Belen Wagaw 💬

I quit my cushy 6-figure corporate job two months ago.

For less money and security. The big question - WHY?

I took an honest look at my actions to see if they were leading me to a life I ACTUALLY wanted.

Instead of the one I thought I should want.

Should pursue.

And I realized:

👉🏾 I no longer believe in a 40-hour workweek as a default model

👉🏾 I was dealing with a lesser-known addiction: salary dependency

👉🏾 For the first time ever, I got anxiety attacks thinking of work

👉🏾 I found myself wondering if I was on the verge of a burnout

👉🏾 I got tired of breaking down org silos & playing politics

👉🏾I wanted to solve my own missions, not someone else's

The above might make it sound like I would never work for corporate again.

That might not be true.

(Although I am loving building my business)

I loved a lot of things about my corporate life.

But in the end, it boiled down to choosing:

Will I regret staying?
Or not trying something else?

So I chose.

I was born in Ethiopia.

Went to a French school at 3.

Moved to the US for college at 17.

Had to explain my American accent.

Graduated college at 21.

Moved to Germany.

Started my Masters at 22.

Treated my intern gig like my 9-5.

Got my first FTE at 23.

Ended a 6-year relationship.

Became a manager at 25.

Chief of Staff at 27.

Chief Storyteller at 28.

Quit corporate at 29.

Launched my business.

Moved to Portugal.

Figuring life out.


We make intricate plans, and that’s noble, but life often takes us where our quarterly reviews didn't.

If I’ve learned anything in the last 30 years, it’s this:

- People will put their fears on you. Don't believe them.
- Your “failures” will shape you better than your wins.
- If your environment isn’t serving you, change it.
- The best formula is to: Do, then learn.
- When in doubt, take the vacation.

🧡

I tripled my salary in 4 years.

And this was done in a company that had strict progression policies.

Here’s how I did it:

- Negotiated at each role or each promotion. The only time I didn’t was my starting salary after university - never again.

- Aimed for jobs that were out of my scope. You know the ones you think you can’t get? Yeah, those ones.

- Looked for the exception, not the rule. HR policies will give you the generic progression formula but these are NOT set in stone.

- Sought out managers that would see and reward my worth. Some don’t spend time looking at and advocating for what you should be paid. Run.

- Asked for advice. I sought out peers that were more experienced and whom I believed would be candid with me. Often, they confirmed what I thought: I could and should ask for more.

- Did my research. I looked at the internal pay scales, and online tools like Glassdoor or Payscale. Since I was based in Germany, some of this was harder but in doubt? Guesstimate.

- Held myself in high regard. In German, they call it “Selbstbewusstsein“ aka to be self-confident. And yes, sometimes, I faked it (imposter syndrome doesn’t want you to win sometimes).

I don’t think I was always the smartest or more deserving person.

But, I did good work and I wanted to be compensated accordingly.

Sometimes, you have to be your own cheerleader in corporate life.

Too many settle for less.

Don’t let that be you.

#careerdevelopment #growthmindset