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Legend
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so, i already have a degree in business Admin.
as most of you know, i aim to become a one percenter. more realistically, maybe a 10? i dunno. anyway, i understand that wanted to earn a selfish amount of money is, well, selfish. but i don't care. money doesn't buy happiness, but i'd love to be sad and depressed in an Audi R8.
anyway. i have the GI bill i can use when i get out. since most of you guys have a lot more civilian experience than i do, my question is: should i pursue a MBA?
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
- Theodore Roosevelt
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~ Legend
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If your goal is to become rich you will not regret the choice.
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MBAs are a dime a dozen. Just like all degrees are a dime a dozen. What matters is what you specialize in.
I don't think there's anything wrong with making a lot of money. The important part is knowing how to give back to those who helped along the way.
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Quote:
MBAs are a dime a dozen. Just like all degrees are a dime a dozen. What matters is what you specialize in.
I used to think the same thing, however I have made an adjustment to that thought. A co-worker of mine who is a project manager attended Duke to get an MBA. He is about to graduate and has 3 very nice offers from tier 1 retailers to be a director in IT - these are positions with very nice base salaries, stock options, and bonus plans. WHERE you get your MBA matters a lot.
Quote:
I don't think there's anything wrong with making a lot of money. The important part is knowing how to give back to those who helped along the way.
Absolutely. If there is one bit of advice I can give is that you will very rarely become successfully without great people around you. Remember who those people are that made sacrifices to not only better their career, but also yours. As you move up, bring them with you. Having a core group of loyal people around you is very, very helpful.
To Swish...
Be prepared to work! A lot. Most people are simply not willing to put in the time that it takes to be ultra successful IMO. 15 hour days, very few vacations (none with no contact from work), always on-call, taking huge risks, etc. The key is to find a job that you are passionate about so the long hours don't seem like work all of the time. Success is defined differently by different people too. Some want a job that pays the bills and nothing more, others want a little more but still desire lots of family time, still others are willing to sacrifice time away from home in order to be financially successful. Whatever you choose, just make sure it truly makes you happy - you only live once! Good luck!
#gmstrong
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My advice is not an answer to your question, but take it from me, if you truly want to be rich then make sure you are doing what you truly love to do.
I started out as a young man, thinking a lot like you. Your comments about getting rich made me chuckle because I remember telling my dad that exact same thing and looking at him wondering why he thought I was being foolish. It took a long time to realize that (almost) everyone wants to be in that 10% but only a few (about 10%, lol) actually make it. So what happens to everyone else? Life happens. Some are not equipped to do it, some make poor decisions along the way, some do everything right and get stopped by others or life's curve balls.
I've been all over in my life... I've made a lot of money at times, lost a lot of money at other times, worked for others, owned my own business, had nice things, lost all my things, been married twice (divorced once), raised four kids, currently have 5 grand children with another coming soon...
I've spent the last 3 years battling back from some pretty devastating illness and the loss of a very substantial income from a business all but destroyed by the financial collapse in 08. I'm currently developing a new software for a specific industry and with the interest and pre-launch sales so far, I can reasonably say that I will be back to and improve upon my 08 income level within the next few months.
I'm not talking millions, but I'm talking damn comfortable compared to where I'm at now. And this is just the beginning of this particular venture. So I'm very excited to see where the journey takes me. I also know I will be happy, because I'm doing what I want, the way I want, with the people I want. Will it be perfect, hell no; but nothing ever is...
So my life has been a twisted roller coaster so far and all along the way, the one constant that made me truly happy at any one time was doing what I WANTED to do.
I also learned that money, possessions, friends, opportunities, circumstances, health and even family all tend to come and go with or without your wanting them to. None of these things are the measure of you as a person nor the measure of your success. At the end of your life when you look back on all the experiences you've had, the ones that made you the happiest are the ones that you will remember most and I doubt very seriously that you will list any amount of money you made among them.
Your feelings and opinions do not add up to facts.
