[Afarang]

I just left.

The problem is everyone is waiting for the perfect time to leave. Be that when they have $xxx or when they have started an online business, but that day never comes.

The key is to take action and do what you really want to do.

[Bushido]

How did I escape my dead end job? I quit.

Like Afarang said, just get the fuck out. Life is short. Stop waiting for the perfect moment.

What do you want to do though? Travel? Get another job? Start a business?

You need to know where you want to go, not just what you don't like.

[Trill Clinton]

(07-02-2015 09:47 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  

tl;dr we have all had slumps, you have resources and a job, sometimes it is how we relate to our situation that truly affects our mental outlook, document what you are grateful for - seems like all you have is a list of frustrations, dig deep become intentional and do what you have to. No matter how many stories or advice anyone gives, you need to dig deep and motivate yourself.

OP,

Sounds like you are in a slump that we all have found ourselves in from time to time in our lives. It happens. While it seems like you have assessed your situation, I didn't see anything that you are happy about.

This may sound a bit touchy feely, but take an inventory of what you are happy about or grateful for. I get it you have a shit job and some goals that may feel out of reach but you are in the woods right now and may not be able to objectively see the good in your life. When someone is spinning/dwelling on just shit in his life, it just spins downward, you look for more shit to gripe about or be angry about. You have to get your mind space sort of cleaned up to then being able to get stuff done. Clean it up by either appreciating your situation or dig deep through the pain and start taking actions. Actions like, eating better if you can't work out. Diet is huge part of staying in shape, look into IF. If you are able to block out the pain then just go and do, but I am sensing you are just bogged down, shut down and can't muster the energy to do more. It seems like you feel like you have lost before trying. Or at least that is the vibe I am picking up.

Obviously, the commute is a killer, clearly those 3 hours would make a huge difference in your life, IF, big IF, you actually put those hours to use. A lot of guys piss away 3 hours of their lives daily, playing games, watching tv, etc. I'm guilty of that, usually when I am trying to learn something just out of curiosity without any actual purpose for it. But your situation and mine are different, I don't work for anyone.

Some quick thoughts:
1) If you have cheap school debt don't be in a hurry to pay it off.
2) Take a cheap vacation and reset your mind and outlook
3) Think about businesses you can start in the after hours
4) Are you an expert at anything? Cars, etc. Buy shit at deep discounts and flip them. I know guys who buy a couple cars a year and some nice extra cash. Put that money to work but under your control
5) It has been many years since reading this book, but it was about a Jew during the Holocaust and how he learned to relate to the situation, saved his life if I recall right. Two things occurred for me when reading this, I really don't have it that bad and how I look at a situation deeply impacts how I can deal with a situation. The cook is called "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl, there are pdf versions floating out there if you don't wanna pay the 5 bucks, even a 3 dollar kindle version
6) Work on your diet if you can't get to the gym - look into intermittent fasting. Look into body weight exercises you can do in the morning at home. Pushups, situps and pullups can do a lot. Install a pull up bar. Get up earlier to work out.
7) Finally make a list of shit you are happy about - even try to flip some of the things into good things. Like "I am so lucky my parents let me live with them and don't charge me rent and I get to see my parents regularly. It might sound soft, but life is 99% mental.

You are down right now, but some fresh perspective may put you back on the right track. You need to be intentional, like the man who lifts a car by himself when someone is trapped. Find that certainty that you know you will be fine, that this is the journey, but you are the sort of person who be successful in life.

I'll end with this. Only to say regardless of it all, you must push forward, fight and battle for what you want in your life. To pick yourself up when no one will do it for you. Often what separates two nearly identical men is how much heart they have.

I'll share with you one of my favorite quotes, I have posted this a few times on RVF but I think this quote represents the type of men that make it in life.

The Man In The Area - Theodore Roosevelt
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Thanks for the inspiration and suggestions samsamsam.

I actually read Man's Search for Meaning a couple years back, and it's a great book. I'm gonna buy it and reread it (can do it on my commute, ha).

And I'll work on changing my perspective on things. If nothing else, the money I saved is a pretty good resource to have, and gives me some extra freedoms while I get my shit together. Just reading this thread has made me feel a lot better.

