I have two degrees in engineering and spent over ten years working in the automotive, defense, and manufacturing industries. I’ve designed parts, managed projects, and sat through more meetings than I can count.
I’ll never say I regret getting my engineering degrees — or my time in the private engineering sector. Those years taught me how the world works, quite literally. But I can tell you this with absolute certainty: I have no desire to ever go back to working for someone else.
Looking Back: The Warning Signs Were Always There
Honestly, I should have seen this coming.
Even through high school, the rigid structure of traditional systems made me feel trapped. The bell schedule, the assigned seats, the constant rules — it all felt like a form of soft imprisonment. I wasn’t a troublemaker, but I was bored to death by routine.
I still laugh when I think about my sophomore year of high school — I missed over 30 days of school and still ended the year with a nearly 4.0 GPA.
The message was clear: I wasn’t lazy. I just couldn’t thrive in environments that valued showing up over creativity, compliance over innovation.
So it’s no wonder that as an adult, the structure of corporate life felt suffocating all over again.
Structure and I Have Never Been Friends
I like to joke that I’m an “OCD free spirit” — a contradiction in terms, but one that fits perfectly. I’m a meticulous planner and a creative whirlwind at the same time. I love organization, but I also love the freedom to break my own rules when inspiration strikes.
That combination doesn’t always play well in a corporate environment.
I’m the ADHD, chaos-loving wild child in a sea of methodical engineers. When I tell people I have two degrees in mechanical engineering, they often look genuinely shocked.
“You? An engineer? But you have so much personality!”
That always makes me laugh, because it’s true — and it’s also the point.
Why I Still Love Engineers (Even If I Couldn’t Be One Forever)
Let me say this loud and clear: engineers are some of the smartest people on the planet.
They literally make the world function — from the cars we drive to the bridges we cross to the phones in our hands. Without engineers, society as we know it would collapse.
If you haven’t hugged an engineer today, find one and do it. They’ll probably hate it, but they deserve the appreciation.
The engineering community is full of brilliance, logic, and quiet determination. But that same environment can also be rigid, slow to change, and bureaucratic to a fault.
That’s where I started to struggle.
The Corporate Grind: When Logic Beats Passion
The engineering jobs I loved the most were the ones that offered flexibility — where I could make my own schedule, go between test facilities, visit plants, and see my work in action.
I liked variety, movement, and freedom. I liked solving problems with my hands and my brain — not sitting in endless meetings that could’ve been emails.
The jobs that crushed my spirit were the ones that kept me chained to a desk all day. The constant meetings, the layers of management, the office politics — it was exhausting.
Worse, I hated how little control engineers actually have.
When a project failed, the engineers were the ones who got blamed — even though we didn’t set the budget, choose the suppliers, or define the unrealistic deadlines. We were the smallest cogs in a massive corporate machine.
We got yelled at for problems we didn’t cause and couldn’t fix.
That lack of control — of ownership — was the root of everything I disliked about being an employee.
The People Problem
And then there were the personalities.
In corporate America, you don’t get to choose your coworkers or your bosses. Sometimes you’re lucky and land on a great team. Other times, it’s a minefield.
From casual sexism and bad jokes to toxic micromanagers, I saw it all. The office could be a wonderful place of collaboration one day and an emotional war zone the next.
The truth is, I wasn’t built for that environment. I wasn’t built to follow orders that didn’t make sense or stay quiet when something needed to change.
I wasn’t built to sit through another meeting where creativity went to die under the weight of procedure.
All the traits that made me a terrible employee — independence, curiosity, defiance, restlessness — turned out to be the exact traits that make me a great entrepreneur.
From Employee to Entrepreneur: The Great Awakening
When I finally left corporate life and started my own business, it was like exhaling after holding my breath for years.
I realized that all the things I’d been criticized for as an employee — being “too independent,” “too outspoken,” “too nontraditional” — were my greatest assets in entrepreneurship.
Running your own business is not for the faint of heart. You have to be self-motivated, disciplined, and adaptable — especially in business consulting and professional networking, where relationships and strategy drive everything.
Entrepreneurship rewards the very qualities that corporate life punished me for.
The Entrepreneurial Skill Set (That Corporate Couldn’t Handle)
1. Self-Motivation Over Supervision
In corporate life, there’s always someone managing you — checking your progress, scheduling meetings, approving reports.
As an entrepreneur, you are that person.
There’s no one to tell you what to do, when to do it, or how to get started. You have to wake up every day and create your own direction.
That level of self-accountability used to get me in trouble in corporate — now, it’s my superpower.
2. Freedom to Pivot
Engineers live by process. Entrepreneurs live by flexibility.
