A job at Google is considered a major career milestone for many professionals, but for Kevin Naughton Jr, the high-paying role was always intended to be temporary.
The New York-based tech professional recently opened up about his decision to leave Google, where he was earning nearly $350,000 (around Rs 3.3 crore) a year, to pursue his own startup. Naughton Jr said he had known from the beginning that he eventually wanted to work for himself.
"It was kind of on the first day, but in all seriousness, I just kind of knew from the first day; I always knew I wanted to work for myself. I always knew I was going to leave," he said in a video posted on his social media account.
He described Google as one of the best nine-to-five jobs he could have asked for. However, he realised that the role did not align with what he wanted to do with his life.
A major turning point came in 2022, when Naughton Jr lost his father. The personal loss prompted him to reassess his priorities and focus more seriously on pursuing work that made him happy.
"So that was like a really big, you know, just wake-up call. You have to do what you want. You have to be happy every day. And I knew that, as great as Google was – I think it's the best nine-to-five job I honestly could have – but it wasn't really what I wanted to do every day," he added.
However, leaving a well-paid corporate job was not a decision he took lightly. Naughton Jr said he is generally conservative when it comes to financial risks.
As a result, he spent years building up enough savings to give himself several years of financial runway before making the move.
"He told me… 'If you don't need to work for three years and you're not going to keep working for yourself after the third year, if it's not working, you just go back to a job. Any money you're saving after the third year, for example, is a waste. Like you should just quit your job and go and try it," Naughton Jr explained.
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A conversation with a close friend eventually helped him take the final step and leave his corporate career behind.
The financial cushion gave Naughton Jr the confidence to move from a comfortable and lucrative job at Google to entrepreneurship. His decision has also attracted a lot of attention online, particularly because he chose to walk away from a salary that many would find difficult to give up.
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