sell out

[layla0302]

A : Hey !! come to my office! You must work in our company!!
B : No thanks. The kid does not sell out.

What does "The kid does not sell out" means?

[SoothingDave]

"To sell out" is to exchange your talents for money. Some artistic people consider it beneath their dignity to do so. For example, a rock band who licenses their famous songs for use in TV commercials can be said to have "sold out."

I can also mean to make compromises of one's "artistic integrity" to increase one's commercial appeal. Like the hard rock band that records a ballad to try to appeal to a wider audience. Or the filmmaker who has to change his movie to make the film studio happy.

I don't know the context you cite, but "the kid" obviously thinks highly of himself and considers working in an office to be compromising his integrity.

[English Tutor Helen]

'Sell out' is an informal term used to mean 'giving up individualism'. In your context it is about becoming part of the corporate machine. Working in an office, 'the kid' would lose his/her identity and freedom to do what he/she wants to do.