So... How Much Do You Make?

Burnout doesn’t always arrive with a breaking point, sometimes it creeps in quietly, disguised as dedication, ambition or even survival. In this powerful compilation, Amanda Swetish, Alex Wakeland, Maggie Perkins and Cinneah El-Amin share deeply personal stories about exhaustion, identity and the toll of constantly pushing forward. From teachers slowly boiling under invisible workloads, to parents...

What does it really mean to be your own boss, beyond the highlight reels, flexible schedules and “freedom” everyone talks about? In this compilation, Alex Stewart, Cinneah El-Amin, Kathryn Hubert and Alex Hooper pull back the curtain on the realities of self-employment. From the quiet panic of inconsistent income and the pressure to constantly hustle, to the unexpected loss of time, stability and...

What makes someone walk away from a stable, high-earning job behind the bar to chase crabs and end up transforming their entire life in the process? Tia Clark shares the unexpected journey that led her from burnout and health crises to becoming one of Airbnb’s top experience hosts. Tia opens up about slowly testing the waters of crabbing while still bartending, why she feared turning her passion i...

What does it really take to bet on yourself when you’ve had to figure out life alone since age 16? Entrepreneur Dawon Matthews breaks down the mindset that turned his past, his setbacks and his hustle into the foundation for a fast-growing food-truck empire. From teaching himself how to survive without parental support to navigating jail time, college and entrepreneurship with nothing but determin...

What happens when you fight your way into a career you know you’re meant for, only to realize the path there demanded more sacrifice and heartbreak than anyone ever told you? For pediatric chemo and bone marrow transplant nurse Emah Jayd, becoming a nurse wasn’t a straight line. After being denied from nursing school twice, bartending multiple jobs to afford her prerequisites, to then graduating i...

What happens when you follow the traditional path: serve in the military, build a stable corporate career, become the family breadwinner and still realize the life you’ve built no longer fits? For former Army officer, corporate director and foster care advocate Elizabeth Beggs, that realization pushed her toward a complete reinvention. After years of leading soldiers and climbing the corporate lad...

What happens when the job you love becomes the source of your deepest exhaustion? For ex-educator and advocate Maggie Perkins, teaching looked very different from the calling she once imagined. She worked through two difficult pregnancies without meaningful leave, handled nonstop illness and even received a call for sub plans the day after giving birth. Her experience revealed a reality that most...

What happens when you do everything right? Aace school, land the prestigious job climb the ladder and still end up burned out, disillusioned and questioning who you’re building your life for? For tech creator and entrepreneur Megan, that moment of reckoning led to a complete reinvention. After graduating from UVA and joining the Big Four, she quickly realized the traditional corporate path wasn’t...

What happens when you lose everything - your home, your purpose, even your will to live - and find hope again in the soil beneath your feet? For Texas farmer and agriculture consultant Malik Miller, the answer is legacy, resilience, and a promise to feed the future. After studying agriculture and animal science, Malik’s dreams of becoming a veterinarian fell apart. His grandmother passed away, lea...

What happens when you quit a steady job behind the bar to chase crabs, and end up helping people heal in the process? For Charleston native Tia Clark, the answer is connection, courage and a return to her roots. After two decades in the food and beverage industry, Tia’s life was spiraling. Long nights, cigarettes, and stress had left her sick and exhausted. When she finally quit smoking, her body...

What does it really cost to make six figures as a lineman? For Alex Wakeland, the dangers on the pole are not the hardest part. The true toll shows up at home. In this conversation, Alex opens up about the dark side of line work: months away chasing storms, coming home too exhausted to function, spouses raising kids alone and a divorce rate most people would never believe. He shares the reality be...

What does it take to turn a late-night craving into a million-dollar empire? For entrepreneur Dawon Matthews, the answer was grit, reinvention and a $43,000 loan he couldn’t afford to waste. What began as an investment in a friend’s dream quickly became his own when that friend walked away, leaving Dawon to teach himself how to cook, build a menu and run a food truck with zero culinary background....

What does it really look like to walk away from the classroom and find stability in an unexpected place? For former middle school teacher Maggie Perkins, the answer was anything but simple. From low earnings at a Catholic school to facing pressure to falsify grades and working through difficult pregnancies with no parental leave, Maggie has lived the highs and lows of a system stacked against educ...

