Today I share my entrepreneur story. I am a clinical dietitian turned freelancer and (so far) I have no regrets after making this huge change!
For a fun twist in today’s episode, my life partner Nik will be leading this interview. He has a unique perspective because he watched me grow my business and supported my exit from my full-time job.
Season 2 Episode 20: RDs Who Quit Their Jobs To Pursue Freelancing Ft. Your Host & Nik!
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More Information About Julia (Me):
- I never thought I would be a clinical dietitian, I always wanted to land in public health
- I didn’t know what freelancing was until 2020
- I did not get into an internship after graduating, I got one in the following year
- I currently reside in Ontario Canada
I worked as a clinical primary care dietitian for three and a half years. I counselled patients all day and worked on a research project for the clinic.
During the pandemic, I fell in love with remote work and I did not want to go back to the office. It felt great to drop the morning commute to work and I felt like I could take better care of myself when I was at home. I regularly went for walks and I loved being more active. We started to cook a lot more at home because Nik and I both had the time and energy to do it.
I started to think “what Dietitian role could I have that would allow me to work from home without seeing patients”. I did a lot of research and I stumbled into the world of freelancing.
When I first started doing freelance projects I did not know that I would change my career path to pursue it full time.
I approached every job and every day with a “let’s just see how far I get” attitude. I think this served me well because I didn’t put too much pressure on myself and I enjoyed the change of routine compared to my daily workload.
Getting Serious About Freelancing
At some point, I started to get serious about freelancing. I think it was when I started to match my salary while working significantly fewer hours.
I took Ana Reisdorf’s freelance writing course for Dietitians and it was the best decision ever. It helped me achieve my goals faster than if I were to do everything on my own.
If any other dietitian is serious about freelance writing I highly recommend signing up for her course. I have an affiliate link you can access here.
I finished Ana’s course and I felt more knowledgeable about freelancing. Her journey was inspiring, and I felt certain that I could make a living from freelance work.
How Did It Feel To Quit Your Clinical Job?
It felt surreal and scary. I didn’t want to do it because I was scared that people would get mad at me.
The role I had was highly sought after and people had told me I would be crazy to leave a secure government job, but it didn’t feel like my dream job.
When I submitted my notice I immediately felt regret and then after a few hours I was shaky but more confident than ever that it was the right move. Many people at my workplace were surprised but they were supportive.
Do you want to hear more about your journey from clinical dietitian to a freelance dietitian? Hit play on the episode below.
Did you miss last week’s episode? No sweat. Click here to listen: RDs Who Quit Their Jobs To Pursue Freelancing Ft. Krista Ko, RD, MPH, MBA