Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

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mobi
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by mobi »

So, how's the OP doing?
Topic Author
gcc32
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by gcc32 »

OP here -

I took the excellent advice by one poster here of going around telling anyone I knew I wasn't looking for a job and seeing what happened. I was offered a job pretty quickly and took it.

Job pays about 165k with a strong potential for bonus plus some decent perks and comes with full benefits for the family. The work isn't super hard but there is a lot of it, I'm easily working 60 hours a week and sometimes more. Company is relatively small, about 100 people and I'm working regularly with senior leadership.

Given my financial position I can basically coast from that perspective. We're spending all the money I am making before any bonuses, but I think that's okay while I have a small child and a wife that isn't working.

It has been a huge struggle for me to get onboard with having a job. I don't really love the work and I don't really believe that strongly in the opportunity the company is chasing. I've been doing it for almost six months now and am at the point of wondering if I should just quit and try something on my own again. With all of that said, I don't "hate" it, I just don't see it being something I want to do forever. This is possibly how everyone just feels about a job and I've never felt like this before. Happy to take any advice if anyone has some.
KyleAAA
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by KyleAAA »

go_mets wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 2:33 pm
market timer wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 11:04 am
dustinst22 wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 9:55 am I'm going to guess affiliate marketing.

I'm in a similar boat (if affiliate marketing is your niche). I will probably pivot to real estate once the well is totally dry.
mobi wrote: Wed May 30, 2018 10:17 pm I've been reading this forum for more than a year and decided to register after reading your post. I'm in the same exact situation. Around the same amount of money, but 40 years old. I did affiliate marketing for almost 10 years. I don't have any advice, I tried living on the beach for 1 year, but it was boring. I have a bunch of free time, and it seems that I can't get myself into a new career or business after I made money online. I loved my career but died slowly. After I realized my business had days counted I moved to a low cost of living area.
Am I the only one who would like to see a discussion of how to make $3mn+ on affiliate marketing?

I suspect those who actually have done it aren't going to share their knowledge.
Notice they only come here to Bogleheads *after*.

And those who do "share" are like those infomercials on TV promising riches galore.


.
It's an EXTREMELY collaborative community, actually. and it's easy to find people willing to help you out. I made pretty good money in affiliate marketing (not $3mm, but full-time livable money) for a few years. There are a lot of scammers out there, too. But you can learn most of what you need for free. My knowledge is likely outdated at this point but my advice is to just start a blog and join a community. Marketers in general don't see each other as competitors except in very specific cases.
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bligh
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by bligh »

gcc32 wrote: Sat Feb 09, 2019 12:17 pm OP here -

I took the excellent advice by one poster here of going around telling anyone I knew I wasn't looking for a job and seeing what happened. I was offered a job pretty quickly and took it.

Job pays about 165k with a strong potential for bonus plus some decent perks and comes with full benefits for the family. The work isn't super hard but there is a lot of it, I'm easily working 60 hours a week and sometimes more. Company is relatively small, about 100 people and I'm working regularly with senior leadership.

Given my financial position I can basically coast from that perspective. We're spending all the money I am making before any bonuses, but I think that's okay while I have a small child and a wife that isn't working.

It has been a huge struggle for me to get onboard with having a job. I don't really love the work and I don't really believe that strongly in the opportunity the company is chasing. I've been doing it for almost six months now and am at the point of wondering if I should just quit and try something on my own again. With all of that said, I don't "hate" it, I just don't see it being something I want to do forever. This is possibly how everyone just feels about a job and I've never felt like this before. Happy to take any advice if anyone has some.
Honestly, in my experience, this is normal after you reach a certain point financially. You aren't invested in chasing other peoples vision, and you don't care to be part of the rat race and run to try and climb that corporate ladder. I did it when I was younger and needed to establish myself, now I, like you, just coast. Yeah I know there is a negative connotation to that word, but in the long run I feel, as long as you take pride in your work, are smart and conscientious, you will end up doing a lot less busy work, be a lot less likely to burn out and over all be a more productive and happier worker. You will also be more likely to call out issues when you see them, and be frank, instead of nodding along. Companies need people like you who work because they choose to, not because they need you.

If I was in your shoes, I'd work at your current place until I felt I had learnt everything I had needed to learn and then move on to take time out for my other projects while once again letting my entire network know that I wasn't looking for a job. If a good opportunity presented itself, I'd take it, if not, no big deal.

In fact I did something very similar to what I just described above (while being older than you and with less money), and if things go well, this is what the rest of my "career" is basically going to look like. It is a luxury you have once you have reached a certain level of wealth and kept your expenses well below your means.
Old Guy
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Old Guy »

Congratulations. You won. Get out the current job and do something socially useful.
bhsince87
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by bhsince87 »

Old Guy wrote: Sat Feb 09, 2019 8:50 pm Congratulations. You won. Get out the current job and do something socially useful.
Starting another business might be the most socially useful thing the OP could possibly do!
Time is what we want most, but what we use worst. William Penn
ohai
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by ohai »

Hi, OP. I'm the same age as you and have thought about this situation a lot. I think what I'd like to do, if my current career expires suddenly, is go on BizBuySell or some similar website like that, and become a serial owner of small businesses with growth potential. This is just because of my personal interests and because I think it will be fun. Think about who your role models are and what sort of person you'd like to be in 20 years. Unlike most people, you don't have to chain yourself to some activity to pay bills. If your wife is still teaching, that might take care of health insurance, which is probably one of your primary concerns. Other than that, having fun and looking forward to something every day is what you should care most about.
ge1
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by ge1 »

Only found this thread now and it’s fascinating.

I’m one of those who has a really hard time with “find your passion” and also have an equally hard time with all the comments how boring and miserable work is. As bad as it sounds, I simply like to work. Not as a workaholic, but I enjoy learning, mastering and applying a skill. And that could be literally anything. I’m good with numbers and I work in Finance, but if you took my entire career away from me that would be totally cool and I could do law school, learn a language or do something with my hands. The sheer process of learning is what excites me (so maybe that’s my passion :happy ).
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Badger007
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Badger007 »

Haven’t had a chance to read all the posts, but if I were in similar shoes I would look into potentially SEO (depending on skill set), RE (with management can eliminate early morning calls) and spending time with your family.

