From Finance to Wildlife Conservation: Why One Career Pivot Felt Worth the Risk

Alex Blumenfeld writes that investment banking initially looked like the challenging launchpad she wanted after college. But after nearly two years focused on execution, tight deadlines, and pressure, she realized the work was not shaping her into the person she hoped to become.

The turning point was a direct question about fulfillment and priorities. Her answer moved away from compensation and prestige and toward meaningful relationships, impact, and work connected to people, animals, or ecosystems.

Blumenfeld spent months researching and applying for wildlife-conservation roles around the world. She ultimately landed a fundraising and strategy position at a science-based conservation and community outreach nonprofit in southeastern Zimbabwe.

In summer 2025, after reaching two years in finance, she quit investment banking and moved to Africa. Her excitement outweighed fear, even though she had not been to Zimbabwe before and was leaving behind family, friends, and New York City.

Nearly a year after the move, Blumenfeld describes a life centered on a wildlife reserve rather than a midtown high-rise. She lives in a small thatched cottage, encounters animals near her home, and works alongside ecologists, researchers, wildlife managers, and community leaders.

Her role now includes telling conservation stories, curating support, and raising funding for the organization’s efforts. The contrast is sharp: the setting may sound stressful from the outside, but she writes that she has never felt more at peace.

The move has not removed difficulty from work or life. Blumenfeld cites limited local resources, high autonomy, less structure, distance from loved ones, and time-zone differences as challenges of living and working on a wildlife reserve.

Her key takeaway is that not every hard path creates the right kind of growth. She remains grateful for finance because it taught discipline and resilience, but she now defines a worthwhile challenge as one that helps her become the person she wants to be.