How to handle professional development?

[als1982]

I'm a bit of a newb so forgive me if there's an existing post about this... But I'm wondering about how to handle professional development, my employer's investment in leadership courses and expressing my attitude and MMM beliefs during those courses.

Background: I'm 34 and married.  We recently paid off our student loans and are working on having our house paid off by 2020 (at the latest).  In the meantime, we're also maxing out all available retirement accounts.  In total, we put 65% of our income towards debt or savings in one way or another.

I would personally like to retire or become underemployed as soon as we have the house paid off.  I've been fortunate to climb the ladder at work and am currently a Director with several employees.  My company is generous to send me to leadership and development classes, which have posed a quandary... While I want to do the best job I can now and be the best boss I can be, work is the opposite of my long term objective and is simply a means to an end.  With this in mind, how should I handle these courses and other development opportunities, especially when they ask about my goals?  I hate lying, but the truth is, I really don't want to be working in a high level professional capacity past 40.

[Jammu]

Life can be unpredictable. Your goal may be FIRE but lots can happen. We worked a couple extra years after the financial crisis. The money was good and some relatives needed help. So you don't know exactly how your plan will play out. You can be honest about using your opportunities to be the best today, and not worry so much about the future.

Employers know their development efforts often are for nothing. They could be developing the next VP of a competitor. Or we had a good prospect once leave to become a massage therapist.  You don't know.

When you get closer you may need to reassess. But for now get as much as you can put of the opportunities available to you.

Good luck!

[Fishindude]

You can just about always take something away from one of those training courses that will help you in your job or life.   If they feel that is a good investment, I'd just go along with it and try to be the best you can be at your job while working there. 

You can be honest about your goals without laying all of your cards on the table during management meetings.  I'd be pretty impressed by an employee that had a goal if being financially independent by age 40.   

[Schaefer Light]

When you get to a point where you don't want the next promotion, answering questions about career goals becomes very difficult.  I'd probably give them a "non-answer" answer.  Something along the lines of "right now, I'm just focused on being the best director/manager/employee I can be" or "the future is unpredictable, and I want to be prepared for any opportunities that may present themselves".

[goalphish2002]

I wouldn't feel bad about it.  You are currently a Director, and the education provided can help you currently with your staff- therefore it is worth it for your employer. 

[asauer]

Consider that what you're learning now you can immediately apply towards "being the best boss you can be" now.  Additionally, this is material you can use to develop leadership in those who work for you.

[ysette9]

I don't have much to add but am interested in this question because I have been struggling with exactly the same thing. We hope to be done by 2020 as well and I am on a great career trajectory at work. They put me in a development program and even provided me with an HR coach. Part of me feels bad because they are investing all of this in me and get my goals are to sock away as much money as possible to be able to walk away as early as possible.

Part of the discussion I had with my husband last night was getting comfortable with the idea of not living up to our full potential. To get to these places in life we have always worked as hard as possible, taken on the challenges, and all that jazz. To FIRE is to step away from a productive career before we have achieved all we can. That goes contrary to everything that got us here. I personally need to do more self reflection to get comfortable with the idea. In the meantime, my policy at work is to not close doors to any opportunities prematurely. That means going along with the coaching and the development program. I'll take new assignments if they don't conflict with my personal life but I am not going to prematurely put the brakes on now and coast for the next three years. Who knows what can change in that time?

[GuitarStv]

I don't have much to add but am interested in this question because I have been struggling with exactly the same thing. We hope to be done by 2020 as well and I am on a great career trajectory at work. They put me in a development program and even provided me with an HR coach. Part of me feels bad because they are investing all of this in me and get my goals are to sock away as much money as possible to be able to walk away as early as possible.

Part of the discussion I had with my husband last night was getting comfortable with the idea of not living up to our full potential. To get to these places in life we have always worked as hard as possible, taken on the challenges, and all that jazz. To FIRE is to step away from a productive career before we have achieved all we can. That goes contrary to everything that got us here. I personally need to do more self reflection to get comfortable with the idea. In the meantime, my policy at work is to not close doors to any opportunities prematurely. That means going along with the coaching and the development program. I'll take new assignments if they don't conflict with my personal life but I am not going to prematurely put the brakes on now and coast for the next three years. Who knows what can change in that time?

