Deciding to stay or leave
Am I burned out, or just in the wrong career?
Burnout and bad fit feel identical at 2am, but they do not have the same answer. A calm way to tell which one you are in.
7 min readThe Exit Question Journal
Clear thinking for the 2am question.
Honest, evidence-based writing for people deciding whether to stay in finance or leave with a plan.
No hype, no gurus. Staying and leaving are treated as equally respectable.
Deciding to stay or leave
How to decide whether to quit your finance job or stay
Should you stick it out or leave? A structured way to decide, without settling it at 2am or letting the fear choose for you.
8 min read
The money question
Golden handcuffs: why the money makes it so hard to leave
Why the money grips so hard, and how people in finance actually get free without a reckless leap.
8 min read
The money question
Is the finance money worth it? The $100k-for-100-hours question
$100k for 100 hours is the same rate as $40k for 40. What the money is really worth once you count the cost.
7 min read
Deciding to stay or leave
Does it really get better at VP?
Many stay believing it eases at the next level. How to test that promise honestly before you bet years on it.
7 min read
The money question
Taking a pay cut to leave finance
A 50% pay cut is the blocker that keeps people stuck. The real math, the trade-offs, and how to de-risk it.
7 min read
Deciding to stay or leave
Successful but empty: when you have it all and still want out
You are ticking every box and still feel hollow. Why success and emptiness go together, and what the feeling is telling you.
7 min read
Deciding to stay or leave
You're not weak: not wanting this life doesn't make you a failure
The shame under the exit question. Why not wanting this life is not weakness, and how the people who thrive are simply wired differently.
6 min read
Deciding to stay or leave
A job that's hurting you vs. one that's just hard
Not every miserable job should be quit. How to tell a job that is genuinely harming you from one that is simply demanding.
7 min read
Burnout and health
The Sunday scaries in finance: what the dread is telling you
The Sunday-evening dread is data, not weakness. What the finance Sunday scaries actually mean, and how to read the signal.
6 min read
The money question
How to build FU money: a runway that lets you leave on your terms
FU money is the runway that turns "I'm trapped" into "I choose to stay". How to build one on a finance income.
7 min read
Life after finance
How to leave finance in a bad job market, without a reckless gap
"In this economy?!" is the new reason to stay. How to leave safely, with a runway, a plan, and no reckless gap.
7 min read
Burnout and health
What 80-hour weeks do to your body, and what changes after you leave
The physical toll is real. What the hours do to your body, and what people notice change once they leave.
7 min read
Burnout and health
Is it burnout you can fix, or is it the job? A 5-minute self-check
A short, honest self-check to tell fixable burnout from a job that is the real problem.
6 min read
Life after finance
The loyalty illusion: your firm will replace you by Monday
The guilt of leaving rests on a myth. Why the firm you feel loyal to will replace you by Monday, and why that frees you.
6 min read
Life after finance
"Exit opportunities" are not an exit plan, and the difference matters
Finance sells "exit opportunities" like PE and corp dev. Why they are not the same as an actual plan to leave.
7 min read