Author Topic: Young Mustchachian Needs Advice.  (Read 4555 times)

andy_o3

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Young Mustchachian Needs Advice.
« on: January 08, 2015, 01:09:02 PM »
Hello everyone, i am fairly new to the site and have read almost half off MMM's posts and i am having a little bit of a financial dilemma.

I graduated from college 2 years ago and soon after got a job where i am making about $90k! Not too bad right? The problem is i absolutely hate my job with all of my heart and soul. I love the thought of saving & investing toward an early retirement but i am no where near there.  I have a small savings, a small amount in my 401, and just purchased a couple index funds but i just don't know how much longer i can last working somewhere that i dread going to every day!

I would like to go back to school and study something that interests me instead of just going to school for what makes the most money (like i previously did because of my materialistic goals).  The problem with that is i don't get financial aid so I'm paying for school out of my own pocket and I've already calculated that school is going to cost me around 30k - 40k.  The second issue is that the careers i am very interested in start off paying around 40K - 50k.

Am i crazy to want to leave such a high paying job to enjoy work more?  I know this probably means a later retirement, saving less, and investing less but i just don't know what to do? Please help!

HappyHoya

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Re: Young Mustchachian Needs Advice.
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2015, 01:16:14 PM »
You don't necessarily need to go back to school to get a new job. You need to reflect on why you hate your job. Is it the field you are working in, your specific responsibilities, or something related to your specific employer or office? It's tough to imagine hating any job where even one of these aspects of your job was enjoyable to you, even if the goal is to have the best combination of all three things working out how you want them. There's a lot of middle ground between hating going to work every day and finding your life's passion. You might be perfectly content to be in a different role in your field, or be able to translate the specific tasks you do now to a different field.

Although I did go to grad school that was required to enter my field, and I'm happy for it, I am also glad I took time to work before grad school to explore multiple opportunities with the education I already had. For me, it was worth it to go back to school, but I am not sure how I would have made that conclusion without working several different jobs in my previous field first.

Good luck!

andy_o3

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Re: Young Mustchachian Needs Advice.
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2015, 01:26:03 PM »
Thank you for the quick response. The thing about my job is that it is a very specific role i am trained to do, so there isn't much room for trying different positions. What i hate about it is the field and also the tasks that someone in my line of work is required to do. My employer not so much. No complaints there. Its not so much that i don't like work because i love being productive its just the type of work. I don't want to get into specifics but i work in the medical field.

Future Lazy

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Re: Young Mustchachian Needs Advice.
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2015, 01:37:10 PM »
Is it possible to combine your passion career with your current career to jump start that "beginning salary"? If so, that would be my goal.

Have you read any of Early Retirement Extreme? It might help put what is possible with a truly frugal lifestyle in perspective. As in, have your cake (50k starting salary at job you enjoy more) and eat it too (still save for FIRE aggressively).

FLBiker

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Re: Young Mustchachian Needs Advice.
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2015, 01:45:55 PM »
It depends on the field, but a lot of graduate degrees in the humanities offer teaching assistantships.  For example, when I did my MA, I taught 2 classes a semester and had my tuition covered, plus a small stipend for expenses.  To be honest, I don't remember what it was -- maybe $14-20K per year?  I was living in Honolulu, which isn't cheap, but it wasn't too expensive, either.  I had a studio for ~$800 per month, no car, and used some savings to make up the difference.

Personally, I wouldn't spend actual money on a degree unless I knew 1) it was going to get me a job and 2) I would like that job.  When I went back to school, I'd already worked in the field for 5 years so I knew what I was getting into.

andy_o3

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Re: Young Mustchachian Needs Advice.
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2015, 01:46:44 PM »
Unfortunately they are completely un related.  That starting salary is something i cannot change. I have not read that but i think i will, thank you for the tip!  I guess what i am afraid of is that i will be sabotaging my chances at an early retirement  because of the price of school and also the 50% pay cut i will take.

andy_o3

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Re: Young Mustchachian Needs Advice.
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2015, 01:50:32 PM »
@FLBiker

The thing is the field i am interested in requires a specific degree to practice. I would be going back to school for reason "2) i would like that job."

