I quit my tech job and became a stay-at-home dad. I sometimes feel lost because I'm not making money, but I still feel valuable.

"After years in tech, I felt lonely and unfulfilled. Working from home didn't help and only left me feeling exhausted. Years of therapy, close friendships, and extroversion highlighted what actually fueled me: authentic, curious, and vulnerable human storytelling. I wasn't finding enough of that while working at VC-backed tech companies. I found it through my love of photography."

"If I stopped making tech money, who would I become? The thought exercise became overwhelming. I needed to find out. With a sizeable financial security net in place and an incredibly supportive life partner, I quit. I wanted to turn my passion for photography into a business. But somewhere along the way, I became a stay-at-home dad, too."

"Before becoming a dad, I worked on building my photography business. I took on a handful of photography clients, but never enough to support our household financially. I was enjoying the privilege of freedom, while Liv shouldered the intense pressure of breadwinning and providing health insurance. Our inequitable division of labor was the topic of many individual and couples' therapy sessions."

A software engineer left a lucrative tech career after experiencing loneliness and unfulfillment, driven by a passion for authentic human storytelling discovered through photography. With financial security and spousal support, he pursued photography as a business while his wife became the primary breadwinner. When they had a child, he transitioned into stay-at-home parenting, taking on unpaid domestic labor including childcare, cooking, cleaning, and emotional support. This shift created identity challenges and inequitable labor division that required therapy to address. Despite not earning income, he maintains a sense of personal value and purpose through caregiving and creative work, though the transition from professional identity to domestic roles remains psychologically demanding.

Read at Business Insider