Betting the Impossible: 

The Wall Street Dropout:

Wall Street was supposed to be the dream. I followed the blueprint—go to a good college, cold-email a thousand people, land the internship, and work as hard as possible to secure the offer. But dreams never play out the way you expect. I thought loving the markets and wanting to work nonstop would shield me from the usual pitfalls of hating your job. What I didn’t account for was how much of my experience would depend on having the right boss.

I was used to dealing with difficult personalities, but I never expected to face it in a professional setting. My boss cursed constantly, snapped over small mistakes, and refused to admit when he was wrong. At times, it felt less like working under a mentor and more like dealing with a high school bully. Every day felt like a battle, and I started to feel trapped.

Looking back, I should have gone straight to HR, but I stayed silent, afraid of backlash and the possibility of being blacklisted from future roles on Wall Street. It wasn’t as if people on the trading floor didn’t see how I was being treated—I assumed it was just a rite of passage. But my mental health quickly deteriorated. When I started having nightmares about work, I knew it was time to leave. I had never questioned my own abilities, and I was confident I could succeed elsewhere. So why force myself to keep suffering?

I made up my mind and never looked back. I quit and took time off to recharge, but I couldn’t sit on the beach forever. As I started considering my next steps, I struggled to find another trading role.

I thought about getting my master’s degree and started studying for the GRE. I was never enthusiastic about school, but I wasn’t sure I had a choice. I had begun the application process when an otherwise ordinary night playing Fortnite with Miles changed everything.

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