US woman shares what quitting her 9-5 job actually looked like 164 days later

A US woman shared an Instagram video about her struggle to earn after quitting her corporate job. Her post drew responses from viewers who said building independent careers takes time and patience.US woman shares what quitting her 9-5 job actually looked like 164 days later (Photos: @ruyi.offscript/Instagram)A woman in the US shared her struggles after leaving her corporate job, revealing that finding an alternative source of income has been far harder than she expected.Ruyi, a content creator, shared the video on her Instagram account, where she opened up about her journey 164 days after quitting her 9-to-5 job and trying different career paths outside the corporate world.In the video, she was seen sitting in front of the camera as an overlay text emphasised a dilemma many people discussed online: "Everybody is talking about quitting 9-5 but dude, how do I make money outside of corporate?"She then listed the different things she had tried since leaving her job. Ruyi revealed that she attempted dog walking and dog sitting but was unsuccessful, tried becoming a yoga teacher and sound healer but earned no money from it, and explored selling jewellery, although she admitted she was still procrastinating on the idea. She also shared that she tried becoming a content creator but had not made any income from it yet. Another idea she considered was becoming an Airbnb owner, but she said she did not have enough money to buy a property.Alongside these attempts, Ruyi explained that the transition had also come with unexpected challenges. She said she had spent thousands of dollars on teacher training programmes, had to deal with her dog's surgery expenses and developed wrist problems from spending hours editing videos every day. Captioning the post, she wrote about the reality of trying to build a career outside traditional employment, describing the experience as overwhelming.Watch the video here:The video led to conversations among viewers, with many acknowledging that leaving a stable job and building something independently often comes with uncertainty.Several users told Ruyi that her attempts should not be viewed as failures, but rather as experiments that helped her understand what worked and what did not.Others encouraged her to stay consistent, saying that careers like content creation, yoga instruction and similar fields usually take time to develop and require patience before generating income.Many also appreciated her honesty in sharing the less glamorous side of trying to create a different lifestyle, saying it reflected struggles that many people quietly experience.- EndsPublished By: Yashna TalwarPublished On: Jul 29, 2026 13:54 IST