After completing HIK Bandung, it turned out that it took work for Nasution to carry out everything he had planned. His uncle, who served as a prosecutor in Riau, was unwilling to provide a letter of recommendation for his application to the military academy. He had to put aside his initial dream of becoming a soldier for now. The letter of advice the director of HIK Bandung gave to seek a scholarship for Nasution’s further education at university also failed; most recently, Nasution could not get a job in Bandung as he had hoped (Nasution, 1982:32).
There was no other way for Nasution but to accept a job offer as a teacher in Bengkulu. It was also in that place that he met Soekarno for the first time, which he described as an extraordinary meeting to be able to come face to face with the movement’s number one figure (Nasution, 1882:35). However, their relationship did not immediately become close. Nasution kept his admiration for Sukarno deep in his heart. Soekarno’s political lectures on the national movement attracted his interest but did not make him a personal follower of Soekarno.
For a year and a half, Nasution taught in three different places: Bengkulu (at that time still called Bengkulen), Muara Dua, and Tanjung Raja. During that time, Nasution continued to look for ways to continue his education at a military school, which was free, but the route was closed or to a law school by collecting a hefty fee. According to Nasution, the situation at that time did not promise a bright future for him (Nasution, 1982:41).