Future Lazy

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Re: Young Mustchachian Needs Advice.
« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2015, 01:56:56 PM »
Unfortunately they are completely un related.  That starting salary is something i cannot change. I have not read that but i think i will, thank you for the tip!  I guess what i am afraid of is that i will be sabotaging my chances at an early retirement  because of the price of school and also the 50% pay cut i will take.

Take a look at a lot of the case studies on here. Many couples only bring in 50-60k per year, have children, dogs, houses... And are still well on their way to FIRE, with plenty of room to cut back expenses and push more toward savings. Making 90k a year and living on 20k a year might mean FIRE in much less time, but if you're happy with 15-17 years to FIRE in exchange for not hating your job, then go for it!

MMM and family live in about 2-2.5k/mo, and that would be closer to 3.5k/mo if a mortgage were still involved. I mention ERE only to show his expenses of 7k per year for one person in a high COL area (San Fran), including the cost of hobbies. Become an excellent budgeter, flex your frugality muscles, and it won't matter much how 'little' you earn.

Being young is our biggest advantage. We have a lot more time to reap the benefits of good decisions, even if it takes some initial investment to reach escape velocity, like extra education.

marty998

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Re: Young Mustchachian Needs Advice.
« Reply #8 on: January 08, 2015, 02:04:32 PM »
Give us more details about the jobs so we can help you. Saying that it's "it's a very specific role that I am trained to do" does not help us help you.

How did you wind up in a 90k job doing something you didn't want to do? What made you apply for it in the first place? WHat is it about the tasks that you hate/loathe? I've always found that doing horrible tasks with a good group of colleagues /workplace actually makes those horrible tasks palatable. What makes jobs bad is bad people, not bad tasks.

And yes cutting your salary in half is very bad for FI at this point in your life.

Put it this way. If your living costs are $20k and your salary is $45k, that means you can save $25k. If your salary is 90k (a 100% increase) then you can save 70k - a 280% increase in yearly savings. (Ignoring tax, assuming no lifestyle inflation etc).

You can still get there on the lower salary, but we can't pretend that it would be quicker or easier.

MrSapolio

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Re: Young Mustchachian Needs Advice.
« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2015, 05:00:45 PM »
1 – You can't guarantee that you'll have a good experience going back attending to classes;

2 – You can’t guarantee that you’ll end up enjoying your new job;

3 – After quitting you 90K job you can start focusing about how good was making and saving all that money and the job wasn’t so bad after all. Can you control yourself?

4 – We as humans can adapt to different environments, as bad as they can appear. Sometimes you need to spend some time in that position to make an unbiased judgment.

Anyway, I think it is important at some point to decide if you want your work to be your life or if you think of work as something you do to supplement your life (i.e. money and resources). If it is the former then maybe you should think about quitting. If it is the latter then you are probably good where you are and should just settle into the idea that work will be boring, but that you will have great opportunities to do things with your friends and family (go out, vacation, etc.).

MrMoogle

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Re: Young Mustchachian Needs Advice.
« Reply #10 on: January 09, 2015, 01:33:19 PM »
It's definitely a personal choice. 

Using the examples other people have mentioned: living on 20k with 90k income and 20k on 45k.  The first example gets you FI in less than 7 years.  The second in 14 years, plus school time, assuming you have nothing now. 

I am 8 years into my career, and honestly, there are few careers I would enjoy more than this one.  But with just 8 years, it feels like a grind.  So, even if the new career is perfect for you, it will get tiring eventually.  Having to work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, feels constraining, no matter what the job.  For me a job change will help a lot, but keeping busy outside of work helps the most. 

If you hate the career, you can move on.  If it's just discomfort, you'll find it in any career.  Acknowledge it, and push yourself to overcome.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!