When Andrew Ringler graduated from Michigan State University in 2019 with a finance degree, he expected to spend his career in equity research. Instead, his finance to roofing pivot has led him to co-own Pilot Roofing, a Michigan-based company. The 29-year-old says he has no regrets about leaving the corporate world behind.
A summer job that changed everything
Ringler had lined up a consulting role after graduation, but it didn’t start until August. Rather than spend the summer idle, he asked a college roommate who worked in roofing sales for help finding a job. That temporary gig turned into something more. He worked hard and found he enjoyed the pace of the industry.
Commission payments in roofing often arrive months after a sale is completed. By late September, checks from his summer work were still coming in, and Ringler noticed that his roofing income was outpacing what he would earn in consulting. The realization planted a seed.
Weighing two very different worlds
His consulting job kept him in a cubicle, often for ten-hour days despite official hours of 9 to 5. Roofing sales, by contrast, let him set his own schedule as a 1099 contractor. He could be outside on a sunny June day instead of arriving and leaving the office in darkness. He got approval to keep selling roofs on the side, and the arrangement worked well because he was willing to put in long hours.
In summer 2020, Ringler decided to leave finance for good. He had read enough about risk and business to believe that youth is the time to take a chance. With no family or major responsibilities, he felt he could bet on himself.
Family and friends needed convincing
The decision surprised many people in his life. Friends and mentors in finance questioned why he would leave a company many considered a dream employer. His father, a CPA and financial adviser, was initially hesitant too. The corporate role offered security, benefits, and 401(k) matching—the kind of stability parents hope for. Ringler shared his goals and early success in roofing before making the change, but it still took six months to a year for people to come around.
He sometimes sensed that people judged him differently because of his career choice. Rather than shrink from that, he used it as motivation to prove he had made the right call.
From sales to ownership
For the first six months of full-time roofing work, Ringler kept the idea of returning to finance in the back of his mind. But success came year after year, and he kept going. He could work as much as he wanted—sometimes 80 to 90 hours a week—and his income reflected the effort in a way his finance salary had not. The work also gave him early experience in leadership and mentoring.
Last year, Ringler split from the roofing company he had been with for more than six years. He now co-owns Pilot Roofing with two other owners. The company has three full-time employees and is hiring.
A different kind of daily work
As an owner, Ringler still does plenty of data analysis and spreadsheet work, but much of his day involves customers and community. He grew up in the area and values treating customers, insurance adjusters, and employees as friends. He finds blue-collar interactions more casual than the white-collar world, where early-career relationship building felt stiff and rule-bound. Talking about the Detroit Lions or a customer’s son’s baseball team comes more naturally.
The lifestyle is more flexible—he can travel and see friends and family when he wants—but it also brings unpredictability. Weather, material availability, and material prices are constant variables outside his control. Finance was structured and controlled by comparison. Ringler says the obstacles are what make the work exciting.
Pushing back on the stigma
When people ask what he does, Ringler notices less interest than when he described himself as a financial consultant. He believes the trades carry an unfair stigma, as if working in roofing signals a lack of education or professional success. He takes pride in challenging that assumption. To him, success is not defined by sitting behind a desk or holding a certain title.
He sees strong opportunities in roofing, heating and cooling, and plumbing—jobs that will always be needed. Young people willing to work hard can build rewarding careers, he says, and the industry is full of talented, successful people. The path is not for everyone, but for Ringler it has been deeply rewarding. He misses nothing about the corporate environment.
Prestige, he has learned, and personal fulfillment are not the same thing.