A more exciting option: In your rather unique position of having time and resources, spend some wonderful time with your family. Be cognizant of pain points for which a good solution doesn’t exist when raising your angel. A lot of parents are too stressed, sleep deprived and worry about too many aspects of life to sit down and think how could x or y be fixed/better/more efficient rather than just accepting it and trying to endure to the next stage.

Full disclosure, I have 4 young angels and am definitely sleep deprived. Try to keep the stress and worrying in check though (of course my DW does quite a bit of worrying...). My risk aversion is probably holding me back a bit, but you have a marvelous safety net to remove a lot of the risk if the first few ideas don’t get off the ground. Just another idea to consider.
The most important work you will ever do will be within the walls of your home.
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gcc32
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by gcc32 »

ohai wrote: Sun Feb 10, 2019 12:46 am Hi, OP. I'm the same age as you and have thought about this situation a lot. I think what I'd like to do, if my current career expires suddenly, is go on BizBuySell or some similar website like that, and become a serial owner of small businesses with growth potential. This is just because of my personal interests and because I think it will be fun. Think about who your role models are and what sort of person you'd like to be in 20 years. Unlike most people, you don't have to chain yourself to some activity to pay bills. If your wife is still teaching, that might take care of health insurance, which is probably one of your primary concerns. Other than that, having fun and looking forward to something every day is what you should care most about.
I have definitely thought about this path and I think it's a decent idea. It's just a lot easier said than done....and I've taken enough dumb risks in the past to know I want/need to be careful when it comes to investing a significant chunk of my money into something I'm inexperienced doing. If I go down the route of quitting and doing something like this, I probably need to do a better job of networking to find people in a similar situation for potential investors or advisors.
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Horton »

Do you have anyone in your network who you (a) really respect, (b) would work well with, and (c) know of ways you could collaborate with (or help) them?

If I was in your situation, then I would reach out to a few people I know who meet the criteria above and see if there are opportunities.
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Sandtrap
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Sandtrap »

bligh wrote: Sat Feb 09, 2019 12:49 pm
gcc32 wrote: Sat Feb 09, 2019 12:17 pm OP here -

I took the excellent advice by one poster here of going around telling anyone I knew I wasn't looking for a job and seeing what happened. I was offered a job pretty quickly and took it.

Job pays about 165k with a strong potential for bonus plus some decent perks and comes with full benefits for the family. The work isn't super hard but there is a lot of it, I'm easily working 60 hours a week and sometimes more. Company is relatively small, about 100 people and I'm working regularly with senior leadership.

Given my financial position I can basically coast from that perspective. We're spending all the money I am making before any bonuses, but I think that's okay while I have a small child and a wife that isn't working.

It has been a huge struggle for me to get onboard with having a job. I don't really love the work and I don't really believe that strongly in the opportunity the company is chasing. I've been doing it for almost six months now and am at the point of wondering if I should just quit and try something on my own again. With all of that said, I don't "hate" it, I just don't see it being something I want to do forever. This is possibly how everyone just feels about a job and I've never felt like this before. Happy to take any advice if anyone has some.
Honestly, in my experience, this is normal after you reach a certain point financially. You aren't invested in chasing other peoples vision, and you don't care to be part of the rat race and run to try and climb that corporate ladder. I did it when I was younger and needed to establish myself, now I, like you, just coast. Yeah I know there is a negative connotation to that word, but in the long run I feel, as long as you take pride in your work, are smart and conscientious, you will end up doing a lot less busy work, be a lot less likely to burn out and over all be a more productive and happier worker. You will also be more likely to call out issues when you see them, and be frank, instead of nodding along. Companies need people like you who work because they choose to, not because they need you.

If I was in your shoes, I'd work at your current place until I felt I had learnt everything I had needed to learn and then move on to take time out for my other projects while once again letting my entire network know that I wasn't looking for a job. If a good opportunity presented itself, I'd take it, if not, no big deal.

In fact I did something very similar to what I just described above (while being older than you and with less money), and if things go well, this is what the rest of my "career" is basically going to look like. It is a luxury you have once you have reached a certain level of wealth and kept your expenses well below your means.
+1
Very well said.
Also have been in a similar position.
Time to evaluate and prioritize what is truly meaningful in "your" life.
:happy
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germark
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by germark »

gcc32 wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 11:35 pm I'm in a unique position financially and there's not a lot of people I feel like I can talk to about the topic. Any advice is appreciated.

I'm 33, live in HCOL area, with a net worth of about 3.2M (400k SEP IRA, 2.5M index funds, $300k cash/misc). No debt. Renting. Married with an infant at home. Spend about $120k/year (plan to move to a less expensive area next year, probably will cut expenses to about $95-100k).

I made an income doing a few things that aren't likely to keep making me much money (it's not trading, but similar to the concept of if a trading market went away and successful traders in that market weren't earning much anymore). I have experience managing people and building small businesses, but they are very niche. In short, most would agree I'm a smart and hardworking person, but I probably don't have any single skill that checks a "we should hire this guy" box.

My wife works in education and would like to take some years off to raise the kid(s) (in other words, she will never be a significant earner). I feel like I am at a crossroads. We have enough money to be very comfortable but not enough to retire, I have no specific career path, no guaranteed income, and all the time in the world to explore new things. I realize this is a good problem to have, but it's still a problem.

I think I could network my way into a job that pays high 5 figures, maybe low 6 figures best case scenario. I also could use some of the money I've made to start something new (which I have done a couple of times before, albeit in a niche that no longer is a great opportunity). I know I can't get specific advice because I'm being vague about the career, but I'm really just looking for general advice on how people would approach this problem.