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I popped back in the thread but OCD beat me to the punch. Quote:
make sure you are doing what you truly love to do
This statement speaks volumes. Personally I relate to the utmost degree with those words of advice.
During the college years I originally chose the more "lucrative" looking path; studied in a field that promised big bucks immediately out of college. The prospect of obtaining employment read likely, too. Originally I romanticized the position. I figured I could design buildings, cars, or even amusement park rides. Little did I know that my dreams stuck themselves high in the sky.
I took an internship down in Florida at the Happiest Place on Earth. There I found out what I wanted in life. My dreams rested somewhere else other than a cubicle looking at CAD drawings. The experience taught me much. I learned I enjoy being on my own, I revel at a good adventure, and I ultimately love serving other people in the line of work I choose. Money provides material goods but it fails in providing well meaning relationships with people. My decision cemented itself even further when I came to terms what my strengths are. My strengths rest in people, writing, and reading. Math and science only come to me with wonderful instruction. Wonderful instruction in math and science rarely exist at the university level.
The path I chose brings me happiness each and every day. My career, I call an actual calling. I know this job is what I'm meant to do. I enjoy it, even during the tough times, each and every moment. The challenges only shape you into a better person at what you do.
Swish, make sure you do what you enjoy. Chasing green pieces of paper makes you lose sight of true happiness.
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Legend
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FWIW, as a Recruiter, I used to get calls for MBA's a lot.. That was in the 90's.
I haven't had a request for any openings that required a person with an MBA in about 15 years.
Again, it's nice, but it's not the reason you'll be come rich.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe."
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Legend
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Rocket, what do you do for a living?
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Legend
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In my profession of IT, degrees are overlooked by experience. Most often it will say a BA (or equivalent in work experience). I only got an associates, but all that schooling didn't prepare me for a real-world programming job.
Not sure how the market looks/acts in the non-IT world, but it may be more beneficial to find a job and gather experience than to gather more student loan bills.
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Legend
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Legend
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Quote:
MBAs are a dime a dozen. Just like all degrees are a dime a dozen. What matters is what you specialize in.
I don't think there's anything wrong with making a lot of money. The important part is knowing how to give back to those who helped along the way.
true that.
but MBA's are a dime a dozen? jeez...i was trying to figure out ways to separate from the herd.
but yea fellow board members, the goal is this:
http://www.youtube.com/v/HgM8TAJl30U
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
- Theodore Roosevelt
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Quote:
In my profession of IT, degrees are overlooked by experience. Most often it will say a BA (or equivalent in work experience). I only got an associates, but all that schooling didn't prepare me for a real-world programming job.
Not sure how the market looks/acts in the non-IT world, but it may be more beneficial to find a job and gather experience than to gather more student loan bills.
I agree with this for the most part. There are a few companies who are still too old school to realize a bachelors degree in IT can be pretty meaningless and they lose out on a lot of good candidates because of this.
One of the best, if not the best, technologist (mostly a programmer, but knows a lot about everything else) I have ever met has only a high school diploma. He saw no value in the laggard technology that is taught at universities, and I agree with him. I've come across many IT folks who have degrees and multiple certifications who are horrible. As one of my mentors told me long ago when I first started in this industry - coding is 25% technology and 75% art. The logic skills are typically something you have or you don't IMO.
#gmstrong
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Legend
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Quote:
I popped back in the thread but OCD beat me to the punch.
Quote:
make sure you are doing what you truly love to do
Man this is so important to being successful.
I hate it when I hear people telling their kids to go do A or B, because they can make money at it ..... even if they would hate every day of their working life.
When I was a young man, I had an opportunity to go to work at GM, and could have made a lifetime out of it ..... but to me that is about as dreary a job as I could ever expect to find. No offense to GM, or to anyone who works on the line, but I am just not cut out for a job of eternal repetitiveness.
I later tried a factory job for a week. It was all I could take.Some people can do that kind of work. I couldn't. I needed more of a constant challenge ...... so I sold insurance for several years ...... sold cars for over a dozen years ..... did IT work for a while, (including while I did auto sales) and ran restaurants. I enjoyed all of the different challenges. If I had gone to work for GM, I could have retired by now with 30+ years in ....... but I would have hated getting up to go to work every single day along the way.
