36-year-old quit 6-figure Wall Street job—now he earns $1,000 an hour working from home as a tutor: ‘More fulfilling than I ever could have imagined'

When Steve Menking started working on Wall Street in his early 20s, he thought he found a career for life.

Instead, shortly after his 25th birthday, Menking jokes that he had a "quarter-life crisis" while working as an equities trader at SMB Capital.

"I watched colleagues my age — or younger — excelling in their careers, but it was difficult for me to see people stay in the office until 1 a.m., and think that could be my future," Menking, 36, tells CNBC Make It. "It just wasn't the lifestyle for me." 

When he asked himself what kind of job would make him happy, the answer had nothing to do with banking or the stock market — he wanted to teach. 

"I worked as a teaching assistant and tutor in college and, reflecting on it later, I realized that teaching brought out a more patient, purpose-driven version of myself. It gave me a deep sense of meaning," he says. "I felt called to teach." 

In 2014, Menking made the switch from finance to full-time tutoring, thinking it would be an "equally meaningful, but less time-intensive" path into education than pursuing a second bachelor's degree to become a teacher.

Ten years later, that decision has paid off — in both career satisfaction and finances. In 2023, Menking earned more than $500,000 through private tutoring, a number he's on track to match in 2024.

On average, Menking works 20 to 25 hours per week from his home in Connecticut, where he lives with his wife and three children.

He's built a thriving career with two main income streams: contracting with Forum Education, a New York-based tutoring agency, and running his own online business, Menking Tutoring LLC, which he launched in 2020.

"It's been better and more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined," he says.

Here's how Menking left finance for a career in education — and found a job that pays six figures and allows him to work from home.

Building a six-figure tutoring career

After quitting his job in finance, Menking submitted his resume to dozens of tutoring agencies in New York and created a profile on Wyzant, an online tutoring marketplace. 

He set his rate at just under $100 an hour and leveraged his Wall Street credentials to carve out a niche helping high school and college students in math, finance and accounting.

As he gained more experience and referrals, Menking increased his rates on Wyzant and negotiated for a higher rate with the agencies he worked with. By 2017, he was earning about $150 an hour.

That same year, an acquaintance, Thomas Howell, the founder of Forum Education, reached out to Menking and encouraged him to work for the agency. That's when Menking's earning potential "really took off," he recalls.

After joining Forum — and its far-reaching network of schools, students and families — Menking's earnings more than doubled, from $95,000 to $200,000 a year.

He started working online with young people all over the U.S., including students at Ivy League universities like Princeton and Yale. Most of Menking's tutees are in high school or college.

Right now, he works with a dozen students, the majority of whom are undergraduates pursuing bachelor's degrees in finance or a related field.

He meets with most students at least once per week to help them work through practice problems ahead of a major exam, prepare for internship interviews and "demystify" some of the more complicated concepts introduced in college-level math courses.

Menking's current rate is about $1,000 an hour. 

When Menking isn't working with students one-on-one through Forum, he grows Menking Tutoring LLC, which provides online test prep courses and corporate training, like coaching entry-level investment banking analysts.

'An extraordinary work-life balance'

Menking's schedule isn't consistent. During the summer months, when schools are closed, he might work between 8 and 10 hours per week, but in the winter and spring, ahead of final exams, he works closer to 40 hours per week. 

He often works nights and weekends, as that's when most of his students are available — but he saves a few nights each week to have dinner with his family and play with his children. 

Some weeks might be more stressful than others — he might get stumped on a homework assignment or receive the occasional panicked middle-of-the-night email from a student— but overall, "being a private tutor has given me an extraordinary work-life balance," Menking adds.

Tutoring might be a lucrative side hustle, but if you're patient with the long hours and inconsistent earnings the job can bring, it can be a rewarding full-time career. 

"There's no substitute for waking up every day knowing you're serving others in a way that aligns with your unique expertise," says Menking. "It's a career that allows me to be creative, to serve others, and to be entrepreneurial. … I love it."

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