This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ethan Clatterbaugh, a 32-year-old technical product manager from Golden, Colorado about his six-figure career journey. It’s been edited for length and clarity.
In my current role, I’m a technical product manager at a Mid-Atlantic bank, making $198,000 a year plus a performance bonus. Since I work a corporate job making good money, people might assume I took a fairly typical path to get here: four-year college, summer internships, working my way up the ladder. But they’d be wrong.
My career path has been anything but typical. I dropped out of college after one semester due to undiagnosed and untreated ADHD and narcolepsy. Before my 28th birthday, I’d held 28 jobs. I’m 32 now, still without a college degree, and currently in my 31st job.
My winding, degree-less career path is increasingly common among people in their 20s and 30s, in part because job-hopping usually leads to more money. But also, having a college degree isn’t the only way to build a stable career if you’re able to form real relationships with people across your career journey.
What I’ve learned from all these jobs is that each one played a role in my success. As long as I kept moving forward, accepted my circumstances without shame, and asked people for help along the way, I was preparing myself for the day when an amazing opportunity would come along.
Below I’ve captured the core lessons from each industry I’ve worked in. I hope they can help anyone on a non-traditional career path find the same confidence and success.
Working in food service taught me empathy and curiosity
I’ve held 13 food service jobs and worked in the industry primarily between the ages of 17 and 26. I got my first paycheck scooping ice cream at a local ice cream parlor and saved up enough for my first car between 18 and 19 years old working at a supermarket. In my early and mid-20s, I bounced around a handful of restaurants earning between $2.13 and $25 an hour.
I learned many life lessons from customers who talked with me over a meal or at the bar, but just as often I learned from my coworkers, who came from all walks of life. Many of them told me that they never planned on this kind of work and were going to “get out” one day. Learning their back stories reinforced the value of empathy and curiosity toward everyone I meet. We were all just trying to save up and find that next opportunity.
I would end up bringing this sense of empathy with me to every future leadership position where I managed other employees. I consider it one of my greatest superpowers.
Each job held value because I was always learning
Between food service jobs that didn’t quite pan out, I’d find myself taking odd jobs for several months to a year. I’ve worked eight miscellaneous jobs throughout my life. At 19, I was stocking shelves at my local library. At 22, I worked as a call center rep at TD Bank before taking a job at a small amusement park in my hometown. Later, I’d work the front desk at a gym, oversee storage facilities, and coordinate assignments for substitute teachers.
Was this the most intellectually stimulating work? No. But each job still held value. I knew it probably wouldn’t lead to something better, and I wouldn’t be there forever, so the best I could do was be as good at the job as possible. I never let myself think that any of the jobs were undignified, or somehow beneath me. When they were especially boring or difficult, I got through them by focusing on the skills I was learning.
Since these were lower-wage jobs, I considered the lessons to be part of my compensation. Which meant if a job stopped helping me grow, I took that as a pay cut, and it was onto the next one.
I still use sales techniques in my current job
It’s true what they say: Everything in life is sales. I learned this firsthand from the five retail jobs I had in my early and late 20s. I worked at the Apple store, at a Honda dealership, for a roofing company, for Playstation, and at Best Buy. Each one showed me a different side of sales, but the core truth was that sales isn’t about persuasion; it’s about listening and understanding.
At Best Buy and Apple, I lost count of how many times people came in asking for the hot new device, only for me to ask them why they wanted it. If they just wanted the status of a shiny product, great! I let them pick out what they wanted. But oftentimes, it took asking the right questions to show them how the hot new thing might not meet their needs.
I use these techniques in my current job all the time. I listen to my coworkers and bosses so that I can ask the right questions of why one decision is better than another. I work in product management, but I’m still “selling” people on ideas every day.
After 10 years, I got my first full-time job with benefits
It wasn’t until I was 28 that I got health insurance through a full-time offer at a solar energy manufacturer — a role that began as a contract position managing solar install sites. I initially landed the job through a person I met at a concert. I’ve always been interested in solar energy, so this felt like a real step up from my prior job — selling solar panels for Tesla — not just another lateral move.
A full-time role was also huge because it meant I could receive treatment for my ADHD. Before then, focusing felt like a Herculean task. After treatment, I could finally focus enough to study for certification courses and climb even higher in the industry.
With these certifications, I began qualifying for higher-paying full-time roles. (I’m currently in my fifth consecutive solar role.) It wasn’t all perfect, though. Many days, I still fell asleep at my desk — on more than one occasion, I even took naps under my desk. When I was 30, I had a sleep study done and found out I was narcoleptic, for which I now take medication.
Once I was able to stay awake for long periods of time, and stay focused, my productivity skyrocketed. I was able to hone my technical skills and become more valuable as a candidate. My salary jumped from $50,000 to $77,000 to $117,000. Recruiters were now starting to contact me. Pursuing one of those offers is what led to my current role, making over $200,000 including my bonus at a bank that specializes in financing sustainability efforts.
I’ve finally found my calling
Finally, it feels like I’ve arrived. I’m no longer “on the way,” as I was in so many other jobs. In those roles, I was searching for meaningful work with the experiences, credentials, and level of focus I could offer. With the proper treatment, enabled by health insurance, I can operate at the level I need to, in order to keep excelling.
My three main takeaways from those two-dozen-plus jobs are to connect with people, keep moving forward, and stay open and curious.
Too often, we try to endure hardship alone. But pretty much everyone I asked for help gave it. Connections led to introductions, which led to new jobs. Of course, nobody’s career journey will be the same. What I hope people take away from mine is the fact that there are lessons every step of the way. The lessons from my job always came back to serve me, just not in the ways I’d expected.
December 15, 2023: This story was updated to remove the name of Ethan Clatterbaugh’s employer.
