I worked at McKinsey and JPMorgan before moving to Spain to teach. Here's why the corporate world was a necessary step.

"Growing up in a very blue-collar community my dad is a police officer, my mom worked in admin, my grandpa did construction, my grandma was at Walmart I never expected my journey to pan out the way it did. The corporate world I entered was uncharted territory. I've always been a perfectionist I've been a go-getter perfectionist since high school, when I'd get 100 on tests and still do extra credit."

"I graduated from George Washington University in three years, with a degree in international affairs and minor in Arabic, which I'd heard was one of the hardest languages to learn. I landed my first full-time job at USAID, working remotely and living at home in New Jersey because of the pandemic. The work was interesting, but the salary was low, and I had student loans. I wanted the autonomy to move out of my parents' house and to build more generalist skills, and I didn't want to choose whether to go out to dinner or pay my phone bill."

"Some kids spent all of college preparing for consulting recruiting, but I didn't even know what a consultant was when I was an undergrad. It felt like a pragmatic career path, though, so I applied to McKinsey and landed a role as an analyst in Dallas. The job came with a good salary, but also a lot of travel and personal sacrifice. I realized in two years that it wasn't the lifestyle for me, though I really appreciated the experience, and I would do it all over again."

"I knew I wanted to do something similar, and learned through networking that internal consulting at a big company could be a good fit. A recruiter at JPMorgan responded to a LinkedIn messag"

Growing up in a blue-collar community, with family working in policing, administration, construction, and retail, led to an unexpected career path. A perfectionist approach and strong academic performance carried through high school and into graduating from George Washington University in three years with a degree in international affairs and a minor in Arabic. After starting full-time work at USAID remotely while living at home in New Jersey, low pay and student loans created pressure to gain autonomy and broader skills. Consulting recruiting was not a focus during undergrad, but applying to McKinsey led to an analyst role in Dallas with a strong salary and heavy travel. After two years, the lifestyle felt misaligned, prompting a move toward internal consulting, supported by networking and a JPMorgan recruiter response on LinkedIn.

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