I quit my job at Google to follow my dream of making electronic music

Mackenzie Young left his job at Google to pursue a career in electronic music. Courtesy of Mackenzie Young

In 2025, Mackenzie Young took a buyout from his job working as a software engineer at Google.

He liked working in software, though over time he grew interested in pursuing a career in music.

Young, now 26, attended an electronic music festival and thought, "This is what I want to do."

Mackenzie Young , 26, lives in White Lake Township, Michigan, and quit his job as a software engineer at Google in May 2025 to pursue a career in music. Business Insider has verified his identity. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Coming out of college, I was really gung-ho about what I was doing in software and was excited to learn more. Then I got involved in the electronic music scene and fell in love with it and the people.

Growing up, I played piano, violin, guitar, and other string instruments.…