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.