Leaving a career you're good at is harder than leaving one that isn't working. Ryan Sullivan was a successful mechanical engineer who built a department from scratch — and then chose to walk away and start over. This episode is about that decision, what it took, and what he's built on the other side.

Ryan joins Bryce to talk about career transitions, financial autonomy, and what it looks like to build a life by design instead of by default. He works exclusively with architects and engineers, which means he understands the mindset of someone who's been trained to solve complex problems — and he applies that same precision to financial and business planning. This is not a generic money conversation. It's about using financial clarity as a tool for making better career and life decisions.

This episode is for AEC professionals at any stage who are wondering whether their financial position is actually giving them options — or quietly taking them away.

About Ryan Sullivan: Ryan Sullivan, PE is the founder and principal wealth engineer of Off the Beaten Path Financial. He began his career as a mechanical engineer, built an engineering department from the ground up, and transitioned into financial and business planning to serve architects and engineers specifically. Ryan combines engineering precision with dynamic investment strategy to help clients build resilient financial plans that give them freedom and flexibility to live life on their terms. Learn more at [Off the Beaten Path Financial URL — confirm with Ryan].

What We Cover:

• Ryan's background in mechanical engineering and what led him to leave

• The decision to become a financial advisor and what that transition actually looked like

• Why he chose to focus exclusively on architects and engineers

• Cash flow as the foundation of financial health — what that means in practice

• Aligning money with purpose — and why that's different from standard financial planning

• How engineering precision translates into dynamic, adaptive investment strategy

• What financial autonomy actually looks like for AEC professionals

• The right fit question — how to know when to stay on a path and when to leave it

• Where to find Ryan and how to work with him

Key Takeaways:

• Leaving a career that works is a different kind of hard — it requires clarity about what you're moving toward, not just what you're leaving

• Cash flow is the foundation; everything else — freedom, flexibility, options — gets built on top of it

• A financial plan that doesn't account for what you want your life to look like isn't a plan, it's a spreadsheet

• AEC professionals are well-positioned to think in systems — applying that to personal finance changes outcomes

• True financial autonomy means money stops making your decisions for you

Resources + Links:

• Off the Beaten Path Financial: https://www.obpfinancial.com/

• Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-sullivan-pe/