Like I said, some people enjoy that kind of work, and others can set aside their feelings of dislike for a particular job in order to make a good paycheck, but it wasn't for me at all. I don't think that it is for most people.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Legend
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Quote:
Quote:
I popped back in the thread but OCD beat me to the punch.
Quote:
make sure you are doing what you truly love to do
Man this is so important to being successful.
Ok, just a quick word from me because I think the misapplication of this idea is just as dangerous.
You need to do something that you love, yes. But, you need to understand that in any job you are going to have to do alot of things you hate (most likely). It's just the nature of having responsibilities. Also, there are many times you have to trudge through jobs you dislike to get one that you love (working up the ladder).
My best advice is to try to approach all of those responsibilities & jobs with an eye on what you love, but also without the complaining that often accompanies those jobs. Being the guy that your boss relies on to get things done without complaint can get you further along in your career. Unless your boss is terrible and abuses that privilege, which is when you look for a transfer or new job 
#gmstrong
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My best advice is to try to approach all of those responsibilities & jobs with an eye on what you love, but also without the complaining that often accompanies those jobs. Being the guy that your boss relies on to get things done without complaint can get you further along in your career. Unless your boss is terrible and abuses that privilege, which is when you look for a transfer or new job
Excellent advice.
I love my job 90% of the time. The other 10% sucks, but that certainly beats hating it 100% of the time!
#gmstrong
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Legend
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Quote:
A co-worker of mine who is a project manager attended Duke to get an MBA. He is about to graduate and has 3 very nice offers from tier 1 retailers to be a director in IT - these are positions with very nice base salaries, stock options, and bonus plans. WHERE you get your MBA matters a lot.
Not to mention any time somebody at work bumps into him, they get called for charging. 
Swish.. get the MBA and that could get you to a nice 6 figure job relatively quickly.. the difference between that and being a 1%er is that you will have to step out and take some big risks.. that's how 1%ers are made.
You could take your MBA to Exxon or Google or any big established company and you are going to do real well for yourself but if you want the big bucks, you are going to have to hitch your wagon to some small company that becomes Google in 5-10 years... and that's risky because for every one that becomes the next Google, 10 go out of business in that same time period...
I read about this guy who did book reviews for newspapers and magazines for about $40K/year.. he went with this little start up and started doing book reviews for them on-line... a few years later he was doing the same book reviews only he was making $10 million/year working for Amazon.... 
yebat' Putin
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Legend
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Legend
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Quote:
Quote:
A co-worker of mine who is a project manager attended Duke to get an MBA. He is about to graduate and has 3 very nice offers from tier 1 retailers to be a director in IT - these are positions with very nice base salaries, stock options, and bonus plans. WHERE you get your MBA matters a lot.
Not to mention any time somebody at work bumps into him, they get called for charging.
Swish.. get the MBA and that could get you to a nice 6 figure job relatively quickly.. the difference between that and being a 1%er is that you will have to step out and take some big risks.. that's how 1%ers are made.
You could take your MBA to Exxon or Google or any big established company and you are going to do real well for yourself but if you want the big bucks, you are going to have to hitch your wagon to some small company that becomes Google in 5-10 years... and that's risky because for every one that becomes the next Google, 10 go out of business in that same time period...
I read about this guy who did book reviews for newspapers and magazines for about $40K/year.. he went with this little start up and started doing book reviews for them on-line... a few years later he was doing the same book reviews only he was making $10 million/year working for Amazon....
word. yea i don't really have a problem taking risk. its like, my wife already makes a good paycheck, so even if i wanted to bum it out, or more classy way of putting it, stay at home dad, she would be able to support us with zero problems.
so i could in theory take whatever risk, without worrying too much about the failure if it happens. sink or swim, right?
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
- Theodore Roosevelt
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Legend
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
I popped back in the thread but OCD beat me to the punch.
