He originally intended to pursue a career in medicine, but after seeing what kind of financial strain his older brother's attendance at Kaohsiung Medical University, a private institution, placed on his family, he changed his plans. A year later, he tested into the Department of Plant Pathology at National Chung Hsing University, where he majored in microbiology.
原本考上醫科的他，眼見大哥讀私立高雄醫學院的學費已讓家中不勝負荷，遂放棄醫科重考，隔年考上中興大學植病系，專攻微生物研究。