Soul is dying. Need advice!

[Sebastian]

Hello everyone!
Ok, so I have been thinking about a lot of things lately about the MMM lifestyle and how I can implement this way of living faster. I currently work in a sales role in the IT staffing industry, and it is killing my soul. I have an idea to get out, but I need to paint a picture for you first.

Work Situation
- 50/hour/week (If you include lunch, which I do because I'm still here at work!)

- 7-5PM schedule barely allows me to do anything because I am in bed so early

- Poverty wages.. (28k/year with commission. I will probably make around 40K maybe more maybe less depending on how unreliable idiot contractors behave at their current jobs)

- Not interested at all in what I do for a living

- Place of employment could care less about my wellbeing. They live up to the mantra "do as I say, not as I do"

- This place can't think outside of the box! Drives me nuts... if you are familiar with the series hitchhikers guide to the galaxy... all my bosses here are like Vogons.

Financial Situation
Right now, I make around 17-18/hour gross income 530-590/week (should have another guy starting soon so I should be pulling in 650/week). BUT like a nooob I just bought a brand new car last June (Scion TC '12).

I was putting huge payments down on it to pay it off as fast as I can, but now I'm putting just a little over the min payments because I realized I could pack the difference of money into an index fund and utilize my money better that way.

Minimum Payments:250/month
Current Payment: 300/month
Gas: Budgeted for 80/month, but I typically go over this (trying the hyper miling thing now so hopefully I'll be closer to this)
Insurance: 50/month
Registration( just had to pay this >:0) 75/year/12 ~5/month
Total/month: 435 bucks!!! ridiculous...

So if you take the yearly total of what I am spending on my car it's around 5220, but keep in mind that I was putting anywhere from 500-1000/month on the Scion earlier this year. So let’s just round these expenses of my car yearly to $6000.

6000/2340(amount of working hours in a year for my company at least 45 hours a week) =$2.56/hour!

The Idea
Now that all the data is laid out for everyone. My idea is to sell my Scion and ideally not buy a car and just use my bike and the bus routes around here. This would save me roughly $6K allowing me to go and find a new job for less hours. What do you guys think? Ideally I would hope I can find a job with the same pay if not more but only at 35-40/hr a week. I only have a marketing degree and I've been at a couple different companies now. I just hit my 2 year mark but I need to get out! I just don’t know what kind of job I should look into. But I now know that money is not a motivational factor for me, and that’s the only kind of motivation they use on us here. It’s so lame. I want work/life balance and just to know that I’m actually helping people instead of screwing companies over with insanely high mark ups haha.

Thanks for any advice and thanks for take the time to read through this!

[MsSindy]

No argument from me about selling the vehicle - good move.

As far as searching for new work, get out of the mindset of "I only have a Marketing degree" - I work in digital marketing and people with those skills are really hot right now!  Marketing is a very competitive business, so it sounds that it may not be a right fit for you.  However, another avenue you could take is into Project Management.  We have folks here who do not do the creative side, but they work as project managers in getting the asset (web site, banner ads, etc.) built and put into production.  So, they do a lot of coordinating with Brand Teams, Creative Agencies, and Developers to get work done - it's a tough job but interesting.

There are a lot of options with a Marketing degree - afterall, every job has some aspect of selling and marketing - even if you're just marketing yourself.

[Sebastian]

Thanks MsSindy!

That's some good advice. I should look into other areas of marketing but like you mentioned I'm not sure if that is exactly the route I want to go. I guess I was just looking for some people to back my decision to sell off my new car that I have had for a year now. Only so I can ride the bus and bike haha.

I just feel like such a slave to my car right now. I still have a balance of 8930 bucks on it. But the thing that made me say "screw it!" was when I had to pay for registration yesterday ($75 bucks!). On top of having to pay for gas. I just get sad now when I have to spend that much. In the back of my mind I'm thinking that this money could be dumped into my roth or 401K actually doing something for me.