Quote:
make sure you are doing what you truly love to do
Man this is so important to being successful.
Ok, just a quick word from me because I think the misapplication of this idea is just as dangerous.
You need to do something that you love, yes. But, you need to understand that in any job you are going to have to do alot of things you hate (most likely). It's just the nature of having responsibilities. Also, there are many times you have to trudge through jobs you dislike to get one that you love (working up the ladder).
My best advice is to try to approach all of those responsibilities & jobs with an eye on what you love, but also without the complaining that often accompanies those jobs. Being the guy that your boss relies on to get things done without complaint can get you further along in your career. Unless your boss is terrible and abuses that privilege, which is when you look for a transfer or new job
Yeah, that's true. I use the example of the scene from Groundhog Day, where the producer tells Bill Murray that her major in college was 18th century French poetry ..... and he busts out laughing "What an incredible waste of time". There has to be some practical application of a person's passion or they will not succeed.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Dawg Talker
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Did you see The Wolf of Wall Street? Become a licensed broker, morals be damned!
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*In Baker we trust*
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Legend
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Legend
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Quote:
Did you see The Wolf of Wall Street? Become a licensed broker, morals be damned!
haha yea i seen that movie.
i actually have a homeboy that does investment banking. i guess they start off as analyst first. man...he told me some crazy horror stories. no less than 50 hour work weeks...on a good week.
but hey, if you don't work, you don't eat, you don't grind, you don't shine.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
- Theodore Roosevelt
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Legend
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word. yea i don't really have a problem taking risk. its like, my wife already makes a good paycheck, so even if i wanted to bum it out, or more classy way of putting it, stay at home dad, she would be able to support us with zero problems.
so i could in theory take whatever risk, without worrying too much about the failure if it happens. sink or swim, right?
That's pretty cool. Just make sure that if you take the risk and it starts to pay off, keep your standard of living within your wife's means until you are 100% sure the pay off is there... If your lifestyle starts creeping up based on your income and then that income goes away.. well then you are stuck.
yebat' Putin
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Legend
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Quote:
Quote:
In my profession of IT, degrees are overlooked by experience. Most often it will say a BA (or equivalent in work experience). I only got an associates, but all that schooling didn't prepare me for a real-world programming job.
Not sure how the market looks/acts in the non-IT world, but it may be more beneficial to find a job and gather experience than to gather more student loan bills.
I agree with this for the most part. There are a few companies who are still too old school to realize a bachelors degree in IT can be pretty meaningless and they lose out on a lot of good candidates because of this.
One of the best, if not the best, technologist (mostly a programmer, but knows a lot about everything else) I have ever met has only a high school diploma. He saw no value in the laggard technology that is taught at universities, and I agree with him. I've come across many IT folks who have degrees and multiple certifications who are horrible. As one of my mentors told me long ago when I first started in this industry - coding is 25% technology and 75% art. The logic skills are typically something you have or you don't IMO.
I hear ya. I saw value in the some of the programming classes in school, but the extent they were was nothign to prepare for me tackling real world tasks and projects. Truthfully what I had learned in college, I could have gotten from some online tutorials and I wouldn't have had a student loan bill for awhile there.
But yes, there are still companies that won't even look at you unless you have a bach. degree. Too old fashioned. In terms of IT, real work experience and hands-on experience is by far beneficial to a company (should be anyway) than anything saying you got good grades in a classroom!
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he told me some crazy horror stories. no less than 50 hour work weeks...on a good week
that's 5x10hr days. in other words, a normal working week for most people. get in at 7am, leave at 5pm, eat lunch at your desk while working and you're already there.
you want horror stories, I can take you back to my last job. 70hrs was a good week and it pushed over 100hrs at times (good luck getting days off for vacations or what some people call weekends). lots of travel (where I barely got back to the hotel to shower and sleep for a couple hours during those weeks) and we rushed everything so much that the end product was never any good. ah, the good old days.
