Why I Broke Up With My Fifteen-Plus-Year Corporate Career

Creating a career you love without having an M.B.A. degree

Visual Phases of Leaping To A New Career

According to a research study done earlier this year by PwC, 65 percent of employees in the United States are seeking new jobs. The mass exodus is being called “The Great Resignation” of 2021, and the movement is causing a pause among employers and employees alike.

Three years before this great movement, I found myself voluntarily resigning from a corporate job I held for over fifteen years. It was done over months of great deliberation and heartfelt angst (literally), but I knew both in my gut and head that it would cost me my mental health and physical well-being if I didn’t break away.

After months of receiving less than supportive comments from my co-workers, I decided to consult various professionals (i.e., accountant, medical doctor) and get serious about my options. I did what every non-accounting major should do, and that is schedule an appointment with an accountant.

With a lump in my throat and dozens of tax returns stuffed in my backpack, I schlepped my way into her office. And what I received I wasn’t expecting — good news. After working in a less than positive workplace, I was so used to hearing negative words; it was difficult to digest her conclusions. I could start a consulting business, and it wouldn’t bankrupt me.

Of course, being single and worried, I got a second accounting opinion. Still holding my breath as I sat in the office with the same filled backpack (I never unzipped it), I expected conflicting opinions. After all, I hadn’t prepared financially for this career breakup, and I didn’t have an M.B.A. either. Their conclusions were nearly identical to the first accountant’s words, and I wondered aloud if they somehow discussed my case prior without my knowledge. I was assured this wasn’t the situation. I kindly thanked this accountant for their words of advice and mulled over both of their opinions for the next several weeks.

A Wake-Up Call

On the personal front, my health was suffering. For the first time in several months, I started getting recurring migraine headaches. The doctor told me he thought it was stress-related, and if it continued at…