Technically, I am well paid. I make 62K a year which is not too bad considering I haven’t worked that long. I certainly make more than the averagee American (which is about 35k in 2005 according to the US Census Bureau). As a matter of fact, if it wasn’t for the large amount of debt I had, I would be perfectly happy and probably wouldn’t be writing this post.
Since I am writing this post, you obviously know I am not happy. What’s the problem? See, I spent 3 months working 80 hours a week at no extra pay. I would love to say that I was a CEO or doctor but sadly, I’m not. I’m just an associate who spends more time than she would care to making copies. Here’s where being in debt makes gives you a different perspective. If I were debt free, I’d probably chalk all that to experience and say something to the tune of “everyone has to pay their dues.” However, I owe various institutions more than I make in one year so that’s not my song. Instead my mantra comes from the the saying “to pay off debt, one must decrease expenses and increase income” (i might actually be the only one who says it that way but you catch my drift). Here’s the problem.
How can you increase your income if you have no free time?
I’ve already cut my expenses as much as I can without going mad so I try to focus on increasing my income. Tell me though, how do you get a second job when you work from 9am to 2-3 am? I barely get enough sleep to function as it is. This situation got me to thinking about the value of time - my time – to be exact. How much was I earning an hour? I decided to break it down and found out I was getting paid about $15 an hour! I thought more about this and I realized that if I were a cashier at a 24/7 and I worked the same hours I would be bringing home the same amount! (I’m only illustrating a point, I have no idea what cashiers make). Why pay for a masters degree then? (Ironically, that’s the cause of some of my debt). So I’ve decided,
I need a new job!
I need something that allows me to supplement my income with income from other sources. If I had more free time I would focus more on creating passive sources of income. I would probably suck it up and get an evening job. Now, when I am at work, I get annoyed because I know my time is worth more than this. I now understand how a colleague could quit and go to med. school. Everyone was shocked because they felt it was totally random (the 2 fields are not connected at all) but as he put it, he could make a hell of a lot more working the same hours as a doctor.
The moral of the story is, take stock of your skill set and see what value you contribute. Ask yourself if you are being paid enough for your time and if the answer is no. Start looking for something you can do that will.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I feel for you. Working for someone else, or getting higher education, is not the way to get ahead, or to live the life you want. Let’s say somehow, you decide that enough’s enough, and you head to medical school. That’s a 7-year minimum investment, at the end of which, you might make +$100K/year. But, you would also have incured a +$150K debt to get your medical degree.
Now, you give the same $150K to a guy name John… And 12 years later, he’s retired with a $1.7M net worth and a nice house and family, all because he used the money to invest in starting up/owning businesses instead. Frankly, I don’t know that much medical doctors who retire 5 years after getting their medical license and with a net worth of $1.7M!
Here’s John’s story (Retired at 31: An Early Retirement Story):
http://www.milliondollarjourney.com/retired-at-31-an-early-retirement-story.htm
Big Apple Debtor, I’m curious to your educational background and current occupation.
Whatever it is, I feel your pain. LOL But the grass is always greener on the other side. The key is putting in all in perspective. This is a temporary stop for you. Things will get better.
I’m a physician. Once upon a time, I was a brash young man eager to take the corporate world by storm. I combined my intelligence with hard work. I was climbing the corporate ladder but I got tired of everything revolving around money. I was unhappy with life and find myself questioning its meaning. Armed with whatever remaining altruism, I decided to pursue medicine for a more “meaningful” career.
Since my undergrad business degree only required a couple random science courses, I had to do all the prerequisite science courses. That’s 2 years. But while I was at it, I got a BS Biology any way in 3 years. 4 years of med school. 6 years of graduate medical training, initially working 100-120 hrs a week then gradually down to 80. My stipend started at $35K and eventually reached 45K. For my last year, working extra shifts (“moonlighting”) got me up to $64K. So 13 years later, I’m now finally able to breathe and not live from paycheck to paycheck. $250K in debt.
During these years, I watched many of my friends thrive in the business upcycle and enjoy their youth. They drove fancy cars, enjoyed vacations, had nice clothes and dined in fine restaurants. Most have settled down, bought houses and started families.