#gmstrong
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I've backed down to 50-55 at my current contract (usually only bill for 45, but work 50-55). I was at 60+ but started a new venture that I am putting about 15-20 hours per week additional in so I had to cut back to get this one going. Hopefully it works out, but I am at least learning a lot if it doesn't. I of course still have those 100+ hour weeks, stay up for days straight times when we are implementing something big - at least those are few and far between now. I usually work 5-10 hours per weekend, mostly at night after my son goes to bed. I'm lucky that I don't need more than 5 hours of sleep (at least if I don't drink a lot  ). I kinda chuckled at the 50 hour week. I'd love to have that as a definitive set of hours! Cakewalk.
#gmstrong
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I kinda chuckled at the 50 hour week. I'd love to have that as a definitive set of hours! Cakewalk.
especially for someone that wants to break into the top 10% (sorry Swish, but it IS funny)
#gmstrong
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Quote:
Quote:
I kinda chuckled at the 50 hour week. I'd love to have that as a definitive set of hours! Cakewalk.
especially for someone that wants to break into the top 10% (sorry Swish, but it IS funny)
No kidding. I work 50ish hours a week and I'm broke.
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Legend
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Quote:
Quote:
MBAs are a dime a dozen. Just like all degrees are a dime a dozen. What matters is what you specialize in.
I don't think there's anything wrong with making a lot of money. The important part is knowing how to give back to those who helped along the way.
true that.
but MBA's are a dime a dozen? jeez...i was trying to figure out ways to separate from the herd.
but yea fellow board members, the goal is this:
http://www.youtube.com/v/HgM8TAJl30U
If money and "stuff" is your driving goal - what motivates you - you might not ever reach it. That would be sad, because people with that mindset seem to not ever have enough. There's always something "more" they "need".
I could give example after example of the bad part of seeking riches. I could list several examples of families of 4-6 where dad works, mom doesn't, and they have all they need (NEED), a house, clothes, food, etc - all on a factory wage.
If you want to be in the 1%, you'll have your work cut out for you. Same even for the top 10%. Here's a clue on how to get there: don't spend your money on things you don't need. Seems like you're young - use your money wisely.
Money isn't the end all-be all. Love what you do. When I was young, money was my motivator. Now? Even though my income has dropped in the last 5 years, I have what so, so many others don't: Time. The bills get paid. I volunteer at school (not even in my daughter's class), weekends away, a flexible schedule, days off whenever I schedule them, time to take my daughter to school, go to her games, help with homework, etc.
Here's what I don't have: A paid off mortgage (yet), a Porsche or Lamborghini, a vacation home, paid vacations, shoot, I drive (for my daily commute to my daughter's school) a 2000 GMC reg. cab pickup with 190,000 miles on it. Wife drives an H3 with 100,000 miles on it.
I have an uncle that had around $80 million in cash - 3 homes, more cars than I can count. He's not 1 bit happier than I am. I will say, he doesn't have to worry about finances - but he isn't happy.
Have another friend that thought going from his paramedic job and other "public" job into a private sector job would be great. He has kids - and he's now spending 4-5 days a week on the road. Well, actually, in a plane. Typical week: Leave Detroit early Monday morning, go to Toronto for the day, fly to Boston for the day, fly to Charlotte for the day............get home late on thursday.....pack up and do it again on Monday. This time maybe Baltimore, then Texas for a meeting, then back to Boston, then Pittsburgh.
Makes good money, no doubt. Missing his kids and wife's life as well.
Eh, best wishes - just be careful what you wish for - sometimes you get it.
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Legend
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Quote:
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I kinda chuckled at the 50 hour week. I'd love to have that as a definitive set of hours! Cakewalk.
especially for someone that wants to break into the top 10% (sorry Swish, but it IS funny)
i guess. i'm just saying thats the lowest he ever had. a normal work week. i'm trying to figure out how you guys got thats all he's ever experienced out of what i said. he told me thats the lowest amount.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
- Theodore Roosevelt
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Quote:
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I kinda chuckled at the 50 hour week. I'd love to have that as a definitive set of hours! Cakewalk.
especially for someone that wants to break into the top 10% (sorry Swish, but it IS funny)
i guess. i'm just saying thats the lowest he ever had. a normal work week. i'm trying to figure out how you guys got thats all he's ever experienced out of what i said. he told me thats the lowest amount.
your quote just made it seem like that was some horrific amount. I'd guess that most of us work at least 50hrs/week normally/baseline anyway. many of us go up from that number quite a bit most weeks too. that's all, possibly just a mis-read by me since that was the only number you put in there.
