Corporate Burnout Stories: Jessica Yen’s Bold Career Shift
Corporate Burnout Stories: At 33, Jessica Yen made one of those bold career changes that so many working within a corporate environment only dream about. An experienced tech analyst for companies such as Deloitte, Salesforce, Yelp, and Cruise, Yen walked away from the corporate craziness and stress in order to start her own e-commerce jewelry company, Surfers Jewelry. Her inspirational journey was first covered by Business Insider, and the story has quickly morphed into a major part of trending news on business transitions.
Yen’s experience exemplifies a growing trend among young professionals who are leaving high-paying and demanding careers to pursue their creative, flexible, and fulfilling pursuits.
Deloitte and Life Beyond
Jessica went to work for Deloitte in 2014, excited to work as a consultant with the perception of travel and opportunity. In reality, she was stuck in the car for what felt like an eternity – traffic and the same monotonous project tasks. “It was two hours, in traffic, both ways… and it drained me more than the work itself”, she stated.
By 2016, Yen was focused more on data analytics when she took a role at Salesforce as a marketing analyst. All the data, analytics and Excel training she received during her time at Deloitte led her to carve out a new niche—technology. Following positions at Yelp and Cruise allowed her to expand her view of people’s analytics to think of operations and business strategy.
However, the pressure that escalated with her job cost her. Having reached a career high, she remembered, “At my most stressful point, I would dream about revising Excel formulas, worried about whether I had divided something two times or moved a decimal.”
A Pivotal Moment During the Pandemic
Eventually the pace caught up with Yen in 2020, during the height of the pandemic. She left Cruise and devoted her attention to coaching and entrepreneurship. In that same year, she launched her first product-focused business, Daily Work Journal. The e-commerce project helped her hone her skills managing a small business, but also gave her a sense of freedom. She managed the business for three years, and then sold it in January 2024.
This initial venture into entrepreneurship was a springboard for her next significant change.
Surfers Jewelry: A Hobby Turned Profession
After leaving the corporate world and business coaching, Yen finally found surfing as something all for herself. A hobby morphed into inspiration for her next venture — Surfers Jewelry — an online brand for surfers.
“I had no intention to start a business from it, but it was the perfect combination; that’s how Surfers Jewelry came to life,” Yen said.
The brand takes up most of her time, with product design and marketing, as well as engaging with the surfing community. Once in awhile, she still gives advice to former clients, but the emphasis is on the jewelry business.
Lessons Learned from Business to Entrepreneurship
Yen states that her corporate experience helped to lay the foundation for success as an entrepreneur. “Your field of expertise is your strength as an entrepreneur,” she explains while stressing that her analytical skills give her comfort in managing finances and operations.
Yen is an entrepreneur and unlike some of her counterparts (who continue to work for corporate) has embraced entrepreneurship as her lifestyle. “It’s risky and has big upside, but the design is artistic and the flexibility is worth it,” she expresses.
Jessica Yen’s story is a reflection of a growing cultural and professional tipping point – where people leave secure, but draining corporate roles, in search of freedom, creativity, and purpose. At some point she worked in consulting at Deloitte, then moved to analytics in New York, to now designing jewelry for surfers; her journey captures resilience and evolution.
As additional narratives similar to hers emerge in latest news on business, they act as motivation for those trapped between exhaustion and the chase for their passions