What does it take to keep the lights on when disaster strikes? For contractor lineman Alex Wakeland, the answer is sacrifice, grit and a paycheck that can hit over $400,000 a year. But behind the money is a reality few see: missed birthdays, a divorce rate over 80% and nights spent waiting out storms in a truck while everyone else evacuates. In this episode, Alex pulls back the curtain on the hidd...

What happens when speaking out costs you everything? For NCAA champion and Olympian Veronica Fraley, one tweet about her school shorting her rent money set off a chain of events that would change her career overnight. In this raw conversation, Veronica opens up about the hidden struggles of being a non-football athlete in the NIL era, where resources, visibility and money often flow to the few whi...

What does “making it” really feel like when you hit 6-figures? For brand marketer Alyssa Meza, the answer wasn’t what she expected. From growing up facing evictions to climbing the corporate ladder and earning over $200,000 a year, Alyssa opens up about the hidden costs of success. She shares her journey through poverty PTSD, burnout and toxic workplace cycles; and why walking away from a $240K sa...

What’s it really like to be a scientist in today’s world? In this episode, marine biologist and National Geographic Explorer Dr. Mike Gil shares the truth about navigating science as a career. From discovering coral reefs as a first-gen college student, to competing for government grants in a system where funding can be cut overnight. Mike opens up about the politics of climate change, the misconc...

What happens when you go from a $125K tech job to juggling part-time gigs just to get by? In this episode, Amanda Swetish (known as Unemployed Amanda on TikTok) shares her raw, two-year journey through long-term unemployment. After losing her six-figure role in tech, Amanda expected to bounce back quickly. Instead, she faced hundreds of unanswered applications, part-time work as a Pilates studio r...

What happens when artificial intelligence collides with the magic of Hollywood? In this video, former Disney writer Nick Geisler unpacks the rise of AI in filmmaking, how studios are experimenting with scripts, visual effects and even performance. Nick explores what it could mean for writers, actors and the future of storytelling. Is AI the end of creativity in Hollywood, or just the beginning of...

Is the “dream job” worth it if it costs you your health? In this episode, bestselling author and speaker Jason Vitug shares the truth about climbing the corporate ladder, making six figures and still feeling empty. After turning down a CEO role, Jason walked away from burnout to backpack around the world; using his savings not to buy a house, but to buy back his time. From cleaning toilets at the...

Is competing on the world stage worth it if it barely pays the rent? In this episode, Olympic discus thrower Veronica Fraley opens up about the hidden costs of going for gold and why being one of the best athletes in the world doesn’t always mean financial security. From representing Team USA in Paris to working part-time as a pharmacy tech, Veronica walks us through the real numbers behind elite...

Is chasing your dream job worth it when it barely pays the bills? In this episode, Hollywood screenwriter Nick Geisler pulls back the curtain on what it really looks like to “make it” in the TV industry; and why that version of success can feel anything but stable. With accolades ranging from Disney Channel’s BUNK’D to viral WikiHow articles, Nick opens up about writing entire movies for free, mak...

Would you build your dream business if no one believed in it but you? In this episode, Kathryn Hubert shares the story behind Chez Genèse - a restaurant she opened with no bank funding, no financial safety net, and a bold mission: to employ people with disabilities. Kathryn walks us through what it took to open her doors, how she made it work without $120k in startup capital, and why she hasn’t ha...

What does it really take to make money as a comedian in 2025? In this video, comedian and AGT alum Alex Hooper breaks down how today’s comics are using TikTok, podcasts, live shows and brand deals to turn laughs into a living and why going viral isn’t always a golden ticket. 📺 Want more? Listen the full episode where Alex dives into the highs and lows of a comedy career, from TV fame to medical d...

Today, we speak to Alex Stewart, a content creator and influencer based in Chicago, known online as SassyConfetti. In this episode, she opens up about the real numbers behind her income - and the unexpected challenges that come with building a brand online. From securing brand deals and growing her audience to navigating internet trolls and losing access to her account, Alex talks about the parts...