It's important to remember that you're not going to stop living to your full potential when you retire . . . you're going to use your full potential to benefit yourself rather than a soulless corporate overlord.  You should still plan to work as hard as possible, take on new challenges, and all that jazz.

[ysette9]

Perhaps you are right, but I am not there mentally yet. At this stage in the game I want the option to quit so I can have ME time and time for my family and time for all the fun stuff I miss out on by being at work all day. That all feels very selfish to me. I may, in time, find myself doing things to help others (Habitat for Humanity and teaching financial literacy to adults sounds appealing; naturally we'll spend even more time raising our fantastic kid) but that isn't the primary driver here.

In my husband's case I see what you are saying being much more directly true. Currently he designs pretty toys for the middle class that end up in the landfill a few years later. He could directly apply his skills to actually doing some good in the world if he didn't need a paycheck.

[Stimpy]

 

I'm a bit of a newb so forgive me if there's an existing post about this... But I'm wondering about how to handle professional development, my employer's investment in leadership courses and expressing my attitude and MMM beliefs during those courses.

Ask your self if what they are teaching is something you're interested in pursuing and I don't mean at the job, I mean it's helpful in life in general.  Those are the professional developments that are truly worth investing in, as it is for your betterment, not some (BS) goal of the company. 

Also, the more you know, the better off you are in general!  So even though you have your goal (FIRE), these classes might be worth it, just to expand your knowledge.  Who knows what you might take from them and use outside your job.

[Rubyvroom]

Perhaps you could think ahead to the type of things you would want to do after retirement and there may be some synergies there between what you do now and what you want to do after you retire. That way you could still mention goals and still come across as an ambitious person, but that strategy allows you to be less specific about the fact that these goals don't include that specific workplace.

For example, if you want to retire and travel, say you have an interest in learning new languages and cultures. Maybe they'll put you in a cultural diversity training class, which helps you both at work and in retirement.

As a side note, be sure none of the offerings tie you to working there beyond your retirement timeline. You still have 6 years, so it's probably not as much of a concern now, but as you get closer to retirement you may want to be more careful with that. I think I'm on a 4-5 year timeline and my employer offered college coursework with a 2 year contract (you can quit at any time but you'd have to pay back the tuition). Since I'm on a 4-5 year timeline, a 2 year contract was fine by me, but I'll think twice about that as I get closer to the end of working.

Also, don't feel bad for "only" staying 6 more years... that's a long timeline by today's standards. Having an employee you can count on for 6 years is worth the investment IMO.

[als1982]

I don't have much to add but am interested in this question because I have been struggling with exactly the same thing. We hope to be done by 2020 as well and I am on a great career trajectory at work. They put me in a development program and even provided me with an HR coach. Part of me feels bad because they are investing all of this in me and get my goals are to sock away as much money as possible to be able to walk away as early as possible.

Part of the discussion I had with my husband last night was getting comfortable with the idea of not living up to our full potential. To get to these places in life we have always worked as hard as possible, taken on the challenges, and all that jazz. To FIRE is to step away from a productive career before we have achieved all we can. That goes contrary to everything that got us here. I personally need to do more self reflection to get comfortable with the idea. In the meantime, my policy at work is to not close doors to any opportunities prematurely. That means going along with the coaching and the development program. I'll take new assignments if they don't conflict with my personal life but I am not going to prematurely put the brakes on now and coast for the next three years. Who knows what can change in that time?

It's important to remember that you're not going to stop living to your full potential when you retire . . . you're going to use your full potential to benefit yourself rather than a soulless corporate overlord.  You should still plan to work as hard as possible, take on new challenges, and all that jazz.

I get what you mean, but I work for a children's charity, so the soulless corporate overlord argument is moot in this instance.  :)

[als1982]

Thanks everyone - lots of great advice here!