Eduardo M. Rodriguez
Burlington, VT, United States
severalwonders.wordpress.com/
I escaped a corporate job in January 2012.
Spent the next several months travelling and reassessing.
A year later I began a PhD program in Ecological Economics. I can help by sharing my story and chatting with anyone who is interested.
Financial Analyst escapes to Oceania!
I worked in finance at a large multi-national company in Switzerland. I spent 18 months at this firm, learned some valuable skills, and had great experiences getting to travel around a bit in Europe. But the day to day life was mind numbing and soul draining. Spending 50 hours per week wishing you were somewhere else is no way to live.After a year and a half I decided enough was enough. I abruptly planned a four-month trip to New Zealand and Australia, and never looked back. The adventure was exactly what I needed at that point in my life, and allowed me to plan the next step.
The next step was a return to University, where I am currently pursuing a PhD, where I can focus on issues that I'm more passionate about, and where I have a much more flexible lifestyle. I love it.
How I can help Esc members
I'd be happy to chat with anyone who is interested in doing so...
Currently...
I'm currently a PhD student at the University of Vermont, studying Ecological Economics and Natural Resources.
I take classes, teach classes, do research and generally spend a lot of time trying to absorb and digest information, and then figuring out ways to apply it in the real world.
Before I escaped...
I was working in corporate finance for a large multi-national agribusiness company in Switzerland. I spent my days analyzing financial variances, and producing reports for upper level management. There was a lot of excel, repetition, and unproductive meetings involved.
My moment of truth...
My moment of truth came when the company offered to pay for my financial qualification exams (CIMA, or CFA, or ACCA etc.). The thought of spending the next two years or so going to a job I didn't enjoy, and then going home to study stuff I didn't care about was too much. Also the company was going through restructuring and my team at the time was going to be split up. So I would be changing roles anyway. I decided it was a perfect time to leave.Planning for it...
The planning was haphazard. I had always wanted to go to New Zealand and Australia. I had a contact there whom I contacted, and a friend who was willing to join me. Things started rolling and falling into place. We ended up spending three months in New Zealand and four weeks in Australia, working odd jobs and travelling around. It was an amazing experience.
The worst and best bits...
There were many bests.Waking up and not having to go to the office was great in and of itself. I thought about that often, and thoroughly appreciated that simple fact.The opportunity to see that part of the world, and witness its extraordinary landscape was also incredible. And the trip gave me the time to really think about what to do next, what I was passionate about, what mattered to me.
Losing my wallet on the plane ride to Auckland was a major buzz killer. And let's face it, the corporate paycheck gives you a lot of flexibility, and it was missed once it was gone. But I have no regrets.
