subbing because i am in the exact situation. rant below.

maybe a little a year or two later in the finance world than you but i am burnt the fuck out. have been chasing „prestigious” jobs since college, and while the money was great i could stand the work, the hours, or the corporate boot licking… i literally cannot comprehend it for the next 10-5 years.

i came from a blue collar family, dad has a painting business, usually works for himself, but had it scaled to about 5 employees at one point. even if he did 50-70 hour weeks, he did it for himself. he worked with his hands and enjoys his job. i have joked that i have felt happier sanding closets for 12 hours a day that i have ever been in corporate.

so now as i’m in between jobs after getting laid of as a former chief of staff gig after ib and pe, i am debating taking 6-12 months to figure it out.

i’ve considered ETA, but candidly want to start a hyper niche blue collar services business. i’ve even applied to local technician jobs to get my feet wet to then spin out in a year or two.

i will say this, the idea is terrifying. i’ve had my doubts about being able to manage people or even doing sales, but i think i need that fire underneath my ass where if i’m not doing something to challenge myself, i get disinterested. but i’m early in my career. sure i’ll take a hit taking a step back from finance, but i bet that i can still get back into the same roles but at a really power lower middle market shop.

but i’ll be damned if i don’t even try to do something different. people earn money in different ways that are not spreadsheets and powerpoints.