My feeling is that I would be happier trying to build my own thing which is what I have alway done, but that it's "now or never" to try to get a more traditional job and build normal work experience should I ever want or need to go the corporate route. I don't think it would be easy to get my first "real" job when I'm 40+, and it's already probably not that easy now.

I do realize that worst case scenario we can move to a lower cost of living area and basically retire (especially when wife goes back to work), but I would prefer not to do that. Thank you.
Have you considered hiring a career counselor?

Also, there are a lot of books on amazon that pop up when you type in "how to choose a career": https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss ... e+a+career
Xrayman69
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Xrayman69 »

You have the most important job ever, nurturing your child and providing the most diverse and supportive environment. The safety and well being of your family is not a luxury but some consider this a duty. Full disclosure if it wasn’t for the need for health insurance I would be a stay at home full time parent and only work and travel part time. I love my work so lucky that it’s my “passion” so this is easy.

Use your current position as a paid graduate education and learn and spounge as much as you can from everyone from senior leaders such as the CEO for strategy to the CFO for finance education to the administrative assistance for daily schedule management.

Leadership skills translatable regardless what you do in the future and the toughest part of most jobs is other people not the task at hand.

Good luck and enjoy the ride.
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gcc32
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by gcc32 »

After a few more days of reflection, I think in this case this decision comes down to a gut feeling and eventually I just need to go with my gut, whatever it may be.
3504PIR
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by 3504PIR »

I actually have several friends in the same basic situation. They took a variety of routes from their success, with an equal variety of outcomes thus far although the verdict is still out on a few. I was knee deep in the post Moneymaker online poker boom in the mid 2000s. I was a good player and made decent money (still do) but not like the guys younger than I who played and risked more freely than I did. Some of “us” still play live and are on those crappy sports channels late at night, others went to Ivy League schools and entered the workforce, mostly now working at hedge funds, and others branched out into building their own business. We still meet up annually at the WSOP and frankly, the ones who branched out into building their own business or built a real estate portfolio are happiest. The guys still playing every day / week (live now in Vegas) are not and the guys working for hedge funds are next to them in not being happy. I bought a farm with that money, literally, and am very happy that I did.
schrute
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by schrute »

gcc32 wrote: Mon Feb 11, 2019 7:57 pm After a few more days of reflection, I think in this case this decision comes down to a gut feeling and eventually I just need to go with my gut, whatever it may be.
I tried reading in the thread, but I don't get it. You could retire right now and not sure why you would want to keep working? At least could take a few years off, but I suppose if you were doing your own thing might want that connection in the work force. Regardless, if I were you, I'd probably retire.
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gcc32
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by gcc32 »

3504PIR wrote: Tue Feb 12, 2019 12:19 am I actually have several friends in the same basic situation. They took a variety of routes from their success, with an equal variety of outcomes thus far although the verdict is still out on a few. I was knee deep in the post Moneymaker online poker boom in the mid 2000s. I was a good player and made decent money (still do) but not like the guys younger than I who played and risked more freely than I did. Some of “us” still play live and are on those crappy sports channels late at night, others went to Ivy League schools and entered the workforce, mostly now working at hedge funds, and others branched out into building their own business. We still meet up annually at the WSOP and frankly, the ones who branched out into building their own business or built a real estate portfolio are happiest. The guys still playing every day / week (live now in Vegas) are not and the guys working for hedge funds are next to them in not being happy. I bought a farm with that money, literally, and am very happy that I did.
Interesting anecdotes. Thank you. Not that surprising that the people successfully running their own businesses are the happiest. That was me for a time. Easier said than done to find the next thing.
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gcc32
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by gcc32 »

schrute wrote: Tue Feb 12, 2019 11:24 pm
gcc32 wrote: Mon Feb 11, 2019 7:57 pm After a few more days of reflection, I think in this case this decision comes down to a gut feeling and eventually I just need to go with my gut, whatever it may be.
I tried reading in the thread, but I don't get it. You could retire right now and not sure why you would want to keep working? At least could take a few years off, but I suppose if you were doing your own thing might want that connection in the work force. Regardless, if I were you, I'd probably retire.
Mostly, I think not working isn't a smart idea. I think it would be pretty boring. But also, the world is going to change so much in my lifetime and I don't have enough money to say I'm prepared for whatever comes my way while living the lifestyle I am accustomed to.

The question for me is what is the best way to get to where I want to be, which is retired relatively young but not in my 30's, and enjoying my life. Still working on that.
schrute
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by schrute »

gcc32 wrote: Sat Feb 23, 2019 2:37 pm
schrute wrote: Tue Feb 12, 2019 11:24 pm
gcc32 wrote: Mon Feb 11, 2019 7:57 pm After a few more days of reflection, I think in this case this decision comes down to a gut feeling and eventually I just need to go with my gut, whatever it may be.
I tried reading in the thread, but I don't get it. You could retire right now and not sure why you would want to keep working? At least could take a few years off, but I suppose if you were doing your own thing might want that connection in the work force. Regardless, if I were you, I'd probably retire.
Mostly, I think not working isn't a smart idea. I think it would be pretty boring. But also, the world is going to change so much in my lifetime and I don't have enough money to say I'm prepared for whatever comes my way while living the lifestyle I am accustomed to.

The question for me is what is the best way to get to where I want to be, which is retired relatively young but not in my 30's, and enjoying my life. Still working on that.
You could do your own projects, make a franchise restaurant business, become an angel investor and advise other companies in your area of expertise for equity.
Golf maniac
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Golf maniac »

Obviously you are smart and talented. You will be successful in most anything you try. If you decide to quit the current job I strongly recommend you take some time to explore your passions / interests. You have to treat it as a job search and if one area doesn’t work, try the next. Take the time you need and find something you love to do. It may require additional training or college, but you have the money to make any dream you can imagine come true.

