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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: mohawkbrah on September 20, 2015, 09:37:24 AM

Title: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: mohawkbrah on September 20, 2015, 09:37:24 AM
So im a strong ERE follower (see sig for details)and i've been thinking of leaving college in my first couple weeks since career wise nursing doesn't really fit with me and i don't like the thought of spending 5 more years of my life in education not earning money towards my FI date.

So assuming i can get a 2nd part time job to get me up to a 30 hour work week i can get enough savings within 5-7 years to retire with a 4% withdrawal rate anyway. So is my thought process okay? i do plan on sticking in my course until i can get another job but deep down i know im not interested in a long term career and want to be FI asap.

even with my one part time job at the moment investing it all or 90% of it while living with parents i can get pretty close to FI in 8 years (unlikely my parents would be happy with this lol, but house prices are darn expensive)
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: LAGuy on September 20, 2015, 09:52:53 AM
Well, a degree program certainly isn't for everyone. Especially here in the States where you have to factor in a certain amount of student debt. However, I do think you need to be "something." An electrician. A plumber. A bookkeeper. Don't just be some low wage flunky working retail.

Next, I think you need to reconsider your ERE goals. 4k pounds a year? I assume that's still living with the parents. You may not enjoy that for the rest of your life. I wager your parents won't much like a layabout child that's not working either. Plus, and I hate to say this and be "that guy" but you're still really young. You don't know where life will really take you yet. Maybe you'll meet someone? Want to have a family. You're not exactly going to be popular on the dating circuit with that kind of income.

In short, if nursing isn't for you. Don't do it. But, do/be something.
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: mohawkbrah on September 20, 2015, 09:54:42 AM
Well, a degree program certainly isn't for everyone. Especially here in the States where you have to factor in a certain amount of student debt. However, I do think you need to be "something." An electrician. A plumber. A bookkeeper. Don't just be some low wage flunky working retail.

Next, I think you need to reconsider your ERE goals. 4k pounds a year? I assume that's still living with the parents. You may not enjoy that for the rest of your life. I wager your parents won't much like a layabout child that's not working either. Plus, and I hate to say this and be "that guy" but you're still really young. You don't know where life will really take you yet. Maybe you'll meet someone? Want to have a family. You're not exactly going to be popular on the dating circuit with that kind of income.

In short, if nursing isn't for you. Don't do it. But, do/be something.

sorry should've mentioned the expenses include a cheap house that's paid off (i've seen houses in wales go for 25-50k) or a house with a low mortgage but having lodgers in the spare rooms (i don't mind having room-mates)
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: Jakejake on September 20, 2015, 10:23:03 AM
even with my one part time job at the moment investing it all or 90% of it while living with parents i can get pretty close to FI in 8 years (unlikely my parents would be happy with this lol, but house prices are darn expensive)
I'm not sure what your current salary is, but it seems unlikely that you would be able to save 90% of your salary while contributing an appropriate amount of household expenses. You're an adult at this point and not expecting parents to pay your share of utilities, food, property taxes, rent/mortgage, right?
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: Zamboni on September 20, 2015, 10:35:13 AM
If you really follow ERE on Jacob's site or have read his book, then you know how important he thinks it is important to be self sufficient in a jack of all trades kind of way. So, it does seem like learning plumbing and/or electrical work could really be handy, especially if you plan to own a low end house (which tend to be fixer uppers.) Good luck!
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: music lover on September 20, 2015, 10:36:01 AM
Well, a degree program certainly isn't for everyone. Especially here in the States where you have to factor in a certain amount of student debt. However, I do think you need to be "something." An electrician. A plumber. A bookkeeper. Don't just be some low wage flunky working retail.

Next, I think you need to reconsider your ERE goals. 4k pounds a year? I assume that's still living with the parents. You may not enjoy that for the rest of your life. I wager your parents won't much like a layabout child that's not working either. Plus, and I hate to say this and be "that guy" but you're still really young. You don't know where life will really take you yet. Maybe you'll meet someone? Want to have a family. You're not exactly going to be popular on the dating circuit with that kind of income.