If something isn’t working in my business, I don’t need a meeting to change it. I pivot. Immediately.
That agility — that ability to test, learn, and adapt — is what keeps a business alive in a constantly changing market.
3. Problem Solving Without Boundaries
Engineering taught me how to solve technical problems. Entrepreneurship taught me how to solve people problems.
Whether it’s negotiating contracts, building a client pipeline, or figuring out marketing strategies, it all comes down to problem-solving — just with a human twist.
4. Networking as a Survival Skill
In engineering, networking was optional. In business, it’s oxygen.
When you run a business — especially a consulting or service-based one — your network is everything. It’s how you learn, grow, and get referrals.
But here’s the key: networking as an entrepreneur feels authentic. You’re not just trading business cards — you’re building community.
And that’s something I could never find in the corporate structure.
The Reality of Business Ownership: Freedom, Chaos, and Everything in Between
Running your own business sounds glamorous — “being your own boss,” “setting your own hours,” “living on your terms.”
And yes, those things are true. But it’s also hard.
There’s no guaranteed paycheck, no paid vacation, no HR department to solve your problems. Your success (or failure) rests entirely on your shoulders.
And yet, that’s exactly what I love about it.
When you’re an entrepreneur, you are the system. You are the process. You are the quality control, the marketing team, the accountant, and the customer service department.
It’s chaotic — but it’s your chaos.
That freedom to create, to learn, to make mistakes and recover on your own terms — that’s worth more than any 401(k) match.
From Engineering Precision to Business Consulting Intuition
One of the most surprising things about my transition from engineering to entrepreneurship is how transferable the skills are.
Engineering trained me to think critically, analyze systems, and make data-driven decisions — all of which are essential in business consulting.
Today, when I help small business owners troubleshoot inefficiencies, streamline operations, or develop strategy, I’m essentially doing what engineers do every day: identifying weak points, optimizing systems, and improving outcomes.
Except now, I get to do it with creativity, humor, and humanity — without a 20-slide PowerPoint approval process.
That’s the beauty of business consulting as a former engineer: I understand systems and people. I can bridge logic with empathy.
And that combination is powerful.
Networking Differently: From Corporate Obligations to Meaningful Connections
In corporate settings, networking always felt forced — a chore you did because someone told you it was good for your career.
As an entrepreneur, networking became personal.
I attend events not to climb a ladder but to build genuine relationships. I go to learn, to share, to collaborate — not to compete.
Networking isn’t just about collecting business cards; it’s about connecting with people who share your vision, values, or curiosity.
When you network as a business owner, you’re building your ecosystem. And when you do it with authenticity, that ecosystem will sustain you — through referrals, collaborations, and support.
That’s something no corporate hierarchy could ever give me.
What I Gained by Leaving Corporate Life
Leaving a comfortable engineering job wasn’t easy. There were moments of fear, doubt, and spreadsheets that didn’t add up.
But the rewards? Endless.
- Freedom. I control my time and my energy.
- Fulfillment. Every success is mine — earned, not given.
- Flexibility. If I want to spend a Tuesday afternoon with my kids, I can.
- Growth. Entrepreneurship pushes me to keep learning and evolving every day.
And perhaps most importantly — purpose.
My work now feels deeply aligned with who I am, not who someone else needs me to be.
The Lessons I Took With Me
- Structure isn’t the enemy — rigidity is. I’ve learned to create structures that support creativity, not suffocating it.
- Self-motivation beats supervision. I don’t need a boss to tell me what to do. My drive comes from the inside — and sometimes from my bank account.
- Networking is a skill. It’s how you grow faster than your comfort zone.
- Business consulting is engineering for people. Same principles — different parts.
- Freedom has a price — but it’s worth paying.
Why I’ll Never Go Back
Every now and then, someone will ask me,
“Would you ever go back to engineering?”
And I always smile and say,
“Only if I can do it on my own terms.”
Because at the end of the day, everything that made me a terrible employee — my independence, my creativity, my refusal to sit quietly — made me an exceptional entrepreneur.
I thrive in uncertainty. I learn fast. I pivot faster. And I genuinely love what I do.
Being an entrepreneur means I get to build, innovate, and problem-solve — just like I did as an engineer — but without anyone telling me I’m “too much.”
So no, I don’t miss the meetings, the bureaucracy, or politics.
I miss the people, sure. I miss the teamwork sometimes. But I’ve found something better: freedom, ownership, and joy.
The truth is simple — everything that made me a terrible employee makes me the kind of entrepreneur who will never quit, never stop learning, and never stop creating something out of nothing.
And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way.