I Quit After 6 Years In Investment Banking

Alice Kim left her job after six years in investment banking and private equity – burned out and exhausted.

During her time off, she discovered surfing – and almost burned out doing it.

She realized that it wasn’t her job, but her own way of thinking that repeatedly triggered the burnout.

I believe I was burned out for the entire six years I worked in investment banking and private equity . In the first half of my career, I had just finished my studies and felt inexhaustible, confident that I could persevere through anything. But the burnout gradually built up over time.

I changed jobs several times and finally landed in a position I had previously considered my dream job because it promised a better work-life balance. Despite this, I was so exhausted that I couldn’t even complete the simplest tasks. That’s when I knew something had to change.

I quit my job, thinking I’d only need a few months to recover. I was completely wrong.

I experienced many highs and lows. Time and again, I felt like I was recovering from burnout, only for the exhaustion to return. I learned the hard way that my job wasn’t responsible for my burnout. It was my mindset that kept me trapped in a cycle of exhaustion.

After 18 months, I’m ready to go back to work. But I’m choosing a different path.

My burnout manifested as constant anxiety.

I had gone into this industry because it was prestigious, well-paid, and promised many opportunities for my future. There were certainly things I enjoyed, such as the people I worked with and – as banal as it sounds – creating Excel models. But the workload was enormous.

Working 80 hours or more per week in a high-pressure environment felt like a recipe for burnout. As a perfectionist, I constantly imposed this expectation on myself. I got by on five hours of sleep, stared at screens all day, and drank copious amounts of caffeine to keep going.

When time allowed, I tried to exercise. But with the amount of work I had, I couldn’t maintain healthy habits long-term. On top of that, the constant stress made me incredibly impatient and irritable.

My burnout manifested itself primarily as a constant feeling of dread. It felt as if I were stuck in cement and unable to do anything or motivate myself. This was particularly difficult for me because I had always seen myself as an extremely hard-working person. When I suddenly lacked the willpower to persevere, it felt as if I had lost myself.

I was trapped in my financial world

The decision to leave developed slowly at first, and then suddenly came. On a last-minute trip, for which I had taken vacation time, I discovered surfing almost by chance – and immediately fell in love with it. After that, I wanted to travel to surf as often as possible and realized how isolated I had been living in my financial world.

My desire for a career break grew stronger and stronger. And the worse my burnout became, the more seriously I considered it. Then I stumbled upon a surfing trip to a place I’d always wanted to visit. I took that as a sign from the universe to hand in my resignation .

The next day I booked the trip and began planning my exit. When I left my job, I initially planned exactly four months for my travels. After that, I wanted to return and look for a similar position in a related industry.

Time doesn’t heal burnout

As soon as my journey began, I knew that four months wouldn’t be enough. I felt fortunate and truly felt that I would need longer to recover from my burnout and be ready to return to work.

About six months into my sabbatical, I took on a freelance project and immediately felt burned out again. I think part of the reason was that I was working again. I felt drawn to work because I needed to be productive to feel valued.

I burned out again in my new job. Later, however, I realized that my fundamental belief system was causing me to behave in ways that contributed to burnout. My mindset hadn’t changed just because I’d taken a break.

Since my corporate job no longer served as an outlet for my perfectionism, I transferred it to surfing as well. I started putting so much pressure on myself and setting such high standards that I almost burned out from surfing too.

I realized that my destructive behavior patterns were the reason why burnout followed me everywhere – regardless of whether I had a job or not.

I need to decouple self-worth from my performance.

I had to question the belief that my worth depended on my work and gradually admit to myself how unrealistic this idea was. As long as I clung to this thought, the burnout would persist.

I still haven’t completely let go of these thoughts. But every day I make one percent progress. My time in the corporate world wasn’t perfect, but I’m grateful that it gave me the financial means to continue my travels while simultaneously building my freelance work.

By early 2025, I had practically given up on the idea of ​​returning to the corporate world – unless I found myself in a truly desperate situation. My new goal is to build a portfolio career that suits my personality , allows me freedom, and leverages my professional experience.

Currently, I work freelance in the field of strategic financial planning and am also building my social media channels.

I know I’m asking for a lot by wanting to work across different time zones. But that’s precisely my goal. I make compromises to achieve it, such as working unusual hours to align with US working hours. For me, it’s worth it.