On a side note - I was just looking at some non profit jobs and they looked really interesting! Defiantly not as much money but who cares? If I can get rid of the car I essentially give myself a 6000 dollar raise anyways right?

[Dee18]

What about a job at the university?  Most are hiring marketing people for admissions and alumni offices.  I've found universities to be great work places with free access to gyms, usually a course a semester, etc.

[MountainFlower]

My sister is in uniform sales and she makes 6 figures a year.  Her ex is in medical sales and makes 6 figures a year. 

She worked in medical sales for a while VERY part time and made 60K/year. 

Take your sales experience and find a better job.  My sister has never worked even 40 hours a week.  You might need to go through a recruiter to find the best sales jobs. 

[senecando]

How long is the commute? Have you started trying the bus/bike plan?

Even if you don't sell the car right away, the less you can drive it, the less you'll have to pay for gas, repairs, and maybe for insurance. And, now's the season to get in the habit of driving it less. Weather's good so it's easier to bike and the busses will be a bit less crowded.

When I'm biking home from work and pass the people stuck in traffic on Johnson, that makes work just a bit more bearable.

[Ipodius]

I think selling the car is a great idea - as you say it was a noob mistake to buy it in your situation, but let me give you this encouragement - the fact that you can recognise that puts you ahead of 90% of people out there, and the fact that you are willing to sell it puts you even further ahead - good job!

In terms of getting another job, I can't really comment - my country is way too different. What I can say is that if you get to the position where you no longer need your job as much as you do now (IE, you have a year buffer in savings) then you will find that you will be treated much, much better. Employers know when you can't afford to lose your job, and those are the staff they expect more of. Plus, knowing you could lose it gives you the self confidence to turn down over time / demand better treatment - which results in one of two things:

1. They aren't happy with you, you leave and get a better job

2. They accept it, and your willingness to demand good treatment portrays you in a positive light (look at him! he's not willing to put up with any nonsense, he must be great at his job).

So building up a good emergency fund gives you a lot of options, and getting rid of your car will allow you to do that.

[footenote]

Gotta 2nd MsSindy's reco: digital marketing is very hot right now. You would not need a second bachelors, just some training on digital (which is relatively easy to pick up online).

The unemployment rate for these jobs in my hometown (Mpls) is zero and you would make a significant amount more. Check it out - I also expect you would find the work much more stimulating and interesting.

[Lanny]

Sales in general is a great industry to be in, if you enjoy people. It seems like you're mainly inside sales right now, maybe look for outside sales roles? You'd need a car but generally the company provides one or covers most of your expenses ( mine covers $600/mth plus gas) if you're smart about it you buy a reliable used car and bank the rest of the allowance as extra salary, you're also able to write off any additional car expenses when you file your taxes. Outside sales is also great if you're not crazy about the typical office environment, generally you can work remotely. With your amount of sales experience it should be relatively easy to transitition to an outside role, I'm not sure what the market is where you currently are but you seem underpaid for someone in sales.

[Joet]

OP I feel your pain. I think the best solution in such an environment is to test the job market and search for greener pastures in a similar, identical, or tangential field. Perhaps in the more longterm you need to look for a way to make more $$, sales certainly is one such area.

Any opportunity to moonlight on your own? perhaps in a non-conflicting field where your current company doesnt recruit applicants for? You mentioned IT, so perhaps bio/med/pharm/health ?

[pbkmaine]

What's your personality type? Are you at all suited to sales/marketing?

[Ipodius]

Something more that came to me last night thinking about your situation (it's very, very similar to my situation) - Have you considered going to a psychologist? Feeling and saying things like "Soul is dying" is not normal, and you may find that some counselling makes a huge difference. I literally feel like a different man to who I was two years ago - but if you'd asked me before I started counselling if I thought it would help I would've said no.

[Sebastian]

What's your personality type? Are you at all suited to sales/marketing?

I actually just read a book called "Do what you are." I figured out my personality type is a close tie between INTP and INTJ... I can sell if I need to but I just don't have the drive to make pennies on the dollars that I am making for these smucks in their ivory tower...

