My wife makes $500,000 a year and I'm a stay-at-home dad. It's been difficult to fit in with the mom crowd.

Tech Insider
Andrea Mac with her husband and four children.
The Mac family.

Courtesy of Ken Mac

I was kicked out of high school, so I turned to the Marines for a way forward. Now, I'm a corporate lawyer with degrees from Stanford and Harvard.

Tech Insider
headshot of a man with a red tie and suit
Andrew Hanson practices securities enforcement at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Dupont Photographers

I'm a ghostwriter for big names in business and Hollywood. The interview process is emotional, but I know what makes a great story.

Tech Insider
headshot of a woman on a lilac background
Loren Stephens ghostwrites memoirs for many CEOs and entrepreneurs.

Courtesy of Loren Stephens

I quit my 6-figure tech job when my mental health collapsed. My only responsibility now is to make myself happy.

Tech Insider
a woman stands near a lake with boats in the background
Rachel Stolba plans to move to Mexico in August.

Courtesy of Rachel Stolba

I was a female Secret Service agent. Women can do the job just as well as men.

Tech Insider
headshot of a woman in a white top in front of an orange curtain
Mary Beth Wilkas Janke was one of less than 200 female Secret Service agents in the early 1990s.

Zubin Stillings

I dropped out of college with $25,000 in loans and did a tech apprenticeship instead. I have a great job now, but I wish I left sooner.

Tech Insider
headshot of a woman in glasses and a black blazer in a hallway
Janika Cook.

Courtesy of Janika Cook

Dating in Silicon Valley is hard. I want to be married and have kids, but Big Tech is holding me back.

Tech Insider
Overwhelmed worker surrounded by piles of work, with logos of big tech companies (Google, Amazon, Apple, Netflix) overhead, cursors, and broken hearts
A manager at a FAANG company says he's gotten more attention since he started working in Big Tech.

Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI

I quit Merrill Lynch to start my own business. Leaving a 7-figure income and cushy corporate perks was hard, but I don't regret it.

Tech Insider
a man in a blue outfit poses in front of a palm tree
Chad Willardson.

Tom Pellicer, Rowco Media, LLC

I'm the son of a billionaire who forged my own career path.

Tech Insider
My dad is Steve Ballmer. I spent 5 years working as a product manager in the tech industry before becoming a comedian.

Pete Ballmer, Alisa Solo/Getty Images, Abanti Chowdhury/BI

I drove the 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid XSE. It's fun to drive and has luxurious features, but it's not worth buying new.

Tech Insider
a blue 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid SUV
The 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid XSE.

Jules Rogers

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