I Quit My Corporate Job To Become A Seamstress At Yellowstone National Park
Zoe de la Paz, a 26-year-old seamstress, quit her $75,000/year corporate job as a mechanical designer in Chicago to pursue her passion for sewing at Yellowstone National Park, where she earns $19.25/hour with $96/month rent. She demonstrates that a fulfilling creative career is achievable by building an unconventional path, supported by low living costs and meaningful work connected to nature.
Summary
Zoe de la Paz shares her journey from corporate burnout to a fulfilling career as a seamstress at Yellowstone National Park. At 26 years old, she previously worked as a mechanical designer in Chicago earning $75,000 annually, but found the work unfulfilling as it lacked emotional connection and kept her behind a computer all day. Recognizing she was approaching burnout, she began exploring the art world by working part-time at a local nightclub and music venue while maintaining her corporate job. Her break came when she did freelance sewing work for The Weeknd's wardrobe team, which ignited her passion and led her to realize she wanted the creative life more than corporate stability.
Her current situation at Yellowstone showcases an alternative lifestyle model. She lives in employee housing in Mammoth Village with a roommate at just $96/month, pays $359/month for meal plans providing access to multiple dining facilities, and earns $19.25/hour mending and tailoring uniforms for park employees. Despite earning significantly less hourly than her previous role, she considers it worthwhile given her location in one of the world's most beautiful places and the emotional fulfillment her work provides. She has built $11,000 in savings and takes advantage of employee perks including low-cost activities like a $4 full moon hike and $6 bus trips to nearby attractions.
Zoe's approach to the creative career path challenges the "starving artist" stereotype. She emphasizes that creative careers don't follow a traditional "yellow brick road" but rather require building your own path. Her work involves technical skill and meditation-like focus as she repairs buttons, snaps, and hems up to 40 pairs of pants daily. She taught herself sewing starting at age 14 through cosplay in her grandmother's basement, developing technical proficiency without formal training. Her decision to leap into this unknown, inspired by the quote "Leap and the net will appear," has proven successful, and she plans to continue her seamstress career in LA or New York after her Yellowstone contract ends in September.
About this episode
Less than six months ago, Zoe De La Paz, 26, was splitting an apartment with a roommate in Chicago and earning about $75,000 a year as a mechanical designer for an engineering firm. But she was feeling creatively unfulfilled and was looking for a way out. Today, she lives in Mammoth Village in Yellowstone National Park, where she works as a seamstress. She says she is living what she considers a dream life and working a job she truly loves. This is an installment of CNBC Make It's Millennial Money series, which profiles people across the globe and details how they earn, spend and save their money. Produced by: Tasia Jensen Editor: Marisa Forziati Camera: Lucas Mullikin Managing Producer: Beatriz Bajuelos Animators: Christina Locopo, Alisa Stern Senior Production Manager: Kathy Mavrikakis Additional Footage: Getty Images, Zoe De La Paz Subscribe to CNBC Make It.: http://cnb.cx/2kxl2rf Watch CNBC on the go with CNBC+: https://www.cnbc.com/WatchCNBCPlus About CNBC Make It.: CNBC Make It. is a new section of CNBC dedicated to making you smarter about managing your business, career, and money. Want to lead with confidence and bring out the best in your team? Take CNBC's new online course, How To Be A Standout Leader. Expert instructors share practical strategies to help you build trust, communicate clearly and motivate other people to do their best work. Sign up today: https://cnb.cx/4bWNJqg Connect with CNBC Make It. Online Get the latest updates: https://www.cnbc.com/make-it Find CNBC Make It. on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBCMakeIt Find CNBC Make It. on Twitter: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBCMakeIt Find CNBC Make It. on Instagram: https://bit.ly/InstagramCNBCMakeIt Find CNBC Make It. On LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/MakeItLinkedIn #CNBC #CNBCMakeIt #MillennialMoney I Quit My Corporate Job To Become A Seamstress At Yellowstone National Park
Key Insights
- Zoe was earning $75,000/year as a mechanical designer but found the corporate work emotionally unfulfilling because it lacked connection to what she cared about, whereas her current seamstress role at lower hourly pay provides the emotional fulfillment that makes the trade-off worthwhile.
- Zoe discovered her sewing opportunity through The Weeknd's wardrobe team by literally writing her name and number on a note at a breakfast line, demonstrating how direct, personal networking in the creative industry can lead to professional opportunities that corporate job postings wouldn't provide.
- Zoe argues that creative careers are possible without being a 'starving artist' because the path is built individually rather than following a predetermined structure, making it more fulfilling as an end result despite lacking the laid-out clarity of corporate progression.
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] I do think it's possible to work in a creative field without falling under the title of a starving artist. The path is not as laid out yellow brick road style as it is like a corporate career. It really is something that you build for yourself. But I also think that that's why, as an end result, that the path of an artist is such a fulfilling one. My name is Zoe de la Paz. I'm 26 years old. My rent is $96 a month. I make $19.25 an hour, and I live and work as a seamstress in Yellowstone National Park. [0:31] So I live in Yellowstone Park in Wyoming, but I work in Montana. Living and…
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