Man Quits Rs 1.9 Crore Job In Switzerland, Says It's The "Dumbest Thing I've Done"

A high-paying job at a global technology company is often seen as a dream career. However, one former Microsoft employee chose to leave that life behind to follow a different path, only to face unexpected struggles along the way.

Christian Harms, who earned $200,000 (around Rs 1.9 crore) a year at Microsoft in Switzerland, left the company at the age of 26 and moved to Australia to build a career in content creation. He has now shared the challenges he faced after leaving his corporate job, saying the journey was far more difficult than he had expected.

Harms spoke about his experience in a video titled My Museum of Failures as a 27-year-old who quit his dream job. Reflecting on his decision, he said leaving Microsoft might be the dumbest thing he had ever done because of the salary, stability and the identity that came with the job. He added that corporate life is built to make leaving feel irrational. At the same time, he said he knows he is doing the right thing, even though self-doubt still feels suffocating on some days.

He said that quitting a corporate role is not only about giving up a salary but also about leaving behind the identity and security linked to that position. Harms said he left a $200,000 job at Microsoft at the age of 26 to make videos for brands on the internet, but none of it went according to plan.

He added that he thought he would be a founder by now, and on some days it feels like he is failing the version of himself that made that leap, even though he knows he is on the right path.

Harms revealed that he moved to Australia with no plan and gave himself five months to figure out what he wanted to do next. He focused on creating content, working with brands and finding opportunities online. However, months of planning and experimenting did not bring the results he had expected, forcing him to rethink his approach.

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He said he earned his first dollar online just a week before his flight home. Harms explained that the deadline achieved what months of planning could not, and realised that he only acts when his back is against a wall, something he said he hates.
Looking back at his efforts to build a business, Harms said he spent months building one before asking whether he should build it at all. He added that he called it due diligence, but later realised it was fear with a to-do list, which resulted in months of directionless work with nothing to show for it.

Harms said he is documenting his journey on Instagram to show what it actually looks like to leave stability.

Social Media Reaction

His story quickly gained attention online, with several users encouraging him to keep going despite the setbacks.

One user commented, "You're gonna get there brother."

Another user noted, "Sounds brave to me."

"It gets hard at times but it's great that you followed your intuition and went for it anyway," added a third user.