In short, if nursing isn't for you. Don't do it. But, do/be something.

sorry should've mentioned the expenses include a cheap house that's paid off (i've seen houses in wales go for 25-50k) or a house with a low mortgage but having lodgers in the spare rooms (i don't mind having room-mates)

Most people don't mind lodgers or room mates when they are young. However, that often changes when they are older.

By the way...you really won't be FI if you need shared accommodations to make it work. Take them in to generate income, but earn enough so that it's not required.
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: pbkmaine on September 20, 2015, 10:41:28 AM
 If you have already paid the fees, I suggest you invest a semester, take courses that interest you and might have a positive return (STEM or business), and see what things look like at the end of the term.
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: ShortInSeattle on September 20, 2015, 10:51:00 AM
Well, a degree program certainly isn't for everyone. Especially here in the States where you have to factor in a certain amount of student debt. However, I do think you need to be "something." An electrician. A plumber. A bookkeeper. Don't just be some low wage flunky working retail.

Next, I think you need to reconsider your ERE goals. 4k pounds a year? I assume that's still living with the parents. You may not enjoy that for the rest of your life. I wager your parents won't much like a layabout child that's not working either. Plus, and I hate to say this and be "that guy" but you're still really young. You don't know where life will really take you yet. Maybe you'll meet someone? Want to have a family. You're not exactly going to be popular on the dating circuit with that kind of income.

In short, if nursing isn't for you. Don't do it. But, do/be something.

+1
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: mohawkbrah on September 22, 2015, 08:35:10 AM
feel like giving this a bump
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: La Bibliotecaria Feroz on September 22, 2015, 04:50:56 PM
Nursing's a tough career even if your heart is in it. Yours doesn't seem to be, so do something else.

But I agree--do SOMETHING. I'm a librarian; I love my job so much that I would do it for free if I was FI. For a few years, I was nothing. I wasn't even a stay at home mom per se, because I had part-time child care and worked a dead-end job from home. It means something that when people ask what I do, I have an answer!
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: expatartist on September 22, 2015, 06:18:25 PM
Re. your FI calculations: Are you factoring in property taxes and house repairs to the 4k?
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: mohawkbrah on September 22, 2015, 11:41:49 PM
Re. your FI calculations: Are you factoring in property taxes and house repairs to the 4k?

in england we have council tax which is £65 a month for me. And I've included a repair fund, but im an ERE person and i can fix most small-medium things myself and would only get a contractor in for large projects
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: mohawkbrah on September 22, 2015, 11:44:38 PM
Nursing's a tough career even if your heart is in it. Yours doesn't seem to be, so do something else.

But I agree--do SOMETHING. I'm a librarian; I love my job so much that I would do it for free if I was FI. For a few years, I was nothing. I wasn't even a stay at home mom per se, because I had part-time child care and worked a dead-end job from home. It means something that when people ask what I do, I have an answer!

i wish i knew what i wanted to do. The only thing im interested in at the moment is investing. Maybe one day I'll have an epiphany, i just hope it won't be too late
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: MrsPete on September 23, 2015, 08:20:54 AM
You're planning to work 30 hours a week for 5-7 years ... at a non-professional job ... and save enough to retire? 

I don't see this happening -- not without mouching off your parents or society. 

To put it into American terms and assuming you average $10/hour over your short career, that'd mean you'd earn $15,000/year, so that'd be $75,000-105,000 total ... and if you saved 90% of that (which would require mouching off your parents), you'd have $67,500-94,500 saved, which, if you look at 4% per year, would give you $2700-3780/year to live on.  Unless you're going to live and take all your meals in a homeless shelter, I don't see that working. 

You've just started college.  I think you're overwhelmed at the prospect of years of education and beginning a career.  If nursing isn't for you -- and it isn't for most people -- my daughter's a senior in a nursing program, and well over half the people who started are no longer in the program -- you need to make a choice to do something else.  In truth, a huge percentage of my students say they're going into nursing, and a whole lot of them make that choice because it's a very "visible" profession; that is, it's something everyone knows about, so it's an easy idea for young people to latch onto. 

