Author Topic: what should I do with my job…  (Read 3603 times)

biggydeen

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what should I do with my job…
« on: March 06, 2015, 05:05:23 AM »
Hi there fellow Mustachians,

I have learned a lot about the mustachian way the last few months and only started reading the blog and this forum since like a week! Before reading this blog I read a couple of books like the richest man in Babylon and extreme early retirement that really opened my eyes. Rich dad poor dad thought me the basics of assets and liabilities and this really got me thinking about my current job.
I’m working in a desk job as a computer engineer. Installing and maintaining software for a large telecom provider. Not too bad but I don’t really like it either. Since like 6 months ago, I was all job focused, getting more degrees and study more at home. I even bought some extra computer equipment so I could learn stuff at home!

6 months later after reading these books in the summer vacation these thoughts turned around completely. I figured I got no assets and didn’t really had a plan about the future. Now I’m really focused on creating assets and working for myself. So I thought what do I love to do when I got some spare time? I found out it was reading and researching things. Not things like technical stuff but things about investing or about food. And I mean really research, hours of reading on the internet or in books. I can read all day long without being bored!
Comparing this to my daily job is like something else completely. I actually really hate to learn new stuff for my job in my spare time because it does not interest me that much. Since the last few months I’ve been working on a blog/website to share my newly learned ideas of the mustachian live (this was before I even read one word of the mustache blog!). I was living the mustachian way without even knowing!

The website is taking form, I learned html and ccs from scratch!. After that I learned to combine both and use the twitter bootstrap framework. Site is almost done with the content and new content is still coming through the blog.
So my days are now like this: Going to work 8 hours a day with little motivation. When I come home, spend some time with my girlfriend and working on the website for a few hours. Repeat that 6-7 days a week and you can figure that isn’t an ideal situation. Recently I took 4 hours of my workweek so I can work @ home for 4 hours on Wednesday and take the rest of the day off to work fulltime on my website. I really like it but I want to spend more time on my website! On the other hand I can’t stop working because I won’t be able to pay for my expenses.

So I’m stuck! What should I do? Should I get another job? Should I give my current job more attention? Quitting and not getting another job is not an option right now. I want to do something else but I don’t know what…

I’m also struggling about how much attention my day job should get. Should I work hard? Take all the bullshit from the office so I can retire early? I think this is the best way but I don’t know if I can work so many years and learn stuff I actually don’t care about.

Are there more mustachians here in a job they don’t like?

deborah

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Re: what should I do with my job…
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2015, 05:34:49 AM »
From your post I'm not sure whether you really don't like your job, or whether you have got "webitis".

Tim was once a person who worked (?) with me who was studying at tech one day a week, and working with us for four days a week, in a graduate program combining work and study. The people we had from this course usually went on to get jobs with us, so it was a very good opportunity for people who had not been able to find a job. One day he simply didn't turn up to work, nor did he the next day. Eventually he sent his boss an e-mail, stating that he was looking after a web site for a few gaming friends, and he much preferred that to work. We were all flabbergasted, but he was young and stupid, and the course was a really good opportunity for him to get a foot in the door.

Tim hadn't recognised that he had a well paying job that he just chucked in for a good time. You could say that is what MMM is about, but it isn't. The chief difference is that MMM is about becoming wealthy enough and frugal enough to support yourself and do what you want. It is delayed gratification, and re-directed gratification (instead of being gratified by toys, you become gratified by what is around you).

So what can you do? your website is like Tim's and is not earning any money, but it may.

You could look at the web site development you are doing, and work out if it is just a passing fad that you should treat as an addiction, or whether it is your real ideal job.

If you decide that it really is your ideal job you could either work out a way of it paying you - which might be very difficult - or work out a way of changing to web development. Your job is in a quite different area of computing, but I have known people who went from what you are doing into web development, so that may be a possibility. Talk to the other people around you and see what the possibilities are in your company - you might be pleasantly surprised at what you can move to. You could take credits in web development, and apply for jobs in other places...

