Woman, 22, Leaves Corporate Job to Model Full Time After Feeling ‘Overwhelmed’ by Juggling Both (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Lindsey, a 22-year-old based in New York, recently went viral for quitting her corporate job to model

• Prior to making the switch, she would skip classes in college to work gigs, which became harder to do once she began working as a digital designer for a shoe company

• “At a certain point, I had to decide between chasing money or reclaiming your time,” she tells PEOPLE

A young woman is going viral for sharing how she managed to quit her corporate job and transition to modeling full time.

Lindsey, a 22-year-old resident of Queens, N.Y., is gaining popularity on social media after an Aug. 13 Instagram post got nearly 50,000 likes for explaining “how much I made each month from modeling before finally quitting my 9-5.”

“I know some are curious – modeling isn’t my only source of income, but it definitely gave me the stability I needed to transition my life and I am incredibly grateful,” she captioned a Reel set to Justin Bieber’s “Daises,” showing a breakdown of her pay.

Lindsey tells PEOPLE exclusively that she was working as a digital designer for a shoe company for three and a half years before she gave it up to chase her dreams.

According to her viral video, she made $26,000 between January and July, with April being her most successful month. That month, she made $12,000 from modeling.

“My schedule was hybrid, so I worked remotely on Thursdays and Fridays, which allowed me to be on set if needed,” Lindsey tells PEOPLE exclusively.

“If I got booked for a shoot earlier in the week, I would switch my remote days, giving me the flexibility modeling required. I know this kind of flexibility in a corporate job is uncommon; I considered myself lucky,” she adds.

However, Lindsey says making the switch didn’t come easy — especially when modeling started picking up while juggling her full-time job.

“In the months leading up to my decision, I felt pretty overwhelmed with everything on my plate,” she says, adding that she’s been modeling for about two years.

For her first year, Lindsey says modeling “was more about development and fewer jobs, so it wasn’t as demanding.”

She would even skip classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology for shoots instead of missing work hours at the office.

“After graduating, it became harder to explain absences at my corporate job, and I started booking more consistently,” Lindsey tells PEOPLE.

“My days looked like: waking up at 6 a.m. to handle submissions and emails, work in the office from 9 to 5, go to the gym, then get home around 7:30 to work until bed. I loved the hustle, but I was burning out and knew I didn’t want that lifestyle forever. After closing a five-figure month, I seriously considered leaving corporate,” she says.

Her friends and family encouraged her to take the leap, and while she tried negotiating a fully remote position at her job to work both careers, it didn’t work out.

“I took that as a sign it was time. At a certain point, I had to decide between chasing money or reclaiming your time,” Lindsey says.

Since then, things have been looking bright for the commercial model, who has booked gigs for Samsung, Etsy, Starbucks Reserve, IT Cosmetics and more.

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“It’s been a month and a half since I made the transition, and I have zero regrets,” she says. “I love waking up every day knowing I get to decide how I spend my time and that I’m reaping the rewards of my past hustle.”

Lindsey tells PEOPLE she can’t “give one-size-fits-all advice” for anyone who wants to follow a similar path, but trusting herself was key in her situation.

“I was already treating modeling like a full-time commitment before leaving corporate, which reassured me that once I had more time, the results would grow exponentially. Of course I experienced doubts, but if you’ve laid the groundwork and believe in your path, it becomes easier to take that leap,” she says.

Read the original article on People