Why I quit my job, and what I'm doing next

You can take the girl outta the blog, but never the blog outta the girl.

Jun 02, 2025

A few weeks ago, I retired from my journalism career. And by that, I mean, I quit my job.

On election night, I worked in the city. I left the office around 10 p.m. to try to sleep before the early morning photo lead shift. I spent the night at a funny hotel in Midtown, barely sleeping, and finally getting up around 5 a.m. to approve the photo announcing his win. When my husband woke up alone at our house and saw the news, his first thought was that I would have to quit my job.

I started my career on the design team for the Hillary Clinton campaign, where, unbeknownst to me, I would begin a decade-long habit of typing “Donald Trump” into photo wire service sites. After the failed campaign, I got a longshot role at The New Yorker, commissioning article artwork in response to the news cycle. I then spent nearly seven years at NBC News—through two election cycles, impeachments, the Covid crisis, and every horrible thing in between.

The only career I have ever known, and almost a decade of my life, have revolved around the current president… It’s time for me to escape.

It’s bittersweet. I loved working in journalism. I went to school to become a graphic designer, and as graduation neared, I dreaded the thought of advertising agencies and UX jobs. I wanted to make things for the internet that people would read, and I found a happy home in media. I was lucky to have had the opportunities I did, and fortunate to have been mentored by people who believed in me as I advanced to a senior position and team leader.

And, while I’m young enough not to know the industry as anything different, it increasingly felt like I should get on the last helicopter out. I had good luck during a peculiar and precarious time in digital media, yet I struggled to see a stable future and myself being content within it.

Of course, I wonder if this decision is foolish. There appears to be a looming recession or economic upheaval at the very least. At the same time, I have a business plan and an overflowing stack of good ideas, along with enough deranged faith that, despite everything, this is the time for me to do this.

The dystopian news cycle played a significant role in my decision, but it was my journal that ultimately pushed me to leave my job. Unhappy, though not entirely sure why, I picked up a notebook and began writing. I found myself, in between rambling complaints, making lists of how I wanted to feel and how I wanted to spend my days.

What I realized was that I want more time in the margins. I am tired of the silliness of the 40-hour work week, the 90-minute round-trip commute, and my life not feeling like my own, even though I was lucky enough to be a worker who was adequately compensated and contributing to something as meaningful to the world as journalism. I kept joking that not having Christmas Eve off as a company holiday radicalized me, but it’s partially true. All this effort, all this company time, my time, my life—for what exactly?

Pretty soon, I found myself making plans in the journal. Suddenly, there was a date, a financial strategy, and a business plan. It’s time to do my own thing, but this time with the experience and perspective I've gained over the past decade in media.

Home Food, and now Saltine, reminded me that I have something to say.

Here’s what’s happening.

Home Food

The first is that Home Food is expanding

The impending climate crisis, the “MAHA” movement (I’ll never, actually, escape the man), and the discourse on ultra-processed foods are all intrinsically connected to a task we do every single day—cook meals. What I have been trying to do with Home Food is develop an ethos that engages with this reality in a practical, approachable way.

This approach will continue with two free newsletters and two paid newsletters each month. I'll also be offering a paid subscriber chat, where I’ll share recipe reviews, along with more exclusive perks available only to paid subscribers.

For paid subscribers, full access is $5/month or $50/year. However, for the next two weeks (until June 16), Home Food’s yearly subscriptions will be $40.

You can update your subscription here:

You’ll notice that the amount of free content will stay the same. This is important to me—new readers need to know what they’re getting behind the paywall. I also understand that it’s a challenging time on a global macroeconomic level and that subscription fatigue is a genuine concern. If you’re unable to upgrade at this time, I hope you continue to read and share Home Food. An email forward, a share on Instagram Stories, or wherever you might have an audience goes a long way for a newsletter like mine!

What’s coming up next on Home Food? My favorite books about food, guides on reducing single-use plastic in the kitchen, CSA diaries, and my favorite food-related YouTube channels.

The Home Food universe

Speaking of, I will launch a version of Home Food on YouTube in a few months. I’ve parked my account here if you’d like to subscribe. If you miss the pace and calm of the old internet, I think you’ll like what I hope to do on YouTube.

I have more Home Food schemes up my sleeves— a print zine! An SEO-friendly recipe site! More on that soon.

Saltine

I’ll be going all in on Saltine, my recently launched newsletter about fashion, interiors, and design. So far, I’ve written about shopping for wall hooks, the best free Google fonts, and a three-part series on my wedding.

For now, Saltine will mostly be unpaywalled. Over the past few years, I’ve felt that there’s a gap in the landscape for authentic and considered lifestyle recommendations (like the one I published the other week). I have so many Saltine ideas up my sleeve, and I can’t wait to share.

If you’d like to support my work on Saltine, there is a paid upgrade option. ❣️

Subscribe to Saltine

Everything else

I will be busy with all of the above, but I am open to part-time consulting opportunities during this transition!

I have a lot of experience with style guide development for brand editorial, social creative direction, commissioning and art directing illustration, and photo editing for magazines, newsletters, and news sites. If you’re a creative team with a freelance budget and no headcount, I might be your answer this year. You can reach out to me at hello@karahaupt.com or connect with me on LinkedIn. I have a menu of services and a portfolio available upon request.

The TLDR

😱 I quit my job.

🤑 Home Food is going paid—two newsletters will be paywalled, and two will be free each month. It costs $5 per month or $50 per year, but you’ll lock in at $40 if you subscribe within the next two weeks. You can upgrade your subscription here.

📺 Home Food YouTube coming 🔜. Subscribe here.

🧂 I’m going all in on Saltine, my other newsletter about fashion, design, and interiors. Please subscribe and share here!

😭 If you upgrade, or don’t, I would genuinely appreciate shares, forwards, or posts about Home Food and Saltine. I’ll update this page with links to my Instagram and LinkedIn posts if that’s easier to share.

THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU.

If you just stumbled upon this newsletter, get a taste of Home Food here: