend’s mother, he initially chose to study biology at McGill but switched to computer science after one semester.During his university years, CZ avoided taking student loans by working summer and part-time jobs throughout the academic year. While he received limited financial support from his father and sister early on, he later became fully financially independent.In his twenties, CZ transitioned into business development, marking the beginning of his path toward entrepreneurship in the tech industry.