How 'quarter-life crisis' led a Wall Street trader with six-figure pay to shift to tutoring

When Steve Menking began his career on Wall Street in his early 20s, he believed he'd found a path for life. But after experiencing a "quarter-life crisis" while working as an equities trader at SMB Capital, the man turned to tutoring, leading to earning $500,000, according to CNBC.

“I watched colleagues my age — or younger — excelling in their careers, but it was difficult for me to see people stay in the office until 1 a.m., and think that could be my future,” Menking, 36, tells CNBC Make It. “It just wasn’t the lifestyle for me.”

Why wall street trader turned tutor?

When he asked himself what kind of job would make him happy, the answer had nothing to do with banking or the stock market — he wanted to teach.

“I worked as a teaching assistant and tutor in college and, reflecting on it later, I realized that teaching brought out a more patient, purpose-driven version of myself. It gave me a deep sense of meaning,” he says. “I felt called to teach.”

In 2014, Menking made the switch from finance to full-time tutoring, thinking it would be an “equally meaningful, but less time-intensive” path into education than pursuing a second bachelor’s degree to become a teacher, according to a CNBC report.

Ten years later, Steve Menking's decision to leave finance has paid off — both in career satisfaction and financial success. In 2023, he earned over $500,000 from private tutoring, a figure he expects to match in 2024.

On average, Menking works 20 to 25 hours per week from his home in Connecticut, where he lives with his wife and three children.

He has built a thriving career with two main sources of income: contracting with Forum Education, a New York-based tutoring agency, and running his own online business, Menking Tutoring LLC, which he founded in 2020.

“It’s been better and more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined,” Menking says.

After leaving his finance job, Menking sent his resume to dozens of tutoring agencies in New York and created a profile on Wyzant, an online tutoring marketplace. He set his hourly rate just under $100 and used his Wall Street background to carve out a niche tutoring high school and college students in math, finance, and accounting.

As he gained more experience and referrals, Menking raised his rates on Wyzant and negotiated higher fees with the agencies he worked with. By 2017, he was charging around $150 an hour.

That same year, an acquaintance, Thomas Howell, the founder of Forum Education, reached out and encouraged him to join the agency. That's when Menking's earning potential "really took off," he recalls.

After joining Forum, with its extensive network of schools, students, and families, Menking’s income more than doubled, growing from $95,000 to $200,000 a year. He began working with students nationwide, including those at Ivy League universities such as Princeton and Yale. Most of his students are in high school or college.

Currently, Menking works with around a dozen students, mostly undergraduates pursuing degrees in finance or related fields. He meets with most students at least once a week to help them solve practice problems before exams, prepare for internship interviews, and clarify complex concepts from college-level math courses.

Menking’s current rate is approximately $1,000 per hour.

In addition to his work through Forum, Menking also grows Menking Tutoring LLC, which offers online test prep courses and corporate training, such as coaching entry-level investment banking analysts.

Menking’s schedule varies. During the summer, when schools are out, he may work 8 to 10 hours per week, but during winter and spring, leading up to final exams, his hours increase to about 40 per week. He often works nights and weekends when most of his students are available, but he makes sure to reserve some evenings to have dinner with his family and spend time with his children.

While some weeks can be more stressful — dealing with tricky homework assignments or the occasional panicked email from a student in the middle of the night — Menking finds that being a private tutor has given him exceptional work-life balance.

Tutoring can be a lucrative side hustle, but if you’re patient with the long hours and fluctuating income, it can also evolve into a rewarding full-time career.

“There’s no substitute for waking up every day knowing you’re serving others in a way that aligns with your unique expertise,” Menking says. “It’s a career that allows me to be creative, to serve others, and to be entrepreneurial. … I love it.”