But you really need to ensure that you do your current job as well as you can. Transfers to other areas of an organisation are usually easier if you are well regarded. Getting a new job at a different company is usually easier if the people you currently work with think you are a good worker.
« Last Edit: March 06, 2015, 05:42:10 AM by deborah »

Bjorn

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Re: what should I do with my job…
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2015, 05:36:54 AM »
Yes, I have a job I don't like. I take bullshit every week, my coworkers are very different from me due to age and background and I am looking to change jobs. I might not like the next job but I am atleast trying to change the situation a bit.

It all comes down to how many years do you have left working and whether that is tolerable for you. I am 30 yrs old and have 6 more years to go before I start cutting down or quit completely and retire. Had it been 20 years I would have looked for alternatives, like working 60% or 80% instead of fulltime and devoting the spare time for something else. But 6 years is tolerable for me, I am just making minor adjustments like getting a new workplace but essentially doing the same kind of work in the same kind of environment.

Would changing jobs mean accepting a (much) lower salary in your case?

schimt

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Re: what should I do with my job…
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2015, 05:53:11 AM »
I'm don't think it's good advice to just quit and move to something that your not confident will pay the bills, unless you have a strong stache that can support you for some time and a business plan that you think has potential. Keep trying to balance the blog and work.

From what you are describing as what you love to do "research" There is a site that i subscribe to called rockstarfinance.com. there are tons of financial blogs out there and the guy who runs this site researches posts and he provides 3 each morning for his subscribers to read. As much as i enjoyed MMM, his posts are few and far between, so this is a great supplement for me, without having to subscribe to many blogs.

Maybe you can do something similar with another topic, you mentions healthy and nutrition as another interest of yours, i know there is many blogs centered around those topics.

biggydeen

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Re: what should I do with my job…
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2015, 06:14:08 AM »
Thanks for the reply’s!

@Deborah

I can see where you are going with this. But for me it’s not just a hobby, I see plenty of opportunities in making websites and there is some thought behind this. One of my best friends is working for himself in this area (webdev and marketing) we already got a website online about fitness and eating the right foods. I know it’s hard to make money this way but together we can achieve something. I’m the guy making the text and researching things, hes doing the marketing and technical stuff.
I already talked in my Company to switch jobs to web development or marketing and there might be some opportunity’s in the long run but not for now. It’s probably best to stay within the company for the reasons you mentioned.

@Bjorn,

The bad part, I just started! I have a lot of years to cover before I can retire. A much lower pay would mean I have to work longer to reach my goals. My current pay is about  $33000 a year (living in the Netherlands) This is not that bad but when I read other’s people income like $ 50000 or even $100.000 its quite mind boggling for me.  Maybe my expenses are different in my country then in the U.S.A.
My total expenses are about $1100 on a pay of $2100 (including tax returns and stuff) that’s including a mortgage.


Retired To Win

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Re: what should I do with my job…
« Reply #5 on: March 06, 2015, 06:58:06 AM »
... My total expenses are about $1100 on a pay of $2100 (including tax returns and stuff) that’s including a mortgage.

First, the good/bad news.  If you save/invest that surplus, and assuming you would get some raises in the future but keep your spending steady, you would be maintaining about a 50% savings rate and be able to early retire in 15 years.  If, as you say, you are just starting out then you could be retiring before you hit 40.  And that would put you ahead of the vast majority of people.

But... you've got ants in your pants.  AND you are supercharged about turning blogging into a money making venture.  So, second, here's some more good/bad news.  It CAN be done and quite a few people are doing it, BUT it takes a lot of work (well beyond just the creation of good content) and it can take a long time to actually make any kind of decent money.

So... in your shoes, I would keep my job, work the blogging as a side hustle in the making, and spend LOTS of time researching (which you say you would enjoy) HOW you can make that side hustle pay.

Good luck to you.