I disagree with those who are telling you to retire, 33 would be way to young, but 53 or 63 it would be a reasonable suggestion. Good luck.
Oakwood42
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Oakwood42 »

gcc32 wrote: Sat Feb 09, 2019 12:17 pm OP here -

I took the excellent advice by one poster here of going around telling anyone I knew I wasn't looking for a job and seeing what happened. I was offered a job pretty quickly and took it.

Job pays about 165k with a strong potential for bonus plus some decent perks and comes with full benefits for the family. The work isn't super hard but there is a lot of it, I'm easily working 60 hours a week and sometimes more. Company is relatively small, about 100 people and I'm working regularly with senior leadership.

Given my financial position I can basically coast from that perspective. We're spending all the money I am making before any bonuses, but I think that's okay while I have a small child and a wife that isn't working.

It has been a huge struggle for me to get onboard with having a job. I don't really love the work and I don't really believe that strongly in the opportunity the company is chasing. I've been doing it for almost six months now and am at the point of wondering if I should just quit and try something on my own again. With all of that said, I don't "hate" it, I just don't see it being something I want to do forever. This is possibly how everyone just feels about a job and I've never felt like this before. Happy to take any advice if anyone has some.
That is a fascinating way to get a new job - Someone once told me ask others for advice and you will find a job, ask for a job and they will give you advice. Thanks for your update OP and best of luck!
Oakwood42
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Oakwood42 »

3504PIR wrote: Tue Feb 12, 2019 12:19 am I actually have several friends in the same basic situation. They took a variety of routes from their success, with an equal variety of outcomes thus far although the verdict is still out on a few. I was knee deep in the post Moneymaker online poker boom in the mid 2000s. I was a good player and made decent money (still do) but not like the guys younger than I who played and risked more freely than I did. Some of “us” still play live and are on those crappy sports channels late at night, others went to Ivy League schools and entered the workforce, mostly now working at hedge funds, and others branched out into building their own business. We still meet up annually at the WSOP and frankly, the ones who branched out into building their own business or built a real estate portfolio are happiest. The guys still playing every day / week (live now in Vegas) are not and the guys working for hedge funds are next to them in not being happy. I bought a farm with that money, literally, and am very happy that I did.
"I bought a farm with that money...." AWESOME
YeahBuddy
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by YeahBuddy »

gcc32 wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 11:35 pm I'm in a unique position financially and there's not a lot of people I feel like I can talk to about the topic. Any advice is appreciated.

I'm 33, live in HCOL area, with a net worth of about 3.2M (400k SEP IRA, 2.5M index funds, $300k cash/misc). No debt. Renting. Married with an infant at home. Spend about $120k/year (plan to move to a less expensive area next year, probably will cut expenses to about $95-100k).

I made an income doing a few things that aren't likely to keep making me much money (it's not trading, but similar to the concept of if a trading market went away and successful traders in that market weren't earning much anymore). I have experience managing people and building small businesses, but they are very niche. In short, most would agree I'm a smart and hardworking person, but I probably don't have any single skill that checks a "we should hire this guy" box.

My wife works in education and would like to take some years off to raise the kid(s) (in other words, she will never be a significant earner). I feel like I am at a crossroads. We have enough money to be very comfortable but not enough to retire, I have no specific career path, no guaranteed income, and all the time in the world to explore new things. I realize this is a good problem to have, but it's still a problem.

I think I could network my way into a job that pays high 5 figures, maybe low 6 figures best case scenario. I also could use some of the money I've made to start something new (which I have done a couple of times before, albeit in a niche that no longer is a great opportunity). I know I can't get specific advice because I'm being vague about the career, but I'm really just looking for general advice on how people would approach this problem.

My feeling is that I would be happier trying to build my own thing which is what I have alway done, but that it's "now or never" to try to get a more traditional job and build normal work experience should I ever want or need to go the corporate route. I don't think it would be easy to get my first "real" job when I'm 40+, and it's already probably not that easy now.

I do realize that worst case scenario we can move to a lower cost of living area and basically retire (especially when wife goes back to work), but I would prefer not to do that. Thank you.


First world, top 1% problems...

Find something you want to do with your life (or at least an extended period of time)
Obtain proper education/career training for said position
Network with likewise professionals
Enjoy the rest of your life knowing you've accomplished more than 99.99% of humans in the world at the ripe old age of 33


Seriously though, your greatest asset right now is time off together, enjoying life and the great joys that raising a child has to offer.. at times it's hard work, but with huge rewards, being a father of 2 great kids, it's like Christmas every day from birth to age 4 or 5 at least, doing something different every week, or every day. Interacting, words, actions, growing, etc.

If I had $3M right now at age 37, my life would be completely different. I would probably retire and enjoy living off 8% stock market return, helping family and vacationing.

So bottom line is don't worry about your career but spend time deciding if this is how you want to spend the next XX years.
Take time to research the career. Pros and cons.
And if that fails, well you still have over $3M to fall back on! :sharebeer
Light weight baby!
bltn
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by bltn »

Congratulaions Gcc32.
You ve achieved a nice accumulation at your age and just as importantly have managed to just control your life style expenditures so that you can maintain this lifestyle with your nest egg.
Is this your final achievement goal?
You ve gotten a nice, though not great, interim job. Work it for a while and continue to accumulate assets. As your assets increase, so do your options. Sometimes simple concepts need to be emphasized. After a year or two, if you still aren t satisfied with your job, start looking for another. I would not leave this job until I found my next one.
Continue to accumulate conservatively using BH principles over the next ten years, and then evaluate your position. Your potential for further gains is great. I would not be satisfied with my current achievements but I would not risk my present accumulation. You will succeed with basic saving, passive investing, and time.
I had to learn the hard way that a sure double or probable triple is better than a possible but unlikely home run. The double becomes a triple with the power of compounding and early recognition of the value of Jack Bogle s investment recommendations.
Best of luck.
Topic Author
gcc32
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by gcc32 »

Thought I would post a short update. After approx. a year at my job, I left. It just didn’t seem worth it. Hopefully this isn’t a shortsighted decision, but I just felt too busy and wasn’t happy day to day. I met a lot of interesting people and found a part time remote role through someone I met at the job.