Whatever you decide to do doesn't have to be college, but you need something.  Does your college have a career center?  Have you tried some online personality inventories /career pathway surveys?  Maybe you need some time off to work and consider your options. 

Don't worry about it being too late.  It's easiest to go straight from high school into college (because you're already in the student mindset, and you probably haven't taken on adult responsibilities like a mortgage or children), but college will still be available to you next year, the next year, or in ten years.  So will trade schools, the military, and other paths to various careers.  And attending classes without a clear direction in mind isn't the best plan. 
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: MrsPete on September 23, 2015, 08:28:40 AM
Nursing's a tough career even if your heart is in it. Yours doesn't seem to be, so do something else.

But I agree--do SOMETHING. I'm a librarian; I love my job so much that I would do it for free if I was FI. For a few years, I was nothing. I wasn't even a stay at home mom per se, because I had part-time child care and worked a dead-end job from home. It means something that when people ask what I do, I have an answer!

i wish i knew what i wanted to do. The only thing im interested in at the moment is investing. Maybe one day I'll have an epiphany, i just hope it won't be too late
Consider accounting.  I've never, ever had a high school student say, "I'm going to college to study accounting!"  It's not a glamorous job, and it's something that young people overlook.  But a number of my students have come back to see me after they've started college, and they've said, "Once I took my first accounting class, I saw that it was the right path for me."  You could do a two-year degree and be a bookkeeper in a small company, or go for the four-year degree and have more options available to you.

It's a bit more accessible than investing, but the skill set has a great deal of overlap. 
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: mozar on September 23, 2015, 09:02:45 AM
You could get a degree in finance instead. Then go work for a hedge fund. Isn't London the finance capital of the world?

Quote
Maybe one day I'll have an epiphany

For most people, this never happens. Instead focus on taking different classes to see what interests you, and what you can see yourself doing for awhile.
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: okits on September 23, 2015, 09:26:40 AM

Quote
Maybe one day I'll have an epiphany

For most people, this never happens. Instead focus on taking different classes to see what interests you, and what you can see yourself doing for awhile.

Truth. I am nearly twice your age, mohawkbrah, and still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.  I may reach FIRE before ever figuring that out (I don't think "rentier" counts as a choice...)
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: MudDuck on September 23, 2015, 09:41:54 AM
Not really related to the original question, but does it really take 5 years of college to become a nurse in the UK?
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: Doubleh on September 23, 2015, 01:50:52 PM
Nursing's a tough career even if your heart is in it. Yours doesn't seem to be, so do something else.

But I agree--do SOMETHING. I'm a librarian; I love my job so much that I would do it for free if I was FI. For a few years, I was nothing. I wasn't even a stay at home mom per se, because I had part-time child care and worked a dead-end job from home. It means something that when people ask what I do, I have an answer!

i wish i knew what i wanted to do. The only thing im interested in at the moment is investing. Maybe one day I'll have an epiphany, i just hope it won't be too late
Consider accounting.  I've never, ever had a high school student say, "I'm going to college to study accounting!"  It's not a glamorous job, and it's something that young people overlook.  But a number of my students have come back to see me after they've started college, and they've said, "Once I took my first accounting class, I saw that it was the right path for me."  You could do a two-year degree and be a bookkeeper in a small company, or go for the four-year degree and have more options available to you.

It's a bit more accessible than investing, but the skill set has a great deal of overlap.

As an accountant this isn't a bad suggestion. If you enjoy investing you might find it a good fit. If you're impatient to start earning right away you don't even need a degree to become an accountant in the uk. You can start AAT training on the job right after a levels and then move into being a chartered accountant. In fact I met an amazing lady who had done just this, she got offered a place at Cambridge but wanted to start working right away. By the time everyone else her age had graduated she had three years real world experience, and by 30 she was a partner in a big 4 firm
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: Pigeon on September 23, 2015, 02:03:20 PM
I agree with Mrs. Pete.  Your plan is no plan.  I don't know anything about the cost of living in the UK, but my guess is that it's not appreciably cheaper than the US. 

