I quit my $240,000 job at Meta. Here's how I got hired and grew my salary — and why I left.

Tech Insider
headshot of a man in front of a white wall with art
Alexandru Voica worked at Meta for four years.

Alexandru Voica

My boss and I were good friends. Then I got laid off.

Tech Insider
Angelica Miller smiling in a field of sunflowers
Angelica Miller says her boss broke an agreement they had.

courtesy of Angelica Miller

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

Leaving India and working in tech in the US changed me. I feel too foreign here and too foreign there.

Tech Insider
Uday Padyana

Courtesy of Uday Padyana, mikroman6/Getty, Petar Chernaev/Getty, Tyler Le/BI

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

My partner grew up rich, and I didn't. We almost broke up over my insecurities, but compassion and honesty have gotten us through.

Tech Insider
Genevieve and her partner taking a selfie at the Pride parade
Geneviève Laforce said she hated her partner's generosity because she didn't have the means to reciprocate.

courtesy of Geneviève Laforce

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 saved $1,000 a month when I cut alcohol. The emotional and physical tax was just as expensive.

Tech Insider
Katie Butler at her college graduation holding her diploma
Katie Butler said that she went back to school to fund her drinking and partying lifestyle.

courtesy of Katie Butler

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

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