Things I learned-

-there were a lot of things I liked about the job. Meeting new people regularly being the biggest one.
-I don’t know if I gave myself enough credit for what I had accomplished before trying this job. Most people you come into contact with day to day have no experience having any skin in the game in life, and are usually just showing up to get a paycheck. I’ve never operated this way and I think it’s a really valuable skill to have.
-I need to appreciate what I have. The freedom to be with my family and friends when I want, take days off, put my phone away, and not think too hard about money are all great luxuries I took for granted.

I don’t have a real plan from here, but feel like I’m moving in the right direction. My wife and I are expecting #2 this fall and I’m going to spend as much time as possible at home at that point.
Random Poster
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Random Poster »

gcc32 wrote: Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:50 am Thought I would post a short update. After approx. a year at my job, I left. It just didn’t seem worth it. Hopefully this isn’t a shortsighted decision, but I just felt too busy and wasn’t happy day to day. I met a lot of interesting people and found a part time remote role through someone I met at the job.

Things I learned-

-there were a lot of things I liked about the job. Meeting new people regularly being the biggest one.
-I don’t know if I gave myself enough credit for what I had accomplished before trying this job. Most people you come into contact with day to day have no experience having any skin in the game in life, and are usually just showing up to get a paycheck. I’ve never operated this way and I think it’s a really valuable skill to have.
-I need to appreciate what I have. The freedom to be with my family and friends when I want, take days off, put my phone away, and not think too hard about money are all great luxuries I took for granted.

I don’t have a real plan from here, but feel like I’m moving in the right direction. My wife and I are expecting #2 this fall and I’m going to spend as much time as possible at home at that point.
I admire your courage.

We are probably somewhat similar financially situated, and although I often want to quit my job and keep telling myself that I will do so in X number of months, I just can’t quite work up the courage to do so.

Congratulations on being true to yourself.
fastrak99
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by fastrak99 »

gcc32 wrote: Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:50 am Thought I would post a short update. After approx. a year at my job, I left. It just didn’t seem worth it. Hopefully this isn’t a shortsighted decision, but I just felt too busy and wasn’t happy day to day. I met a lot of interesting people and found a part time remote role through someone I met at the job.

Things I learned-

-there were a lot of things I liked about the job. Meeting new people regularly being the biggest one.
-I don’t know if I gave myself enough credit for what I had accomplished before trying this job. Most people you come into contact with day to day have no experience having any skin in the game in life, and are usually just showing up to get a paycheck. I’ve never operated this way and I think it’s a really valuable skill to have.
-I need to appreciate what I have. The freedom to be with my family and friends when I want, take days off, put my phone away, and not think too hard about money are all great luxuries I took for granted.

I don’t have a real plan from here, but feel like I’m moving in the right direction. My wife and I are expecting #2 this fall and I’m going to spend as much time as possible at home at that point.
Love your journey. I am in a similar place as you - but a few years older and have a somewhat parallel story.

The year was 2006 and I came up on an opportunity that yielded me ~$350K over around a period of a year and a half (on the side), all while I was working as an engineer making $50K/year. I swiftly quit my job, to devote my full attention to my side gig.

That opportunity dried up quick - and by late '08 I was back to looking for 'work' as an engineer. I went on a few interviews all to no success.

After making a large sum in a relatively short period of time - it was also gut wrenching and heart breaking to think going back to a 9-5 with bosses, corporate jargon, and working towards building someone elses business.

All the meanwhile I kept reading and trying out new things. Shortly by '09 something caught on, working online where I was making enough to sustain my daily expenses, food, car etc. I was ecstatic.

I was able to keep expanding, and trying different ventures. Part of it is my personality - part of it is the 'doing what you love' for me IS online marketing and ecommerce.

Ten years later (2019) - I run an 8 figure business, and am in your shoes of debating when and 'if' to check out - but realize I'm still far from being able to do whatever I want whenever I want without additional money coming in, even selling the business and living of interest etc, to last me 40+ more years.

Moral of my story is to take some time of - and by you already making money and being in the mindset of knowing that riches can be obtained outside of working for someone else - will yield opportunity long term. I am sure as heck happy I did not fall back into the corporate trap back in '08 and gave myself the breathing room and space to keep on trying, discovering and working towards something of my own. I don't know if any corporate, 9-5 opportunity or the like with suffice for you , after swallowing the blue pill and seeing how much there is to be made for yourself.

The next opportunity might not come today, next month or next year but if you are looking and thinking and have a knack for entrepreneurial / business sense - with enough grit future success will come.

ALSO:

'-I don’t know if I gave myself enough credit for what I had accomplished before trying this job. Most people you come into contact with day to day have no experience having any skin in the game in life, and are usually just showing up to get a paycheck. I’ve never operated this way and I think it’s a really valuable skill to have.'

I was also hesitant that I did not have enough 'skill' to persevere and start something new, after my one time large win. I now realize that a lot of my 'ok' skills and knowledge add up to creating a winning combination for trying, starting, failing quick and moving onto ventures that end up working out!
Last edited by fastrak99 on Sat Jul 13, 2019 1:02 pm, edited 6 times in total.
MotoTrojan
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by MotoTrojan »

I’d find a job that covers most of your expenses and gets healthcare then let the rest grow. 10 years out maybe you’ll have 5 million and can cut back further or retire if you so please.
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rocket354
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by rocket354 »

gcc32 wrote: Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:50 am but I just felt too busy and wasn’t happy day to day.
...
Most people you come into contact with day to day have no experience having any skin in the game in life, and are usually just showing up to get a paycheck.
Yes, this is the sad reality with which most people live their lives.

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation" - Thoreau
-I need to appreciate what I have. The freedom to be with my family and friends when I want, take days off, put my phone away, and not think too hard about money are all great luxuries I took for granted.