[Trill Clinton]

(07-03-2015 08:39 AM)iknowexactly Wrote:  

Just some ideas off the top of my head :

1) 3 hours a day commute is totally deadening unless yo ucan sleep on a train etc. Driving is quite tiring you have to pay attentin every second.

2) If you had a skill like Radiology Technician. Welder, ANYTHING you won't feel as trapped because you have a transportable SKILL so you are not trapped in a particular job.

3) If you 're going to have a shit job, you should get a government job that has you paying in to a pension.
Not glamorous and you can't retire until 55 but you can save money on your own so you should be able to retire before that age.

Agree completely with the first two although I hope I don't have to end up with a shit job even if it is a gov't with all the benefits. That said it's better than my current job.

(07-03-2015 09:53 AM)Tigre Wrote:  

(07-02-2015 02:06 PM)Trill Clinton Wrote:  

-have a bachelor’s degree in economics

How's the job market right now in your field? Have you tested the waters recently?

How active is your LinkedIn profile?

Have you got your CV on file with headhunters who know you're looking for an entry level job? Have you sat down personally with any agents at those headhunter companies?

What are your friends from your graduating class doing? Do they know you're looking for work?

You have a vision of getting to a data analyst job. It probably won't happen all in one hit. It will happen incrementally. The first step on your road map is to move to a professional job that utilizes your degree.

Hey thanks for the suggestions, I could definitely get my CV to some headhunters.

I recently updated my LinkedIn profile and it looks pretty good now. Before it was sparse. I've already noticed I'm getting more profile views. I updated it after a coworker was contacted on LinkedIn and interviewed, then got a new job with a 15k higher salary then what she had when she worked with me.

[Trill Clinton]

(07-03-2015 09:59 AM)Nascimento Wrote:  

You've recognized your position is a bad one and you'd like to improve it. You deserve merit for that alone. I don't blame you for being in this spot, society in the GTA is mostly so screwed up when it comes to careers. 3 hour commutes are seen as normal to make measly salaries... And the average person is only pulling in 40k with the same commute as you, but also living independent with credit card debt to top it off. Don't be ashamed to be living with the parents right now, since you are still in your 20's. Just see it as something temporary. It's valuable, but don't rely on it too much.

It could be much worse... Trust me. I know guys in their low 20's that have taken a break from school to pile up some cash. But they are making minimum wage, and because of car payments and inflated insurance costs, they only bank a few hundred dollars a month, while living at home!

But again, good on you to realize the position society places upon you is a retarded one at best. Time to break free from it. You deserve so much better. Travesty put it best.

Some solid advice in this thread.

My 2 cents would be to plan an exit strategy of course, and not to place too much of a time limit on it. I wouldn't quit right away, but I wouldn't stay much longer either. 4-6 months at most. I'd pull in some extra cash while brainstorming ideas, and take your best option and follow through when you do finally quit.

Thanks for the support!

I'm starting to get a more clear idea of what I need to do--I think being forced to write it our on this thread as well as the suggestions have given me an idea of what would work. I won't make any decision on the spot as you said, but I want to be ready to make a big decision for September. Either go back to school, and find some part time work (if that), get a new job and move close to a station or downtown, or some combination of those.

[Trill Clinton]

(07-03-2015 09:50 AM)Vitriol Wrote:  

Keep in mind the most valuable assets you have are your future time and future earning potential. So if you figure, as an example, you have maybe 40 good working years and you waste 4 of those years working a dead end job you don't care about, that's about 10% of your career that's already wasted (aside from the fact you were getting a paycheck). It goes by faster than we realize when we're in the middle of it.

I'm currently about to leave my boring office job, but it has been a few years I've wasted and that bothers me. Over the past year I've gradually seen things get worse and worse at my current job and I realized I don't want to be miserable any longer than necessary.

Yeah one of the biggest sources of disappointment for me is the fact that 2 prime years have passed and I (at least before) felt like I didn't have much to show for it.

