In sum, don't be like me. Don't let yourself get to the point where you are doing something because you feel like you "have" to, and not because you "want to." You only live once, so spend your time doing things you like. Money and "things" are not nearly as valuable as experiences. Take it from a guy who is in his mid thirties and reached the mid-level executive level that you think you might achieve as well.
My whole life I have done what I "had" to do because I literally don't know what I "want" to do. While there are things in my life I would never give up (wife, kid), I would love to have some inclination as to what it is I am meant to do professionally.
You don't have that problem. You know what you "want" to do. The question that you need to ask yourself is "why am I (are you) not doing what I (you) want to do?"
There are good reasons and bad reasons to not do something. Money often isn't a good reason, particularly for a young single professional such as yourself. I know lots of people that are poorer than I am (in some instances a lot poorer), but who are ultimately happier because they have found some level of personal satisfaction in their day to day life/career. I also know a hell of lot of rich people who are miserable because, like me, they spend there lives toiling away at a job they don't care about so that they can buy things that ultimately do not bring any satisfaction.
In sum, don't be like me. Don't let yourself get to the point where you are doing something because you feel like you "have" to, and not because you "want to." You only live once, so spend your time doing things you like. Money and "things" are not nearly as valuable as experiences. Take it from a guy who is in his mid thirties and has reached the mid-level executive level that you think you might achieve as well.
Now, if only I could follow my own advice. . . . . But when you have a family that is depending on you, it is hard to make drastic decisions.
One last bit of advice. If you are young, single and successful, your inclination will be to buy a lot of "stuff" that reflects your young, single, and successful status. While you are certainly entitlted to go down this route, I caution you to avoid it. If you don't, you may find yourself locked into a path but what I like to call the "golden handcuffs." I.e., you will get used to having a certain amount of purchasing power, and therefore will artificially self limit your perception of potential career avenues based on maintaining that purchasing power. If there is one thing I have learned, real freedom comes from not owing anything to anyone, and having a source of income seperate from your job. So, take some time to figure out how much money you need to pay your expenses. once you figure that number, add 10% for fun money, and use the rest to invest and pay down any existing debt. When you get a raise, only add 10% of it to your budget and save/invest the rest. If you do that, you might be able to retire in 15 years (at the young age of 43) and do whatever you want for the rest of your life . . . literally.
Good luck.
Good friend of my wife's was a pharmacist making well over 100k a year and married to a doctor (of medicine) making probably 3x what he did. They paid off all student loans they had, sold off almost every possession they had and moved to Uganda doing volunteer medical aid. They know that almost know one would understand their decision but they are very happy with it. They are actually putting their skills to use to people that legitimitely need it and without mountains of political bullshit. They wouldn't do it any different.
If it's something you feel like you need to do, nobody but yourself can convince you otherwise.
dude that sounds so awesome (except for the layoff/breakup part)
i keep looking for an excuse to do something like that, but no dice. hoping to find a place that allows sabbaticals someday, or gives more than 2 weeks of vaca.
You just need a 2 week vacation. Go to China, see how much it sucks, get bored of it, then you'll have a renewed sense of accomplishment and satisfaction back home. Whatever you do, do not quit and throw it all down the toilet before you even visit the place.
My whole life I have done what I "had" to do because I literally don't know what I "want" to do. While there are things in my life I would never give up (wife, kid), I would love to have some inclination as to what it is I am meant to do professionally.
You don't have that problem. You know what you "want" to do. The question that you need to ask yourself is "why am I (are you) not doing what I (you) want to do?"
There are good reasons and bad reasons to not do something. Money often isn't a good reason, particularly for a young single professional such as yourself. I know lots of people that are poorer than I am (in some instances a lot poorer), but who are ultimately happier because they have found some level of personal satisfaction in their day to day life/career. I also know a hell of lot of rich people who are miserable because, like me, they spend their life toiling away at a job they don't care about so that they can buy things that ultimately do not bring any satisfaction.
In sum, don't be like me. Don't let yourself get to the point where you are doing something because you feel like you "have" to, and not because you "want to." You only live once, so spend your time doing things you like. Money and "things" are not nearly as valuable as experiences. Take it from a guy who is in his mid thirties and has reached the mid-level executive level that you think you might achieve as well.
Now, if only I could follow my own advice. . . . . But when you have a family that is depending on you, it is hard to make drastic decisions.
One last bit of advice. If you are young, single and successful, your inclination will be to buy a lot of "stuff" that reflects your young, single, and successful status. While you are certainly entitlted to go down this route, I caution you to avoid it. If you don't, you may find yourself locked into a path that I like to call the "golden handcuffs." I.e., you will get used to having a certain amount of purchasing power, and therefore will artificially self limit your perception of potential career avenues based on maintaining that purchasing power. If there is one thing I have learned, real freedom comes from not owing anything to anyone, and having a source of income seperate from your job. So, take some time to figure out how much money you need to pay your expenses. Once you figure that number, add 10% for fun money, and use the rest to invest and pay down any existing debt. When you get a raise, only add 10% of it to your budget and save/invest the rest. If you do that, you might be able to retire in 15 years (at the young age of 43) and do whatever you want for the rest of your life . . . literally.
Good luck.
I don't know about you, but for me even a 2 night weekend getaway goes a REALLY long way for me.I sorta agree. I want to move out to BC so I can ride downhill at the bike parks all summer, and ski all winter, but I have not even visited and I do think that's important, even if we're talking about China and west coast Canada. (2 totally different things) the theory still applies.
I feel the same way though, I need to GTFO and have a nice change in my life.
I don't know about you, but for me even a 2 night weekend getaway goes a REALLY long way for me.
If you truly hate your job though it's much harder. My old job sucked the life out of me. It wasn't what I was doing, it was who I was working with/for and the culture of the company that ate my soul away. I hated going to work, I hated thinking about work, I hated my lunch break, I hated everything about it. My new job has made me feel 10 million times better, even though I'm doing the exact same thing. I love my new job.
Company culture and co-workers go a long way. Yes it's 'work' and not super fun happy time for a reason, but if your job is soul crushingingly miserable and depressing you should at least find a new company to work while utilizing your same skill set to see if the problem is the company or your job title.