I quit my 6-figure investment banking job after only 4 months. I'm making less now, but I'm building a future that'll pay off.

Sofia Jiang landed her dream job in investment banking — then quit a few months later.

Courtesy of Sofia Jiang Sofia Jiang left her role at Morgan Stanley only a few months after starting full-time.

She pivoted to lower-paying startup roles to gain hands-on experience in building a brand.

She shared her cold email and networking strategies that helped her land her current role.

This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with Sofia Jiang, a 23-year-old marketer and founder, based in NYC.

Her words have been edited for length and clarity.

Last year, I was so grateful to get an investment banking job after I graduated.

Then, about four months after I started, I quit.

Investment banking is a prestigious and high-paying industry, so it feels like people admire you for getting the job, and it looks great on a résumé.

However, once I was actually in the role, it became super clear to me that this wasn't the place where I'd learn how to run a business, which is ultimately what I wanted to do.

I felt it was kind of silly and too risky to quit a job I had worked so hard to get, one that a million kids would take in a second, but I didn't leave without a plan.

There was a lot of hype around investment banking I went to school at Georgetown and studied business and global affairs.

It was a dual degree program.

My first internship was at Diane von Furstenberg, where I worked on partnerships and collaborations.