Florida has been great for our growing family, and living here has also given me the flexibility and opportunity to pursue my dream job in publishing.
Lauren Khan
Growing up in Florida, I always pictured a future in New York City.I attended law school in Manhattan, then worked my way up the corporate ladder after graduation. Big Law was never my dream, but it felt like a stable career path.Over time, though, I started realizing that working as a literary agent would be a much better fit for me. Every part of the job aligned with my skill set and passions — I've always had a sharp editorial eye, and I'd gained so many negotiation and client-management skills as a lawyer.While working full-time, I spent a year learning as much as I could about the publishing industry, until a workshop on becoming an agent stopped me in my tracks. I learned that the only way I could realistically make a career pivot was to become an intern or an assistant first.As a Big Law associate, though, there weren't enough hours in the day to tack on an internship, and I couldn't afford the risk of starting over as an assistant while saving for our new baby in one of the most expensive cities in the world.So, I took my husband out to lunch and broke the news: At 31, eight months pregnant with our first child, I was giving up on pursuing my dream job.Leaving New York City for my Florida hometown helped me pursue my dream career
