US investment banker quits JPMorgan job, takes 50% pay cut to join MrBeast: 'Was working 100 hours each week'

Drawing on his own career shift, he advised younger workers to look beyond initial salaries and focus on gaining responsibility and expertise.

Bart Dziedzic, 27, said he had stepped away from a well-paid investment banking role at JPMorgan in early 2024 and accepted a 50% cut in earnings to join the operations of YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, widely known as MrBeast. He told Business Insider that leaving conventional finance for work in the creator sector had been one of the most satisfying choices he had made, after finding the demands of banking increasingly difficult to manage.

Dziedzic studied at Fordham University before joining JPMorgan Chase. He said the job routinely required 80 to 100 hours of work each week and that the pace of life in New York had gradually taken a toll. Describing how he viewed the trade-off between pay and time, he said: “If you break it down to the hourly rate, it’s not a ton of money. And the noise of the city was starting to wear on me.”

He learnt about the opportunity at MrBeast’s company through a venture capital partner involved in recruitment. The role involved relocating to Greenville, North Carolina, and accepting roughly half of what he had been earning in banking. He said the move also meant leaving behind long-standing personal networks. Even so, he chose to take the position because he felt it would allow him to contribute more directly, develop new skills, and have room to make decisions.

“I figured, I don't have a family or mortgage, and everyone knows the MrBeast name. I saw the opportunity to learn, add value, be part of a brand that is growing very rapidly, and have autonomy. That's the one thing I didn't like about JPMorgan — like any corporate job, it's too structured,” he added.

Looking back on that moment, he said: “In the worst-case scenario, I can come back. If nothing else, it’d be an experience in itself.”

During his time with the organisation, Dziedzic worked on a major video production with costs running into several million dollars. He later oversaw the planning and delivery of a temporary MrBeast theme park in Riyadh. He has since returned to New York and now works as manager of strategy and operations for the MrBeast holding company.

Drawing on his own career shift, he advised younger workers to look beyond initial salaries and focus on gaining responsibility and expertise. He said it becomes increasingly difficult to change direction as careers progress. Explaining his position, he said: “I’ve learned you shouldn’t optimise for salary in your 20s. You should build skills and experiences so you can make more money when you’re older or start your own thing.

"I would tell people out of college, take as much ownership as you can in something. Do something that’s exciting, risky, with a good leadership team behind you, where you can learn something. Because the further you get along in your career, the harder it will be to pivot.”