Career 'till I die?

[Cloudane]

I'm a "comfort zone" kind of person - spent 4 years at my previous job, working for a very incompetent charity (the type who use "we're a charity" as an excuse not to do things properly), getting paid pittance and sometimes wondering if we'd get paid at all... I only got off my arse and found another job at the very last second (the next month they stopped being able to pay their employees, 3 months later the courts ordered liquidation)

So yeah, I tend to be loyal to a job. This was 6 months ago so I only have 6 months down with this employer, but it's a very traditional and oldschool organisation who tend to reward long service and fire people who are no good (therefore the people who have been there a while are good by default), rather than the modern approach of trying to reward on performance instead.

This means it's not groundbreaking to start off with (although a dramatic improvement in wages over my previous!) and would likely be deemed "unfair" by the equality for all ages/experience levels/etc crowd... but more likely to be suitable in the long run.

It's as near to an old-style "job for life" as one can get these days unless you're really lucky. Obviously, this is the 21st century so they don't do many perks and don't do pensions but they make up for it with half decent pay - IF you ask for it. (I've heard people whinging about the pay here but they never actually ask for a rise? No sane company would conduct an individual pay review without being prompted first!)

So yeah, unless something silly happens or they treat me crappily (which they haven't so far) then I'd be happy to make a lifetime career here. It's only a mile from home too, spot on.

Mind, if I keep surfing this far past the end of our official break, they might see it differently, so back to work

[badass]

I look at people who were already well up the career and housing ladder before they were 30 and wonder how they did it, but it's simple, they had a plan, they saved, and they worked harder than anyone else.

Exacilty what I'm doing.

It is possible to have fun, work hard and save a lot of money. It just seems that most focus on the first without a thought for the others.

[IBM]

So does anybody want to be rich?

Everyone talks about it, lots of people dream about it....look at all the people who play the lottery....It seems to be a massive part of peoples lives, daydreaming about what they'd do if they were rich. People think about all the things they'd like to buy, places they love to go, things they want to do, but don't take any practical steps to addressing it.

It's not that easy of course, but does everyone know that unless you take drastic measures, it's never going to happen? Or is it just that people don't think it through and associate?

I for one don't intend to work until retirement age (unless I run a very big company and really enjoy what I do) and my priority is my family. So I work to live, but to live the way I want to live, and I'm working towards a better life for myself and my family. I don't love what I do, but I'm passionate about it, and driven. It's my business, and that's a thrill like no other. Every new customer, every invoice sent, every shipment ordered. It's something that I did, that I built. I couldn't advise anyone to work for someone else after reaching this point, because I've seen what can be done.

As for being rich, that's what I want. I don't want to ever have to worry about money. I want to be able to give as much money to charity as I want without worrying about it. I want to never have to worry when buying school clothes for my kids, or for myself. I want to be able to forgot worrying about the car breaking down 'cause it's going to be too expensive to get it fixed.

I don't want to fly First Class (it's overrated), I don't see the need to buy Armani suits & Gucci jeans, and I don't need a mansion in the country. Security is what I'm looking for, what drives me. Once I've reached that point, I want to give back.

[0iD]

Do you see the time spent plodding along as time wasted, or did you enjoy the lack of stress?

I have an elder & younger brother, both are highly successful. One is director of a construction/fabrication company, the other works for lloyds in the city. Both have wads of cash, but wads of stress. So, in answer to your question, yes I do enjoy the lack of stress, oh yes. I get home, i enjoy the kids, i chill out, life is cool.

OK, there have been ups & downs along the way, but i enjoy life to the full, stress is for chumps Never had the finer things in life, so i've never missed it. Underachiever & proud!

[Cloudane]

So does anybody want to be rich?

Not really... it's just flashy stuff, fake happiness.

It's nice to be paid comfortably, and it'd be nice to have enough to have a house etc but I see little point in having millions and millions - also quite often the more you have the more you spend (it just "goes", one way or another)

[schmunk]

So does anybody want to be rich?

That depends on what you mean by rich.

If I follow a straight career path from where I am now, in about 7-10 years time I'll reach a point where I'll be stuck on around £100k for the rest of my life (inflation notwithstanding), or quickly progress to around £500k, depending on whether I am accepted as a partner in my firm.

I would be satisfied with the former, but would much prefer the latter, and this would allow me to retire by ~50 (partners are made to leave shortly after this). We'll see... (perhaps a little less time on heXus would help.. )


(that said, I just saw the tax return of a client who earned around £16m last year... That's rich!)

[badass]

So does anybody want to be rich?

Everyone talks about it, lots of people dream about it....look at all the people who play the lottery....It seems to be a massive part of peoples lives, daydreaming about what they'd do if they were rich. People think about all the things they'd like to buy, places they love to go, things they want to do, but don't take any practical steps to addressing it.

It's not that easy of course, but does everyone know that unless you take drastic measures, it's never going to happen? Or is it just that people don't think it through and associate?

I for one don't intend to work until retirement age (unless I run a very big company and really enjoy what I do) and my priority is my family. So I work to live, but to live the way I want to live, and I'm working towards a better life for myself and my family. I don't love what I do, but I'm passionate about it, and driven. It's my business, and that's a thrill like no other. Every new customer, every invoice sent, every shipment ordered. It's something that I did, that I built. I couldn't advise anyone to work for someone else after reaching this point, because I've seen what can be done.