I don’t have a real plan from here, but feel like I’m moving in the right direction. My wife and I are expecting #2 this fall and I’m going to spend as much time as possible at home at that point.
This is fantastic. As long as you are responsible with your money you don't have to do anything you don't want to do for the rest of your life. So rather than forcing your round peg of a personality into a square hole job, do what you enjoy and if another opportunity that will truly interest you comes along you will be rested and ready for it. Taking that job for a year might have given you a real blessing. It gave you the ability to recognize what you have, and that is the greatest gift of all: true freedom.

Best of luck.
2commaBH
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by 2commaBH »

I too am surprised I just found this fascinating thread. My $0.02 would be to try to mimic the "rotation" style of medicine training. Identify a number of different interests and spend a set amount of time in each one. My guess is by the end you will have a sense of which is worth pursuing. If not, find some more interests and repeat. ;)

One personal thing I can recommend if your child is in some form of schooling yet - find ways to serve in a volunteer role there. Best time I ever spent.

One financial comment as well - your OP mentioned you were renting. With #2 on the way, home ownership may become more intriguing to you. Cashflow is king in that context.
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Hopeful
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Hopeful »

It looks like you said are currently spending $165k per year. That doesn’t seem sustainable to fully retire with $3mil. It doesn’t sound like you want to retire, but some people are saying you could. It’s very easy to say you are going to cut spending, harder to put into practice.
bltn
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by bltn »

Very interesting thread, as demonstrated by the large number of responses.

My first impression was that with your impressive accumulation at your age, you have the potential for a great future. The FIRE idea to retire and spend quality time with your family only works for someone who is willing to scrimp on a relatively small budget the rest of their lives. You have the potential for a lot more.

You indicated in earlier postings that you didn t feel right living off your nest egg. I agree that you should not sabotage your great opportunity for compounding.

I also don t feel that you should work just enough to meet your spending needs. A successful accumulator needs to maintain his saving habit.

While I think that spending time with your family is important, I don t think that is good as your full time job. The role model you provide for your children is very important. High achievement will be noticed by your children.

Investing in starting your own company, be it real estate or something else, has potential, but is risky. The chances are high that you wont create a job that you like, and you have a significant risk of losing a big chunk of your savings.

The way to eliminate some risk and still put your management skills to work in your own business might be with a franchise. There will still be quite a bit of work involved, but once you re established, this may slow down. And the chance to grow that business with a second or third location is high for many franchises. And the franchise has a proven successful business model.

You ve tried working in the corporate world and weren t happy with it. Look at franchising. At your age, with your ability, you should not give up on making a good income and continuing to save. (Even if you had three times as much savings.)

From your previous posts I believe you realize much of what I ve said.

Good luck.
Topic Author
gcc32
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by gcc32 »

Hopeful wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 5:12 am It looks like you said are currently spending $165k per year. That doesn’t seem sustainable to fully retire with $3mil. It doesn’t sound like you want to retire, but some people are saying you could. It’s very easy to say you are going to cut spending, harder to put into practice.
Agreed with all of the above. I've never had much success cutting expenses. They just keep creeping up. But i do enjoy the process of making money, just not at the cost of not being able to prioritize my family. I'm just so paranoid that I will squander my good financial start that sometimes I freak out wondering if I'm on the right path.
Topic Author
gcc32
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by gcc32 »

bltn wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 2:23 pm Very interesting thread, as demonstrated by the large number of responses.

My first impression was that with your impressive accumulation at your age, you have the potential for a great future. The FIRE idea to retire and spend quality time with your family only works for someone who is willing to scrimp on a relatively small budget the rest of their lives. You have the potential for a lot more.

You indicated in earlier postings that you didn t feel right living off your nest egg. I agree that you should not sabotage your great opportunity for compounding.

I also don t feel that you should work just enough to meet your spending needs. A successful accumulator needs to maintain his saving habit.

While I think that spending time with your family is important, I don t think that is good as your full time job. The role model you provide for your children is very important. High achievement will be noticed by your children.

Investing in starting your own company, be it real estate or something else, has potential, but is risky. The chances are high that you wont create a job that you like, and you have a significant risk of losing a big chunk of your savings.

The way to eliminate some risk and still put your management skills to work in your own business might be with a franchise. There will still be quite a bit of work involved, but once you re established, this may slow down. And the chance to grow that business with a second or third location is high for many franchises. And the franchise has a proven successful business model.

You ve tried working in the corporate world and weren t happy with it. Look at franchising. At your age, with your ability, you should not give up on making a good income and continuing to save. (Even if you had three times as much savings.)

From your previous posts I believe you realize much of what I ve said.

Good luck.
Thanks. I like this post. I'm not really the kind of guy to just sit around and not work. And I don't really know how to do anything professionally besides figure out how to make money if that makes any sense. I'm open to the franchise idea, but would have to find the perfect opportunity. I don't know how passionate I would be about it, generally speaking. If you have any specific ideas or advice, feel free to PM me.
Jablean
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Jablean »

You can have jobs you don't get paid for. You said that in your trial job this year you enjoyed the meeting people aspect and you said you had a passion for the job where you made your money. What are you doing every week right now - without a paying job - that includes those things? Do you like attending chamber of commerce events, joining your local tech council, checking out the groups on Meetup.com that have meetings to discuss a variety of job skills? Are you reading journals, keeping up with scientific research/discoveries, looking into Reddit discussion groups? Have you volunteered with any education group to be a mentor, are you posting or blogging on LinkedIn?

I found a topic that I didn't think was getting covered enough in my state and started my own social media campaign to raise awareness. After doing that for two years just for myself I'm now employed for the last four years by a state agency that was created to address that topic.

I also want to add a caveat to expecting your spouse to want to continue teaching as much as she may now currently think and depending on that income. Teacher burnout is a real thing as is the possibility that you may both question why are you wasting your young years being homebodies instead of taking your kids on adventures around the world while you are still young enough to keep up.
Sam1
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Sam1 »

Ok so in your case it doesn’t seem like this money has helped you. You seem restless, unhappy and constantly focused on what you should be doing. The challenges you’re facing seem more emotional than about personal finances or investing. I’d suggest you see a therapist.