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Legend
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In my profession of IT, degrees are overlooked by experience. Most often it will say a BA (or equivalent in work experience). I only got an associates, but all that schooling didn't prepare me for a real-world programming job.
Not sure how the market looks/acts in the non-IT world, but it may be more beneficial to find a job and gather experience than to gather more student loan bills.
I agree with this for the most part. There are a few companies who are still too old school to realize a bachelors degree in IT can be pretty meaningless and they lose out on a lot of good candidates because of this.
One of the best, if not the best, technologist (mostly a programmer, but knows a lot about everything else) I have ever met has only a high school diploma. He saw no value in the laggard technology that is taught at universities, and I agree with him. I've come across many IT folks who have degrees and multiple certifications who are horrible. As one of my mentors told me long ago when I first started in this industry - coding is 25% technology and 75% art. The logic skills are typically something you have or you don't IMO.
I hear ya. I saw value in the some of the programming classes in school, but the extent they were was nothign to prepare for me tackling real world tasks and projects. Truthfully what I had learned in college, I could have gotten from some online tutorials and I wouldn't have had a student loan bill for awhile there.
But yes, there are still companies that won't even look at you unless you have a bach. degree. Too old fashioned. In terms of IT, real work experience and hands-on experience is by far beneficial to a company (should be anyway) than anything saying you got good grades in a classroom!
When I at the dealership I worked for, I handled the network for them. The old man then hired a kid who worked on the wash rack at one of the other dealerships as he made his way through college.My boss, his son, wanted no part of this kid. This kid was the very definition of book smart/real world flat out stupid.
He came down to our store to install anti-virus he bought a license for. He gave me a disc, and I installed it on mine, my boss's and the general manager's systems. He went around taking care of the other computers.
He came up to me, and said that he couldn't get the anti-virus to install on one of the other computers. I went down to take a look. A box popped up that said that such and such program was interfering with the install. The kid said "Yeah, I got that too," I asked what he did, and he said "Nothing. It won't let me install it."
I hit ctrl-alt-del, killed the offending program, and installed the a/v. The kid was in shock/awe. 
After I left the company, I got a call from my (now) former boss, and he asked me if I was still going IT work. I said sure, and went up.
He had a laptop, and this kid had set up a VPN so that he and the other owners could access the network from home. My boss had a laptop that had Windows XP on it. This kid didn;t have a VPN client for XP, so he downgraded the computer to Windows 2000 ..... it didn't have drivers for some of the devices, and it took 30 minutes to log onto the network remotely.
I formatted his system, reinstalled XP, and went online and found an XP VPN client in about 2 minutes, The hardest part of the whole thing was plugging in the 30 or so digit VPN key.
I gave the kid a copy of a CD with an appropriate client on it, and tried why you really don't want to install an older version of Windows on a newer system. He was lost. He had no idea what I was talking about.
Last I heard, the kid managed a job in Florida, making close to 6 figures. (or so he said) I pity the people he went to work for. He understood the basics, and how things should work in theory ...... but as anyone who has ever done any IT work knows .... as soon as you have 2 different computers (or operating system versions) networked ...... anything can happen. This kid had nbo feel for that aspect of IT work. He knew the book version ....... but nothing ever works by the book in the real world. I sometimes wonder just how badly he screwed up things for his new employer, and how long it took for him to get the boot. 
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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All Pro
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An expensive car is one of the worst investments you can make...unless you plan on living in it!
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Legend
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An expensive car is one of the worst investments you can make...unless you plan on living in it!
of course not. i want a house. i want maybe a 4-5 bedroom house. not much. but paid off.
