I went from earning $173,000 a year to making $6 one month. I don't regret quitting.

Heigi Jeong quit her corporate job to create content.

Courtesy of Heigi Jeong Heigi Jeong earned about $173,000 as a product designer and generally worked 40 hours a week.

She wasn't burned out, but a book deal and content career made her question staying in her stable job.

She gave herself one year to pursue self-employment before deciding whether to return to corporate work.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Heigi Jeong .

It has been edited for length and clarity.

People often assume that I quit my six-figure job in product design because of severe burnout or an existential crisis, but that wasn't the case.

I moved from Korea to Toronto in 2020 as an in-house product designer for a tech company , often creating mobile apps and websites.

The paycheck was great — I was making about $173,000 to do a job that allowed me to have a fairly healthy work-life balance .

I wasn't working 80 hours per week.

Most weeks, I clocked about 40 hours, working mostly 9 to 5.

Since my income was more than enough to live on, I was also able to travel when I had time off, never needing to worry about money or budgets.

I decided to quit my job While I wouldn't say I loved the work, I liked it.

The job was about making logical decisions, and then convincing stakeholders of my decisions through storytelling.