Tesla worked for Edison’s electric company in Paris once he graduated from university. Since he was fascinated with his work of delivering electric lighting and power to consumers, Tesla decided that he wanted to work directly for the man himself, so he changed continent. He traveled to the United States in 1884. hoping to work at Edison’s headquarters. He quickly gained a job as an engineer because he was impressed with his ingenuity. The first falling out he had with Edison was when Edison casually mentioned that he would pay $50,000 for an improved direct current (DC) generator design. Tesla worked nightly because daily he was an employee in Edison’s company until he came up with a solution. After everything, Edison refused to pay up, claiming he had been joking. Since Tesla was deadly serious about his research, he quit to form his own electric company. While searching for funds, he took a job digging ditches for $2 a day to make ends meet.