...i just want to have that lift in my driveway full of super cars...just because i can 
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
- Theodore Roosevelt
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Legend
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Legend
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Oh buddy... in terms of that position, it's a bad decision to give the reigns to a green horn and improper actions/setup is a result. Outta all the funnies, downgrading an OS to get a VPN client to be compatible is by far the dumbest thing I've heard today and all last week. Completely hilarious for us nerds...
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Joined: Mar 2013
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of course not. i want a house. i want maybe a 4-5 bedroom house. not much. but paid off.
...i just want to have that lift in my driveway full of super cars...just because i can
Once you have the degree/job, house and money...go for it! Some people jump for the car first and it sets them back.
If you are strictly looking for money and job placement I'd suggest: statistics/math, engineering, medical, IT.
If you want to run a business or be a manager, an MBA would suit you well. Especially as a Veteran.
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A car is one of the worst investments you can make...unless you plan on living in it!
Fixed it. A car, with a few exceptions, is never an investment. I love nice cars and buy them because I can; I know they are a complete waste of money. If things go south the cars will be the first thing to go.
#gmstrong
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fair enough, Columbus. You are right, they're not typically investments. I buy Hondas and Toyotas and drive them for a decade. Maybe that explains my point of view. 
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money doesn't buy happiness
I saw a study awhile back that uncovered the price of happiness. $75,000 a year. That seems to be the magic mark that makes people feel comfortable with their lives. Water heater breaks? Gets fixed no problem. Want to go on a vacation? I can afford it.
Once you start making more than that you don't get any happier. And actually people became less happy. Too focused on money. Making it, looking for tax loopholes, people asking to borrow money ...
Don't blame the clown for acting like a clown.
Ask yourself why you keep going to the circus.
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he told me some crazy horror stories. no less than 50 hour work weeks...on a good week.
During my medical training I once spent 120 in one week in the hospital working. Wasn't the norm but that sucked! The norm was about 80 hrs/wk physically in the hospital. Then home reading, studying and writing papers on top of that.
Don't blame the clown for acting like a clown.
Ask yourself why you keep going to the circus.
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My one piece of advice for you, if you really want to get rich, is to work for yourself. Nothing in school will teach you how to do that. I have nothing against degrees; I have one, I've spent my fair share of time going to school, but I think if you look at the wealthiest people in this world, they didn't work for someone else, or if they did, not for very long.
Many of the most successful people dropped out of college because they realized it wasn't for them. Most of the examples I know of are from the Internet/Technology sector because that's where I work, but just to name a few:
Bill Gates, dropped out of Harvard.
Steve Jobs, never finished.
John Carmack (designer of Quake, Doom, etc) never went.
Richard Branson, Virgin Airlines among other things, dropped out.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook, dropped out of Harvard.
In my opinion, college will equip you to get a job, and work for someone else. That "someone else" will get all the benefit of your hard work; you'll never get rich working for someone else. Which isn't to say, you can't land a job and do very well for yourself, and be comfortable financially.
Working for yourself is definitely the more challenging road though. It's almost guaranteed that you will fail (probably more than once) before you succeed, but so what? I certainly understand that family plays a part in that, and that you have obligations and mouths to feed, but you're still relatively young, Swish. Don't let fear of failure stop you.
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Legend
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It probably sounds like I'm passing judgement, but I'm honestly not (not trying to). After watching your video of that driveway with the cars, the related videos that came up were mostly stupid people doing stupid stuff with fancy cars.
Anyways, I can say two things about this thread.
1. I grew up in a very wealthy household and lived very comfortably as a kid. My dad is a super smart and hard-working dude. Has degrees coming out the wazoo and all that (Bachelors, Masters and Sc.D in materials science and an MBA). He got his masters and doctorate from MIT, and his MBA from Case Western. Like I said, we were extremely wealthy as my dad did very well. I had everything I needed and a good amount of what I wanted growing up. I was a goalie on a bunch of ice hockey teams (everything related to that is super expensive). We always lived in a nice house, Dad and Mom had their hobbies, the kids all played sports and went to college (parents paid for everyone's bachelors degrees). There's no way my parents' earnings put them in the top 10%.