As for being rich, that's what I want. I don't want to ever have to worry about money. I want to be able to give as much money to charity as I want without worrying about it. I want to never have to worry when buying school clothes for my kids, or for myself. I want to be able to forgot worrying about the car breaking down 'cause it's going to be too expensive to get it fixed.

I don't want to fly First Class (it's overrated), I don't see the need to buy Armani suits & Gucci jeans, and I don't need a mansion in the country. Security is what I'm looking for, what drives me. Once I've reached that point, I want to give back.

That pretty much sums up my thoughts exactily. Except I paln on being a beach bum in Oz with no money worries. When I move there, I plan to buy a place outright. Part time work can pay the rest of the bills, with room to give a fair bit to charity.

[0iD]

Watch out with Oz, whilst land & housing are cheap, the cost of living is shocking!

[Nemeliza]

I want to be financially free (rich to some, comfortable to others), and for the lifestyle I would like this will requires wealth.

I don't see wealth as a collection of "flashy stuff" or "fake happiness" and I don’t understand why most people assume that it is the case. I believe it is possible to be both rich and happy and that is my goal.

Some of the things I would like to do in my life require substantial sums of money and IMO the stresses required to obtain the wealth I desire is a smaller price to pay than not being able to accomplish my dreams.

I am still trying to figure out the exact steps required for me to achieve my goal but it is my goal and I am confident I will achieve it. Many small steps eventually cover large distances.

[chriswood_7]

I dont want to be filthy rich - just comfortable without worrying about money

My goals and targets in life revolve around material things I suppose, as my next aim is to buy a house. I hope my career takes me onto bigger and more challenging projects, but at the moment I am acheiving all of my goals. My ultimate goal would be to work in F1 design, but I know I have a lot more professional development before reaching that stage. Plus I only have 1 contact in F1, and he is not in Design (in F1 its who you know not what you know).

[Nemeliza]

(in F1 its who you know not what you know).

As with most things - it's not who you know, but who knows you...

[dave87]

Much like Chris, I'd like to have a comfortable lifestyle, in that I don't have to worry about where the next weeks food is going to come from. To be filthy rich would be nice, but only if I'm happy at the same time. I'd much rather be skint and happy (such as I am now, at uni) than be fithy rich and unhappy. Money only buys so much.

My plan? Not very detailed, but I'd like to graduate in 2 years time with a 2:1 or better, find myself a job I enjoy (location not as important as enjoyment) with a sufficient salary to allow me to have a comfortable standard of living. I'd like to go into Finance or Law, but obviously the latter requires more time studying. What I really hope to avoid is a dead end job with no prospect of advancement, and living paycheck to paycheck. A good salary (above what I need) would be nice, but not essential, and to retire aged 50 would be very nice indeed. Would need to earn mega amounts to do that though

[Sinizter]

Have a good family life, be successful, make money, be comfortable, have nice cars, gear and holidays. Retired to semi-retired around 45-50 years of age.

[IBM]

I have an elder & younger brother, both are highly successful. One is director of a construction/fabrication company, the other works for lloyds in the city. Both have wads of cash, but wads of stress. So, in answer to your question, yes I do enjoy the lack of stress, oh yes. I get home, i enjoy the kids, i chill out, life is cool.

OK, there have been ups & downs along the way, but i enjoy life to the full, stress is for chumps Never had the finer things in life, so i've never missed it. Underachiever & proud!

So what about long term, retirement, improving your lot for the sake of your kids, and the chance to sample the finer things in life? This isn't criticising, I'm curious....tell me to piss off if you like

I've got stress, by the bucket, but I enjoy it....it's not terrible, just pressure to get things done. I always think that no matter how bad something is now, in five years it'll be nothing more than an anecdote, it's not going to destroy you, so all you have to do is get through now, and you'll be fine.

I think that if I didn't put myself into situations where I get stressed, I'd never get anything done. I used to read a lot, watch movies, and play computer games. Now I barely do the first two, and the last is relegated to late evening for an hour tops...my stress relief. I don't think I'm missing out, as I get much more stuff done. It's nice.

[IBM]

Not really... it's just flashy stuff, fake happiness.

It's nice to be paid comfortably, and it'd be nice to have enough to have a house etc but I see little point in having millions and millions - also quite often the more you have the more you spend (it just "goes", one way or another)

As has been pointed out, being rich on it's own is not the route to happiness, but it certainly helps. You have to be capable of happiness in the first place, not one of these people who hoards money for moneys sake.

As for the more you have the more you spend, that's true enough....look at all these people who win the lottery and then wonder where it's all gone five years down the line. But I'd say to have true security in this day and age you're looking at least a million in investments before you can really think about living the good life. That's a lot of money. And then if you're looking to be a true philanthropist you're going to need an income of at least that per annum.....so I think that's a good place to start

Easy, huh?

[IBM]

I want to be financially free (rich to some, comfortable to others), and for the lifestyle I would like this will requires wealth.

I don't see wealth as a collection of "flashy stuff" or "fake happiness" and I don’t understand why most people assume that it is the case. I believe it is possible to be both rich and happy and that is my goal.

Some of the things I would like to do in my life require substantial sums of money and IMO the stresses required to obtain the wealth I desire is a smaller price to pay than not being able to accomplish my dreams.

I am still trying to figure out the exact steps required for me to achieve my goal but it is my goal and I am confident I will achieve it. Many small steps eventually cover large distances.

That was a scarily intense post. Are you an ethical person?