Comments on: Twentysomething: Paychecks are boring

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:07:46 +0000

Hi, I'm 25 with No college education. I've been chasing a Paycheck since I was 18. I work 9-11 months out of the year, working 70-80 hours all year.
I myself got stuck in the trap. Bought a House (Which I now rent out) and a 36 thousand dollar truck, to Pull a 16 thousand dollar 5th wheel that I live in, Still all my bills will be paid off before I'm 34 if I keep this job.. Which i Will.
I'm pretty happy though. I work on the road and I make about 2500/week. I Enjoy the lifestyle, I never traveled as a Child, Now I've been in 49 states. Sure, my social life is way below par for a 25 yr old, but I'm kind of socially awkward anyway. Not a huge fan of kids either.

I have the option to retire in the future. Money is out there you just have to go after it, educated or not. Networking and knowing how to talk to people is more important.

What I'm trying to say, This works great for me. If your happy living within your means, go for it! No one is trying to tell you how to live your life. Family and Friends try, but in the end its up to you. My sister hates my line of work. she thinks it would suck moving all the time. She's happy with her 2 kids and Husband. He's a factory worker, and she works at a bank, They are Happy.
I Do my thing, I am happy, I enjoy it.

Making a good living isn't hard if your not afraid of Hard Work and Travel..

By: Employee Evolution - Paychecks are Boring

Employee Evolution - Paychecks are Boring — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:47:07 +0000

[...] Read the rest at The Brazen Careerist [...]

By: Employee Evolution - Brazen Careerist: Paychecks are Boring

Employee Evolution - Brazen Careerist: Paychecks are Boring — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 01:14:11 +0000

[...] Read the rest at The Brazen Careerist [...]

By: Bryan Hancock

Bryan Hancock — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:55:29 +0000

I think the tone of your post is a bit negative Ryan, but I can understand where you are coming from. I started my career during the dot com bust in ’02 and some really smart people (EEs with 3.85+ GPAs from a top ten school) were competing for positions with people 10 years their senior and having difficulty finding ANY work. Things are much better now and you can find what you want in the corporate world before you venture out on your own.

Everyone knows this is the way to achieve true happiness, but few ever do it because they are too scared, lack confidence in themselves, or both. After finishing my MBA I knew that I wanted to start my own small company. Engineering and the corporate world suck the life out of you and the best you can hope for is a mild increase in your standard of living in exchange for the bulk of your working career. Trading time for money won’t ever get you very far regardless of the exchange rate. What you need to do is learn to leverage other peoples’ resources to make your income growth exponential instead of linear. Explore ways to grow passive residual income instead of active linear income and you will do fine. Learning to be financially independent is no different than learning any other life skill. Devote a large portion of your time to doing this and you will quickly see how your dreams are more attainable than you currently think they are.

Best of luck,

Bryan

By: martha

martha — Tue, 08 May 2007 23:15:58 +0000

Maybe I'm too old to comment on this but, I've had all kinds of jobs and also have started my own business…I was a little taken back by your comment

"But this is exactly why I am so desperate to find meaning and happiness out of work, rather than just a paycheck."

You will NOT find meaning and happiness out of work. You will CREATE meaning and happiness in your work if you choose to do so. You can do that with any job if you put your mind to it.

By: Richard

Richard — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 03:54:15 +0000

If you think Twentysomething paychecks are bad wait until the Thirtysomething checks kick in. Those really sting. They will be larger but so does the responsibility thus robbing you of free time to enjoy it. With Thirtysomething paychecks comes the expectation you are staying at one job or career for a while. After all you’ll need to support the family, mortgage, insurance, groceries, car payments, medical payments and all the other fiscal life costs.

I commend you on not chasing a paycheck. I think a lot of people start out that way. I hope your life will enable you to keep this philosophy. Unfortunately, with most people, life happens and priorities change. If you are in your twenties then my advice is to avoid the corporate world all together. Start your own business but make it a WIDELY successful business not a ‘mildly’ successful one. Mildly businesses usually don’t stay around too long. Skip the corporate world. It is very easy to get on a slippery slope with corporate jobs. Once in, you’ll look up and realize a decade of your life has gone by and you are chained to your cube with golden handcuffs.

By: ned

ned — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 02:15:39 +0000

Ryan-
Excellent post! Brother, if I'd had your worldly insight ten years ago when I graduated from college I'd be a far more fulfilled (and less stressed) working stiff.

At this very moment, Im in the middle of yet another reluctant job search (Im sure SOMEONE thinks mergers are really cool, but I've not yet reached that conclusion), and I find myself really questioning the wisdom of continuing in this career field (pharmaceuticals). But with two youngsters and a mortgage to contend with, searching for a new and fulfilling career will likely have to yield to the cold calculus of my checkbook, at least for now.

Congratulations on learning, at such a young age, that the myopic worldview of the Boomers was nothing more than a one-way ticket to an early grave!

By: scarlettholly

scarlettholly — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 13:19:30 +0000

I have to agree with Mike Berry is having a certain level of discomfort in there only being two outcomes in the world of work. I also disagree with finding "meaningful work with a decent paycheck". I suppose it depends on your definition of "meaninful", but all too often, it doesn't go in hand with a decent paycheck. And by decent I mean one that will cover medical bills, a bit of a safety net for the time your floor caves in due the washing machine leaking, your kids to go to college. Although chasing money is not a good thing, remember that money can buy you time and experience. Yes, people might not be able to take stuff with them, but I will always remember standing a base camp everest, I'll always remember boating down the mekong river, and I'll never forget the beauty of the glaciers in Patagonia; none of those things would have been possible if I hadn't done some slaving to get where I wanted.

By: Susan

Susan — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 13:17:18 +0000

Unforunately, the retirement outlook for women is even bleaker because we generally earn less money throughout our careers and then outlive our male counterparts.

By: Nigel Burke

Nigel Burke — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 03:09:04 +0000

I really recommend a book called "The Number" which deals with some of these issues

http://www.thenumberbook.com/