Personally I think you need a kick in the you know what, but that’s just me. I think it’s foolish to walk away from a comfortable $165k a year job with benefits. Do you know how many people would die to have that kind of opportunity?

This is a perfect example of why I don’t want my kids inheriting at a young age. I want them to have drive, ambition and work hard. Not saying you haven’t worked hard but you have this “poor poor me” attitude. You’d be doing much better if you had $1 million in investments and were forced financially to go to work every day!
ponyboy
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by ponyboy »

You could certainly retire and never have to work again. You would have to move from your hcol to a lcol, that would shave a lot of expenses. Invest some in the market. Live off growth/interest. My guess is it would be almost impossible to go from expenses of $120k/year to $70k/year. The mindset isnt ready for such a change.
Topic Author
gcc32
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by gcc32 »

Sam1 wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 5:47 am Ok so in your case it doesn’t seem like this money has helped you. You seem restless, unhappy and constantly focused on what you should be doing. The challenges you’re facing seem more emotional than about personal finances or investing. I’d suggest you see a therapist.

Personally I think you need a kick in the you know what, but that’s just me. I think it’s foolish to walk away from a comfortable $165k a year job with benefits. Do you know how many people would die to have that kind of opportunity?

This is a perfect example of why I don’t want my kids inheriting at a young age. I want them to have drive, ambition and work hard. Not saying you haven’t worked hard but you have this “poor poor me” attitude. You’d be doing much better if you had $1 million in investments and were forced financially to go to work every day!
Couldn’t really disagree more on this. I don’t think I emphasized it much in my posts, but I have made tremendous sacrifices to get to where I am. My work ethic is extremely strong and it isn’t like I’ve just tried a few things and always been successful. A lot of pain and failure along the way. And I started with nothing, outside of a loving family. I just don’t want to look back on my life and wonder why I stuck with a job I didn’t like when I didn’t truly need the money and have multiple examples of success being on my own. I’m already involved part time in something and likely will start another business when I find a good opportunity.
Olemiss540
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Olemiss540 »

DELETED
Last edited by Olemiss540 on Wed Jul 17, 2019 6:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
I hold index funds because I do not overestimate my ability to pick stocks OR stock pickers.
Sam1
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Sam1 »

gcc32 wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:14 am
Sam1 wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 5:47 am Ok so in your case it doesn’t seem like this money has helped you. You seem restless, unhappy and constantly focused on what you should be doing. The challenges you’re facing seem more emotional than about personal finances or investing. I’d suggest you see a therapist.

Personally I think you need a kick in the you know what, but that’s just me. I think it’s foolish to walk away from a comfortable $165k a year job with benefits. Do you know how many people would die to have that kind of opportunity?

This is a perfect example of why I don’t want my kids inheriting at a young age. I want them to have drive, ambition and work hard. Not saying you haven’t worked hard but you have this “poor poor me” attitude. You’d be doing much better if you had $1 million in investments and were forced financially to go to work every day!
Couldn’t really disagree more on this. I don’t think I emphasized it much in my posts, but I have made tremendous sacrifices to get to where I am. My work ethic is extremely strong and it isn’t like I’ve just tried a few things and always been successful. A lot of pain and failure along the way. And I started with nothing, outside of a loving family. I just don’t want to look back on my life and wonder why I stuck with a job I didn’t like when I didn’t truly need the money and have multiple examples of success being on my own. I’m already involved part time in something and likely will start another business when I find a good opportunity.
Okay well if you’re so content then why are you posting on here asking strangers what to do with your life?

You missed the point of my post. If you had less money and simply had to go to work in order to save for retirement then you’d probably be a more content person. You have too many options, don’t need the money and therefore, can’t find your way.

It’s a mindset really. You’re looking for happiness in a job and that isn’t going to ever happen for most people. Most people go to work so they can earn a paycheck.
visualguy
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by visualguy »

Sam1 wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:47 pm
gcc32 wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:14 am
Sam1 wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 5:47 am Ok so in your case it doesn’t seem like this money has helped you. You seem restless, unhappy and constantly focused on what you should be doing. The challenges you’re facing seem more emotional than about personal finances or investing. I’d suggest you see a therapist.

Personally I think you need a kick in the you know what, but that’s just me. I think it’s foolish to walk away from a comfortable $165k a year job with benefits. Do you know how many people would die to have that kind of opportunity?

This is a perfect example of why I don’t want my kids inheriting at a young age. I want them to have drive, ambition and work hard. Not saying you haven’t worked hard but you have this “poor poor me” attitude. You’d be doing much better if you had $1 million in investments and were forced financially to go to work every day!
Couldn’t really disagree more on this. I don’t think I emphasized it much in my posts, but I have made tremendous sacrifices to get to where I am. My work ethic is extremely strong and it isn’t like I’ve just tried a few things and always been successful. A lot of pain and failure along the way. And I started with nothing, outside of a loving family. I just don’t want to look back on my life and wonder why I stuck with a job I didn’t like when I didn’t truly need the money and have multiple examples of success being on my own. I’m already involved part time in something and likely will start another business when I find a good opportunity.
Okay well if you’re so content then why are you posting on here asking strangers what to do with your life?

You missed the point of my post. If you had less money and simply had to go to work in order to save for retirement then you’d probably be a more content person. You have too many options, don’t need the money and therefore, can’t find your way.

It’s a mindset really. You’re looking for happiness in a job and that isn’t going to ever happen for most people. Most people go to work so they can earn a paycheck.
"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation". Finding ways to avoid that for oneself and one's family is a good thing.
WildBill
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by WildBill »

Howdy

Had the same opportunity at 40. Here are some thoughts"

Figure out where you want to live while your kids are growing up. Figure out how to get there and where to live. Execute.