The whole time, I was either busy toiling in a hospital or at home catching up on sleep or studying. The personal isolation was very depressing.
Has it been worth it? I don’t know. I’ve asked myself that question many times but haven’t been able to convince myself that I’ve made the right decision. My work is interesting and I’m now well-paid.
But it has come at tremendous personal costs. My personal relationships suffered and I haven’t been in a meaningful one in quite a while.
But I take whatever small victories as they come. I’m healthy. I have wonderful and loving family and friends. I have a roof over my head. A shirt on my back. I don’t go to bed hungry.
Life is good.
Cashiers where I live get paid around half of $15, so don’t feel too bad. I only get paid $8/hour if that makes you feel any better!
Getting a strictly “9-5″ job so that you can make extra income working a second job isn’t always such a great idea.
When I was retrenched from my first job ten years ago, I worked a casual evening job while I was job hunting. I found my current job after a c ouple of months, but the starting pay ($40K) was lower than my previous position, so I kept on with the second job for a while. Eventually I had to quit the second job as my new position required some unpaid overtime after hours and on the occasional weekend. Although that meant less income in the short run, after a year or so I had earned a couple of pay rises and a promotion and was earning more than my previous position. If I had insisted on working 40-hour weeks in my full-time position (so that I could keep moonlighting in the second job) I most likely would never been promoted into a middle management position.
These days I’m quite happy with my salary package (that is just under six figures) – considering I generally only work a 38-hour week and hardly ever work late or on weekends. But establishing a reputation for being willing to work extra hours if needed was necessary before I could earn a good salary while only working standard hours. It was also vital to be capable and flexible (taking on new tasks and roles), rather than just working long hours.
However, any job that requires you to work 80-hours a week for months on end for a fixed salary package would have to have exceptional prospects for future benefits (eg. aiming to get a partnership in a law firm) to be worth keeping. If you find that you have to work more than 50-hours a week for several months I’d have a chat with “the boss” about what direction your career is likely to progress. If it seems like you’re putting in the extra hours with no benefit in sight, I’d look for another position that has better prospects. But not necessarily a “9-5″ job that allows you to work a second job on the side…
The problem I run into is how to compare the job that has a possibility of more money in the future, to the job that gives you more money right then and now but not much of other opportunities.
I guess its just like anything else, in order to get the big payoff, you have to assume some of the risk.
You guys have left some great comments and I want to address some of them.
1. I don’t feel that those that make money without a college education shouldn’t. I’m just annoyed that I work this much and my income potential is hampered. I don’t WANT a 9-5 so i can get a 2nd job. I want a 2nd job so I can pay off my debt faster and the hours at my job prohibit that. Sometimes, i look at the amount of time I put into my job and I feel that it wowuld make more sense pouring that much energy into my OWN business instead of making a bunch of partners richer. Case in point, I’ve worked on some invoices and I saw that clients get charged about $350 and hour for my time…and then i get $15??? I know they have to make money but that’s crazy……
2. @ Frank, I think if I was working these hours but say making $200K a year, I would stick it out till I was debt free…… it’s just a matter of feeling like I put in more than I get I guess.
3. Thanks for reminding me about the loans doctors have to take… i completely left that out of the equation….
I too feel some of the same thoughts. I work in the corporate world and find the bureaucratic/politics/red tape an amazing pain. But just like home ownership has good and bad parts compared to renting, owning your own business too has many good and bad points compared to being an employee. It sure is great to know I will get a paycheck each week with great benefits rather.
Saying that I too want to become an entrepreneur/business owner. I also am planning on going back to school for an MBA to learn the skills necessary to succeed in different fields ( I am not sure which area I want to go into yet). I wouldn’t want my doctor to go to the cheapest school just to save some cash but there are many MBA programs that are great that do not cost $50,000+. Often you can get employers to help cover some of this cost.
I don’t have a set 9-5 anymore and lately its been a lot more than 40 hours each week but it is nice to also have a life outside of work. I work to live, not live to work. Eventually though I would like to find that passion for a career that makes “work” not seem like “work” because I would actually enjoy it. I think owning your own business thus your own future where the success of the business is on your shoulders would be fun and (extremely) challenging. This is one of my motivations for being debt free as well.