Something more that came to me last night thinking about your situation (it's very, very similar to my situation) - Have you considered going to a psychologist? Feeling and saying things like "Soul is dying" is not normal, and you may find that some counselling makes a huge difference. I literally feel like a different man to who I was two years ago - but if you'd asked me before I started counselling if I thought it would help I would've said no.

That is a good idea. However, I spend a lot of time reading and figuring out who I am through meditation. I believe that through all of this I have come to realize that my job is the root cause of the dissatisfaction in my life. I think that working for some type of non-profit would be more my style when I really think about it.

OP I feel your pain. I think the best solution in such an environment is to test the job market and search for greener pastures in a similar, identical, or tangential field. Perhaps in the more longterm you need to look for a way to make more $$, sales certainly is one such area.

Any opportunity to moonlight on your own? perhaps in a non-conflicting field where your current company doesnt recruit applicants for? You mentioned IT, so perhaps bio/med/pharm/health ?

Haha my moonlighting at work is reading these types of blogs and thinking of ways I can come up with side businesses for myself :)

Gotta 2nd MsSindy's reco: digital marketing is very hot right now. You would not need a second bachelors, just some training on digital (which is relatively easy to pick up online).

The unemployment rate for these jobs in my hometown (Mpls) is zero and you would make a significant amount more. Check it out - I also expect you would find the work much more stimulating and interesting.

This does look like an interesting field for sure! BUT quick facts about me... I hate social media. I got rid of my Facebook 3 years ago and haven't regretted it for a second. I don't have a twitter account and I really don't keep in touch with that kind of stuff. So I'm not sure if I would have the passion to be good in that field.

I think selling the car is a great idea - as you say it was a noob mistake to buy it in your situation, but let me give you this encouragement - the fact that you can recognise that puts you ahead of 90% of people out there, and the fact that you are willing to sell it puts you even further ahead - good job!

In terms of getting another job, I can't really comment - my country is way too different. What I can say is that if you get to the position where you no longer need your job as much as you do now (IE, you have a year buffer in savings) then you will find that you will be treated much, much better. Employers know when you can't afford to lose your job, and those are the staff they expect more of. Plus, knowing you could lose it gives you the self confidence to turn down over time / demand better treatment - which results in one of two things:

1. They aren't happy with you, you leave and get a better job

2. They accept it, and your willingness to demand good treatment portrays you in a positive light (look at him! he's not willing to put up with any nonsense, he must be great at his job).

So building up a good emergency fund gives you a lot of options, and getting rid of your car will allow you to do that.

Thank you for the words of encouragement! This means a lot to me :) It's hard for me sometime to see if I'm doing the right thing because my Dad has always influenced me in money situations. Just the other day he was up at my place for the weekend, and I told him how I regret buying the car new.. but at least I can keep it for 20 years. Then he told me he'd "be disappointed if he saw me in the same car for the next 20 years.." coming from the guy that makes 6 figures for the last 30 years and is broke and just lost his house... smh.

Anyways, thank you all for the comments I really appreciate them!

[pbkmaine]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/30/non-profit-jobs-how-to-get-a-job_n_2979386.html

This might help...

[George_PA]

SethBahookey first of all ditch that car unload onto someone else ASAP; get a bike to ride if possible; lower your living expenses as much as you can, the less you can live on the less dependent you will be on your job; since you hardly make very much anyway, it probably be easy for you to find a replacement job; just look around for job postings and ask people, visit places, print out resumes or fill out applications; 

for interviews just call in sick at your current job, make up some BS condition, i.e. repeated stomach cramps that come and go for about 4 hours at a time or migrane headaches or something like that; even if your current employer catches on after awhile or gets pissed who cares you will be out of there soon anyway; this will buy you some time during the regular M-F work week to fill out job applications or attend interviews for other jobs; thus, in summary just get out anyway you can because almost anything will be better than what you have now