I am a former tax accountant
That's right, my first degree was a double major in accounting and finance. I had an internship in Kimberly-Clark's tax department for about a year and 9 months, and somehow I didn't realize I really didn't want to do accounting until the month before graduation. Of course, as an accounting major, I was in year 5 since 150 credits are required to sit for the CPA exam. I figured I may as well give it a chance and, in the meantime, figure out what I actually wanted to do.
Problem Solving: Good | Accounting: Bad
Maybe 2.5 years later, my wife suggested I look into graphic design. I researched everything I could about it, read forums, and decided it sounded like a good move. I enrolled part-time at Drake University to see if it was something I would enjoy while I worked full-time. My first two classes were 3D Design and an Adobe software class (Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign—I can't recall the actual name of the class). I loved it, and it actually made work more enjoyable even though I was working about 45 hours a week, sitting in class 9 hours a week, and working on projects on the weekends.
I quit my accounting job that August, and I continued mostly part-time to finish my graphic design degree over the next two years. I started my original college degree majoring in computer science, so I thought the web side of things, where I could also code, would interest me more. Luckily, my first job was a dual role as a web/graphic designer.
Hello Seattle
My wife's contract with the USDA was ending, so we had the opportunity to leave Iowa (where we had moved so she could attend law school and we had no family). We chose Seattle for our want to live in a bigger city while having access to nature and its progressiveness. We moved to Seattle about four months after making that decision, and we haven't looked back.