Using your previous experience and your contacts conduct a brainstorming exercise and identify significant problems that need solving. Building a business to solve that/those problems is your next opportunity. Reiterate if the first one doesn’t work out.

Good luck

w B
"Through chances various, through all vicissitudes, we make our way." Virgil, The Aeneid
Loik098
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Loik098 »

deleted
Last edited by Loik098 on Wed Jul 17, 2019 11:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
Olemiss540
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by Olemiss540 »

Loik098 wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 11:22 pm
Olemiss540 wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:31 am
Loik098 wrote: Wed May 30, 2018 5:12 pm Congratulations!

If I were you, I would think long and hard about how your decision will affect your child(ren). I would make damned sure my children didn't see me as lazy, without passion, or without direction despite my early success, for fear that they would emulate my example.

Remember, they will not know the person who created this success. They will only know the person you'll become in the next phase of your life.
No concern for the wife's position in being a lazy role model? Being a stay at home parent has it's own rewards, passions, and focus and is completely the opposite of being lazy. I only wish my dad was lazy when I was younger so I could have spent more time with him.
Comment was made more than a year ago. Re-hashing an argument for your own pleasure is non-productive at this point in my book.
Pretty obvious I overlooked that detail. Deleted my comment in case you want to reciprocate.
I hold index funds because I do not overestimate my ability to pick stocks OR stock pickers.
ausmatt
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by ausmatt »

You may want to cross-post this on the FatFIRE subreddit as well. You may find some different answers there that balance what you see on bogleheads (or so I’ve found).
mobi
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by mobi »

Good to see this thread it's still up and running. I felt some connection first time I read this post and decided to register and post after years reading this forum. I'm still running an online business but I don't see any future. I found it more volatile than the stock market. Some here suggested bizbuysell, that's something I'm researching from time to time. Thanks for the advice.
EFF_fan81
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Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by EFF_fan81 »

Sam1 wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:47 pm
gcc32 wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:14 am
Sam1 wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 5:47 am Ok so in your case it doesn’t seem like this money has helped you. You seem restless, unhappy and constantly focused on what you should be doing. The challenges you’re facing seem more emotional than about personal finances or investing. I’d suggest you see a therapist.

Personally I think you need a kick in the you know what, but that’s just me. I think it’s foolish to walk away from a comfortable $165k a year job with benefits. Do you know how many people would die to have that kind of opportunity?

This is a perfect example of why I don’t want my kids inheriting at a young age. I want them to have drive, ambition and work hard. Not saying you haven’t worked hard but you have this “poor poor me” attitude. You’d be doing much better if you had $1 million in investments and were forced financially to go to work every day!
Couldn’t really disagree more on this. I don’t think I emphasized it much in my posts, but I have made tremendous sacrifices to get to where I am. My work ethic is extremely strong and it isn’t like I’ve just tried a few things and always been successful. A lot of pain and failure along the way. And I started with nothing, outside of a loving family. I just don’t want to look back on my life and wonder why I stuck with a job I didn’t like when I didn’t truly need the money and have multiple examples of success being on my own. I’m already involved part time in something and likely will start another business when I find a good opportunity.
Okay well if you’re so content then why are you posting on here asking strangers what to do with your life?

You missed the point of my post. If you had less money and simply had to go to work in order to save for retirement then you’d probably be a more content person. You have too many options, don’t need the money and therefore, can’t find your way.

It’s a mindset really. You’re looking for happiness in a job and that isn’t going to ever happen for most people. Most people go to work so they can earn a paycheck.
I disagree with this comment. OP is here to ask advice from smart and knowledgeable people, as we all are. That does not mean is miserable or unfulfilled or lazy or anything.

Your post suggests that if OP had challenges then he would find fulfillment through those challenges. That is almost certainly true. However, there is absolutely no reason those challenges need to be "grinding up the corporate ladder." In fact, for most humans who have ever lived (subsistence farmer, hunter-gatherer) that lifestyle would be totally foreign to them. There are many ways to find fulfillment.

OP, as someone who took a totally different route (grinding at a biglaw firm, 70 hours a week, mostly bullshit, to amass $1 million) I would not go the corporate route. I would stay active and look for self-actualization. I think a small business using your current skillset would be perfect. I am sure if you think creatively you can find something that would get you $50-100k a year and occupy 20-30 hours of your time. Think consulting on the thing that made you lots of money. Then you can scale up or down if you wish.

People on this site are VERY conservative. OP has millions in the bank and a proven ability to generate more and the advice from some posters is to run to the shelter of the nearest fortune 500 company and put cover pages on his TPS reports. That's insane.
mathwhiz
Posts: 897
Joined: Tue Jul 01, 2008 7:58 pm

Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by mathwhiz »

There's probably good reason for this. Life happens. Layoffs happen. Markets crash. Marriages end. People get sick and/or die unexpectedly.

Security is precious and valuable.
People on this site are VERY conservative. OP has millions in the bank and a proven ability to generate more and the advice from some posters is to run to the shelter of the nearest fortune 500 company and put cover pages on his TPS reports. That's insane.
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EFF_fan81
Posts: 435
Joined: Sat Jan 07, 2012 10:23 am

Re: Have $3m at 33, "approach to career" advice needed

Post by EFF_fan81 »

mathwhiz wrote: Wed Nov 27, 2019 5:14 pm There's probably good reason for this. Life happens. Layoffs happen. Markets crash. Marriages end. People get sick and/or die unexpectedly.

Security is precious and valuable.
People on this site are VERY conservative. OP has millions in the bank and a proven ability to generate more and the advice from some posters is to run to the shelter of the nearest fortune 500 company and put cover pages on his TPS reports. That's insane.
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Honest answer: Life is risky. There is a 100% chance of death. There is an extremely high chance of sickness before death. It's also 100% likely you will see many people you love suffer and die before you go. You cannot prepare for every eventuality. Once you have a reasonable margin of safety, it is OK to give yourselves a pass to actually go to do the self-actualizing thing you want to do. Otherwise you will die all the same, just without ever actually having lived first.
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