My point is, you can have the money to get what you want/need without being a 1% or even a 10%'er.
2. As far as how you get there... don't expect people to throw money at you just because you have a degree (especially an MBA). My girlfriend has her MBA, and that hasn't done one single thing for her, yet. I earn about double what she does with my puny little bachelors (Biomedical Engineering). The first thing you need to do is figure out your career (easier said than done, and definitely not something many people nail right out of the gate).
If you do actually want to go the management route, I'd say you're off to a great start with your military service. Based on some of my buddies/family that are in the military, I'd wager that's the best management/leadership training out there.
If you're more technically inclined, especially if you're into problem-solving, there are many different flavors of engineering. An engineering degree is a tough grind, though. At some point, you will want to quit... that much I can guarantee. The cool part is that it's a degree that really empowers you in your job search. As long as you don't have a dumpster fire of a personality, then it's just a matter of time before you find a job. Once you're working, opportunities for advancement are plentiful as long as you stay hungry.
If you're a new engineer, (and for all those young engineers out there), I have a HUGE piece of advice that I just learned and wished I knew sooner. Don't chase a salary/full-time position. Go find a good contract engineering firm that will hire you out to companies in need of temporary workers. You don't get the benefits of a full-time position, but the pay is so good.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
-PrplPplEater
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It probably sounds like I'm passing judgement, but I'm honestly not (not trying to). After watching your video of that driveway with the cars, the related videos that came up were mostly stupid people doing stupid stuff with fancy cars.
Anyways, I can say two things about this thread.
1. I grew up in a very wealthy household and lived very comfortably as a kid. My dad is a super smart and hard-working dude. Has degrees coming out the wazoo and all that (Bachelors, Masters and Sc.D in materials science and an MBA). He got his masters and doctorate from MIT, and his MBA from Case Western. Like I said, we were extremely wealthy as my dad did very well. I had everything I needed and a good amount of what I wanted growing up. I was a goalie on a bunch of ice hockey teams (everything related to that is super expensive). We always lived in a nice house, Dad and Mom had their hobbies, the kids all played sports and went to college (parents paid for everyone's bachelors degrees). There's no way my parents' earnings put them in the top 10%.
My point is, you can have the money to get what you want/need without being a 1% or even a 10%'er.
2. As far as how you get there... don't expect people to throw money at you just because you have a degree (especially an MBA). My girlfriend has her MBA, and that hasn't done one single thing for her, yet. I earn about double what she does with my puny little bachelors (Biomedical Engineering). The first thing you need to do is figure out your career (easier said than done, and definitely not something many people nail right out of the gate).
If you do actually want to go the management route, I'd say you're off to a great start with your military service. Based on some of my buddies/family that are in the military, I'd wager that's the best management/leadership training out there.
If you're more technically inclined, especially if you're into problem-solving, there are many different flavors of engineering. An engineering degree is a tough grind, though. At some point, you will want to quit... that much I can guarantee. The cool part is that it's a degree that really empowers you in your job search. As long as you don't have a dumpster fire of a personality, then it's just a matter of time before you find a job. Once you're working, opportunities for advancement are plentiful as long as you stay hungry.
If you're a new engineer, (and for all those young engineers out there), I have a HUGE piece of advice that I just learned and wished I knew sooner. Don't chase a salary/full-time position. Go find a good contract engineering firm that will hire you out to companies in need of temporary workers. You don't get the benefits of a full-time position, but the pay is so good.
The top 1% are around >400k. You are in the top 10 if you barely break 100k. Those damn evil rich people, lol 
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–Last year, the richest 10% received more than half of all income — 50.5%, or the largest share since such record-keeping began in 1917. Here is how the top earners break down: Top 1%: incomes above $394,000 in 2012; Top 5%: incomes between $161,000 and $394,000; Top 10%: incomes between $114,000 and $161,000.
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