Investment banker who quit to become a YouTuber made over $1 million

Personal finance YouTuber Nischa Shah quit her six-figure investment banking job to become a full-time content creator — and it was a gamble that paid off.

After working in banking for a decade, Shah became an associate director at Crédit Agricole in 2022, earning well over £200,000 ($256,000). However, the London-based banker was not satisfied with her career, she told CNBC Make It in an interview.

“It was about nine years into the corporate journey where I had this revelation that this isn’t fulfilling me, it’s not really challenging me, and it’s not intellectually stimulating,” she said. “I wanted to find a way to help other people whilst getting paid for it and what I was doing in banking was helping corporations, sovereign governments.”

She eventually reached a “rock bottom phase” about two-and-a-half years ago and decided to use a Law of Attraction planner — which involves manifesting goals and dreams — to reassess her life.

“I was thinking I want to change the course of my life,” she said. “This Law of Attraction planner had prompts or questions like ‘What would you do if money was not an issue?'”

Shah knew she had a passion for personal finance and making complex information accessible to everyone. She once helped her parents avoid a tax bill of around £14,000 when they were selling their home because their accountant had missed some key information.

“Just having a knowledge in personal finance can have such a huge impact on the money that’s going into your pocket,” she added.

Shah started dabbling with making YouTube videos about personal finance and self-development in December 2021 — and now has over 1 million subscribers on YouTube.

This success led her to quit her investment banking job in January — despite the fact she was due to receive a six-figure bonus two months later.

It was worth the risk. Shah is now earning over $1 million by monetizing her YouTube videos, selling courses and products, doing corporate talks, and partnering with brands.

“I’m making a lot more than I was in banking,” she said. “As a result of not chasing money anymore and just chasing what I’m good at, my passion, and what I really enjoy, it’s managed to surpass everything that I had before.”

Shah walked CNBC Make It through how she grew her YouTube channel and prepared to quit her investment banking job.

Shah’s videos cover topics ranging from “Money Habits Keeping You Poor” and “7 Passive Income Ideas,” to “How to invest your first $1000, and her videos receive anything between 100,000 to 9 million views. 

Loyal subscribers will be familiar with Shah’s no-nonsense approach, straightforward advice, and black turtleneck. But back in 2021, Shah’s YouTube account was merely a side hustle that she wasn’t taking very seriously.

“In June 2022, that all changed. Shah decided to start posting twice a week,…