I would finish the semester unless you can get your money back.  A few years from now you might want to use those credits for something.  If you can transfer into more general courses at this point I would, but just quitting seems like a complete waste.

There's no saying you need a college degree, but you do need some kind of profession where you can earn a reasonable amount of money and hopefully actually not hate the process.  Is there any sort of career counseling on your campus?

You really don't want to be a 57 year old woman living in your parents' basement some day.

 
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: MrsPete on September 23, 2015, 05:36:23 PM
You could get a degree in finance instead. Then go work for a hedge fund. Isn't London the finance capital of the world?

Quote
Maybe one day I'll have an epiphany

For most people, this never happens. Instead focus on taking different classes to see what interests you, and what you can see yourself doing for awhile.
I agree that few people are sitting at dinner and suddenly cry out, "Yes!  This is what I'm meant to do!"  But people who are actively searching for an appropriate career path and who are purposefully seeking exposure to new ideas are often successful.  Like pretty much everything else, it will take effort. 
Not really related to the original question, but does it really take 5 years of college to become a nurse in the UK?
If you start out as a nursing major and progress steadily towards graduation without any problems, it takes 9 semesters of intensive work in the US.  Why?  Because they have a mandatory summer school between sophomore and junior year -- it was a killer too.  Ask my daughter, who's in semester 8. 

There's talk of making it a five-year program, and my daughter is in favor of it. 
There's no saying you need a college degree, but you do need some kind of profession where you can earn a reasonable amount of money and hopefully actually not hate the process.  Is there any sort of career counseling on your campus?
I didn't think about that, but -- yes -- absolutely finish this semester.  I know a couple kids who've left mid-semester, and it's a financial disaster.  Essentially all they got back was their unused meal plan money.  It's only another 8-10 weeks.  Tough it out and finish the credits you've started. 

Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: Pinch of salt on September 24, 2015, 03:09:43 PM
Ok so I am going to "be that guy" and say that you need to get a grip. You're 19. Bloody 19! No one knows what they are doing when they're 19, but that is also the positive thing - you have all the time in the world to find out. I would recommend you get out of the nursing degree, but before you do som you build up a nice stache, so that you can get out of your parents place and see the world. Take a bloody gap year and go find yourself! MMM and ERE try to sell this ideal lifestyle - but you need to have a good foundation to actually get there in the first place. If you are not enjoying where you are, get out of it, but if you are going to work in a minimum wage job, making the national minimum wage of £5.30 for those under 21, you won't get anywhere in the time that it would for you to study for a profession or trade and make more. Some people have suggested plumbing or whatever, which is good because as an apprentice you won't need to fork out a penny (or close to it) to get a vocation, the government will pay. Later on, you can also be your own boss, usually and make more money and retire early. But before that, I would suggest you go and see the world, you'll learn much more than sitting at your mums' settee. Px
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: Kaikou on September 24, 2015, 06:10:53 PM
go back to school when you actually want to be there, then focus and study.

Work 2-3 jobs (can be low wage) just to see what it is like. You won't have any time to spend money.
Title: Re: not interested in higher education/career stupid?
Post by: MarcherLady on October 17, 2015, 02:14:46 AM
"Hodwy, neighbor".  Long time no speak, how goes it?  I've only just seen this thread, but I have a perfect small business suggestion for you.  If you are a jack of all trades, why not get paid for it? When we moved up here we wanted a trades- person to do a bit of plumbing, a bit of electrics,  & a bit of plastering etc. We found plenty of specialist who didn't want to bother themselves for our little jobs.  If  you set yourself up as a one man-band handyman then tools and a van would be tax deductible (I think, I am not an accountant).  As a small business owner you could get membership of the Bookers Cash & Carry too.  It  you did move to ROI later then the business would go with you.  And you can work the hours you want.