酷！德勤咨询员工离职创业成为摄影师

Nicole Chan Loeb is a 38-year-old photographer, videographer, and mother of two.

She started her career as a management consultant at Deloitte and quit after two years.

As a photographer, she's able to be present for her family while doing work that she loves.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nicole Chan Loeb, a 38-year-old former Deloitte management consultant who quit in 2010 and is now a photographer and videographer in Boston. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I've always loved numbers and excelled at math, so I majored in finance in college. In my junior year, I took a business class that involved project-based work, igniting my passion for management consulting. After speaking with Deloitte representatives during an on-campus job fair, I applied and was accepted to an internship for the summer after my junior year.

I enjoyed the internship. I had a great team, lots of support, and a clear progression path within the company. At the end of the summer, I received a return offer, which I accepted.

As a first-generation child of immigrants, I felt like my parents came to the US so I could have these opportunities. I think they were excited and proud of me for studying finance, graduating, and landing a job like this. But that path didn't last for long.

I hated the exhausting hustle culture

I started working at Deloitte full-time in the fall of 2008 after graduating. My job required extremely long hours in what was known as the 3-4-5 program — three nights in a hotel, four days at a client site, and a fifth day back in the office. I flew to a client site every Monday, stayed through Wednesday night, and flew back to Boston on Thursday. It wasn't a good work-life balance.

I worked on three significant projects during my two years at Deloitte. Being between projects was called being "on the beach," which could hurt your utilization ratio, affecting raises and bonuses. We were expected to find projects to stay busy with, so I took on initiatives for the company like volunteering and writing white papers.

It was a hustle, churn-and-burn culture, and it was exhausting. I hated it, but was too shy to raise my concerns.

I overheard senior managers and partners airing their frustrations about lack of time with partners and families. Having a family and balance was something I wanted in the future, but I could see myself getting sucked in for the next 15 to 25 years, feeling financially comfortable but never having time to be home.

I also didn't feel much job satisfaction; despite having a lot of work, my impact felt insignificant. One particularly awful week, I thought to myself, I can't imagine feeling like this for the rest of my life.

I remember sitting in a Thai restaurant and telling my then-boyfriend, now-husband, about it. He said, "You're miserable. You're going to run yourself to the ground. Why don't you just leave?" He encouraged me to pursue photography as a career. Ever since I was young, I've loved photography, and with my Deloitte salary, I'd upgraded my gear and kit, but I'd never considered it as a career.

At first, I shrugged him off, but I started thinking more about it and eventually decided to take the leap. In August 2010, I put in my eight weeks' notice to give the company time to find a replacement and in October 2010, at 24 years old, I left Deloitte.

The fear of having to return to finance motivated me

During my eight-week notice period, I created a website, posted on social media, and gave out business cards at marketing and networking events on the Fridays and Saturdays I was home.

I made soft announcements to friends. Some were supportive and immediately referred me to friends and family, but others warned that I'd wasted my college education and that photography should stay a hobby or a side hustle.

I actually didn't tell my parents for the first couple of years. They'd worked so hard that for me to say, "Hey, I'm going to leave my very comfortable, stable job with benefits and a retirement plan to do my own thing" was terrifying.

I gave myself two years to replace my Deloitte salary. If I couldn't achieve this, I'd return to another corporate job and keep photography as a hobby. The fear of needing to return to finance if I couldn't make this work was a really strong motivator.

It took me several months to get my first clients. To get my name out there, I did free photoshoots and assisted established photographers. I poured kindness and passion into my first clients and asked them to give me honest feedback, and they returned my kindness with referrals.

I found that many skills I'd learned at Deloitte transferred over to my new career — active listening to client concerns, professional client communications, presentation skills, understanding what clients want, both spoken and unspoken, and bridging strategy and creativity.

After the first 18 months, I saw that it could be a sustainable career.

I'd never consider going back

I don't ever miss working in consulting and wouldn't consider returning to that fast-paced life, although I'm not sure if the culture has changed.

Being a wedding photographer allows me to be present for my family while doing work I love. I choose clients who align with my values and structure my schedule to be intentional with my time. I can pick my kids up from school every day, take midweek adventures, and never have to ask for permission to travel.

I love capturing small, unscripted emotions that couples and families will cherish forever. I don't regret anything, and I'm very grateful for my supportive partner who encouraged me to pursue this passion.

I'm thankful for the mentors that I had at Deloitte, who were terrific role models, endlessly brilliant, and supportive. I still use the skills they taught me today in my photography work, and I wouldn't be who I am today without the experience of working there.

I hope that the humility and kindness that drove my career forward haven't gone away. It's really cool that I can make a comfortable living by taking pictures, and I don't take that for granted.

Deloitte representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

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