My Journey to Becoming a Career Coach

Posted on January 14, 2025 by Tathiana Machado, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

At the start of my career, I often made choices that seemed “right” based on societal expectations. I was great at math and science, so naturally, everyone suggested I study engineering. During university, I fulfilled my dream of studying abroad and spent a year in Germany. Seeing my peers back home starting internships, I felt the FOMO and secured one in Germany myself. For six months, I worked, improved my German, and woke up at 5am to take the train—while my Erasmus friends enjoyed their mornings.

When I returned to Brazil, I graduated and started working as an engineer—at a company I absolutely hated. I was assigned to cost-saving projects, but my manager used all kinds of creative accounting to inflate the savings we were achieving. I constantly disagreed with what we were doing and felt frustrated that we weren’t using our time for something honest and impactful. I soon realized I was wasting my Engineering degree and started looking for something more fulfilling. That’s when I attended a women’s event at an MBB office and instantly fell in love with the idea of Consulting. I envisioned learning about various industries, constantly switching teams, and, of course, traveling and staying in fancy hotels (the dreams of a 25-year-old!). The case interview process convinced me even more, and when I got the offer, I was overjoyed.

My first project as a Business Analyst was with a company on the verge of bankruptcy, working alongside a team of Portuguese colleagues. It was tough—dealing with Legal VPs with 20+ years of experience while trying to keep up—but I loved my team and felt like I was learning so much. I was also living the glamorous Consulting lifestyle I’d imagined. As time passed, I worked on several projects across Brazil and the U.S., but once I mastered the Consulting skills, I began questioning the deeper purpose behind it all.

After proving myself as a Business Analyst, the company sponsored my MBA at INSEAD in France, and the experience was eye-opening. My classmates came from all over the world, with diverse backgrounds—architects, lawyers, musicians, you name it. While many aspired to join Consulting after their MBA, I couldn’t shake the feeling that what I was doing wasn’t as special as it seemed compared to my classmates’ unique paths. Still, I proudly wore the “Consultant” label—I even won the cohort award, ‘At MBB we do it like this.’

After my MBA, I returned to Consulting and relocated to Dubai. It was during the pandemic, and the already intense Consulting lifestyle became unbearable. With constant calls at all hours and no time for basic needs, my husband (also a Consultant) and I only saw each other at 3 a.m., despite working from the same apartment. We’d take turns having anxiety crises each week. When the pandemic eased and travel resumed, the project scope became even less meaningful and more disconnected from real life—endless “transformations” that weren’t transforming anything, or strategies for imaginary problems conjured up by C-levels to justify something to their Boards.

I started struggling with a lack of purpose and balance in my personal and professional life. I left Consulting and made the classic exit into the Tech Startup world. But because of my Consulting background, I only received offers for Strategy roles, working alongside other ex-Consultants. I quickly realized that leaving Consulting didn’t mean leaving the Consulting mindset. The same nonsense objectives, intense pressure, and lack of work-life balance followed me. It became clear that my frustration wasn’t just with Consulting, but with the entire fast-paced, highly competitive Corporate environment I had built my career around.

Then I became a mom, and everything came into sharp focus. The career I had worked so hard to build couldn’t align with the kind of mother I wanted to be. Returning to work three months postpartum was heart-wrenching. I would cry every day leaving my baby with the nanny, and spend my workdays pumping breast milk in the office bathroom. On top of that, I was assigned to a “super important and strategic project” meant to ‘show my impact’, but I was mentally and physically drained from postpartum exhaustion and sleepless nights. It was an extremely difficult time, and only my husband and I know the toll it took on my mental health. I knew I couldn’t continue like this. Being a mom is my favorite role in life, and I wanted a life where I could be present for my daughter while still using my time and knowledge to make a real difference.

I began my own coaching journey to rediscover my purpose and realized I wanted to help other parents—especially moms—who were facing similar struggles. For so long, I had followed the steps expected of me based on my background, but I rarely felt truly fulfilled.

This year, I made the leap to transition my career. It wasn’t easy—I was juggling an infant, a full-time job, coaching training, and the logistics of starting my own business, all while living abroad with limited support. But I did it. I’m incredibly proud to say that I’m now a full-time Career Coach.

The stories of my clients and the incredible potential they have to build careers that align with their lives and families inspire me every day. I genuinely believe that when we have a clear vision and purpose, and we work toward it, everything starts to flow, and we can achieve more than we ever imagined—I’m living proof of that. I’m now fulfilling a long-held dream of using my knowledge and skills to make a real impact on people’s lives, rather than just on slides.

That’s why I’m writing this article today. It’s not to complain about my past experiences—I’m grateful for all of them because they shaped who I am today. I’m sharing my journey to show that if you’re feeling lost or unfulfilled in your career, there is a way forward, and there is light at the end of the tunnel.