A top corporate employee has revealed he has no regrets after quitting his $500,000-a-year job to pursue comedy.
Kurt Sterling, 35, said he felt more fulfilled than ever despite earning significantly less money than when he was a management consultant.
“It’s a lot better. It’s fantastic. I enjoy it a lot. I probably work just as hard, but I do it because I want to,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
Mr. Sterling worked 18-hour days for a company that was organized so that he was available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The 35-year-old admitted there were perks, including travelling the world and living in a luxury apartment in Sydney that had 270-degree views of the cityscape.
Mr Sterling said the paychecks simply weren’t enough as the relentless lifestyle was putting a strain on his relationships and leaving him feeling disconnected.
“I describe it as a pact with the devil. I give you all the time I have and in exchange you show me the world,” he said.
Mr Sterling grew up on the Central Coast of New South Wales and didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life as a teenager.
Kurt Sterling, 35, left his globe-trotting corporate career, turning down $500,000 job offers, to pursue his passion, comedy.
His role as a management consultant took him to 15 different countries and live in a Sydney apartment with 270-degree views of the city.
At high school, he excelled in mathematics and economics and won a scholarship in actuarial studies at the University of New South Wales.
However, during his internship, Kurt found the job “boring” as he would go “weeks and weeks” without talking to people.
Mr. Sterling made the transition to a management consulting job out of “pure spontaneity.”
“I found this job in management consulting after the company came to campus and was talking to students there,” he said.
‘I didn’t really understand what it was, but I understood that it was an office job where you have to solve big problems, work for big companies, travel and talk to people.
“I wanted to do business, whatever that meant, and I knew I wanted to talk to people all day.”
Mr Sterling said the role was “integral” and he often felt like he was “trapped in a washing machine” where working and commuting became his entire life.
After 12 years, Mr. Sterling realized he wasn’t in the industry he really wanted to be in.
“COVID hit, which meant travel dried up, and with it all the cool stuff and the feel-good stuff went away, and all of a sudden it became a bad business for me,” he said.
‘I felt disconnected and unfulfilled. I didn’t want to talk like in an office, I really missed real human interaction.
‘I also felt like I had no common experiences with friends or family and my twenties were dedicated to the corporate world.’
In 2022, Sterling made the bold decision to leave his high-paying job to pursue his dream in comedy.
He made his debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with his stand-up show, ‘Corporate Chronicles’.
The comedian has now brought the show back to his home shores for Sydney Fringe Comedy, which runs from September 18-20.
Kurt told Daily Mail Australia that he feels more fulfilled in his life and plays almost every night.
Mr Sterling said the move was a “very strategic decision” and argued that stand-up comedy and consulting were “the same thing”.
“We would do strategy projects for companies and say, ‘This is what we think your strengths are, and therefore this is what we think you should do,'” he said.
“When I thought about it, I realized I had three things. I have a lot of stories to tell, because I’ve traveled a lot. I feel very comfortable speaking in front of people, because I’ve done it every day for the last 12 years.
‘I’m also good with formulas and patterns, things like that, thanks to my master’s degree.
“I think when you combine those three things, the only answer is stand-up comedy. That’s the only thing I can think of that combines all three.”
Now, Kurt explained that he has found a career path that is truly fulfilling and that he would never go back to the job he had before.
“I do it because I’m excited about the new joke, I’m excited about getting on stage, or I’m excited about creating something,” he said.
‘I enjoy every day so much that I feel like I’ve lost track of the days.
“I’ve been successful at entertaining and making people laugh, and that’s what makes me truly happy. All pressure is internal ambition rather than external stress.”
