I had the same college experience. Graduated in 2001 with a 2.8 but was deeply passionate about my first startup job while working as a senior.

After two decades in the startup world and a couple of exits, I realized the value of "enough." Broke free from the golden handcuffs and decided to teach at my alma mater.

With my work experience, the university allowed me to teach without a Masters. I'm currently enrolled in a Masters program and loving it. I now treat school with the same care and interest I treated work. Plus I get to enjoy more time with my 2-year old daughter.

Caring for a child during the day (unless I'm teaching) leaves me only her sleeping hours to lesson plan and to attend to my grad school workload. Surprisingly, I've never been so exhausted in my life, and yet, I feel much more fulfilled.

I taught for the past 3 semesters on a volunteer, unpaid basis. This proved to me I would do this work for free. I start full-time as a clinical professor in the fall.