I won't make a decision just yet, and in my case, quitting my job is a much harder thing to do since I have no current plans to start a business, and actually want to go the career route (make more sense to leave when I have another job waiting for me, or go back to school). But I still need to start moving quickly. I felt a similar way just not as intensely last year too.

Thanks and good luck with your move! Hopefully it all pans out.

(07-03-2015 09:39 AM)SunW Wrote:  

First, acknowledge that you're doing well so that you can build on what you're doing. You won't hit it rich over night and anyone who tells you is lying (or worse, trying to sell you something). Look at what you've done right (because you have done some things right) and build the same systems for the next steps.

It's just as important to acknowledge when you're doing some things right as it is to acknowledge when you need to improve.

Thanks! I'm gonna work on having a more positive outlook on things.

[Trill Clinton]

(07-03-2015 10:23 AM)Eddie Winslow Wrote:  

I too have bachelor's degree in economics. It's at my parent's house collecting dust.

Learn how to sell. It's scary at first. You will get rejected alot, you will fuck up promising leads, and you won't make much money to start. However, if you stick it out and put in the work to get better, you will never go without income ever again. The demand for men who aren't socially retarded is at an all-time high, and it will only continue to grow as people become stupider, lazier, and more reliant on technology. Looking a person in the eye and selling them is one job that will never be replaced by a computer.

My job involves taking inbound calls rather than making calls, but we still have our chances here and there to sell clients on other products and services, so I can definitely start working on that right now. Appreciate the tip.

If I ever do end up starting a business (years down the line) I'll be happy for any sales ability I have.

(07-03-2015 11:25 AM)The Beast1 Wrote:  

OP you should work another year and pay off those loans. If you're living at home these should be the first things you get liquidated.

I could pay off the loans in full right now, if I decided to sell some of my stock. I want to make a big choice by September which may involve me leaving my job, but by then I'd have saved another 3-4 grand as well.

The thing about having no to low income is that the way my loans are set up (gov't loans) I would qualify for interest free status on the loans and maybe even get some of the loan paid off by the government. Right now the payments are pretty low for me and almost 100% of it goes to capital because I get most of my interest covered.

[Trill Clinton]

(07-02-2015 09:03 PM)lavidaloca Wrote:  

I'm just surprised OP is making 40k working in a call center. I know accountants to be (still not done all tests) and even articling students (lawyers to be) making around that while living downtown.

Honestly the world is your apple. People always laugh at me when I tell them I plan to move to Cuba and live on 50-60k a year within 6-10 years. They think the horror of living like that and leaving the legal profession. Truth of the matter is as Vacancier pointed out money goes way way further elsewhere.

With the exception of the the very few elite earners here you will have a better lifestyle in the 2nd / 3rd world with much much less. There really aren't many people under 35 making the type of money required to have a great lifestyle in North America. Maybe 0.1%. The guys making real bread are 50+. And lets be real. A 50 year old making 500k+ a year will get less quality chicks here than a 65 year old man retired in SEA living on 1500 month in social security / pension to put things in perspective. Unless you have serious fame here you will have more fun chick wise elsewhere.

I'm not sure having a net worth of 15k is quite the amount that would allow me to consider jumping to live in the 2nd / 3rd world. Maybe try to save 6 figures and then make the move. It would provide you a lot more time and a decent base if you decided to move back.

I live like a squalid person here. Hardly drink / party. It sucks. But I save absolute bank.

Try to find something you truly enjoy doing. For me I absolutely love going to court for contested motions and trials. I could do that 24 / 7. But I'm not a big fan of paper work and days in the office. Every big win makes you feel like your on top of the world.

In your situation I'd recommend going to Alberta for a few years. You are young. Work non-stop. Try to save up a couple hundred thousand by the time you are 30. Then make the move elsewhere to teach english or even look into doing oil work in other parts of the globe.

It sounds like you are in far better shape then most 24 year olds. Most 24 year old graduates are in debt, living basically pay cheque to pay cheque. Many of my fellow law graduates are 100k+ in debt and now make only 40-60k / year!

I did B-school before law and many of my friends are still in debt from that and still make incomes similar to what you are making despite being good students and personable people.

Thanks for the fresh perspective on things. I guess I'll find out in the next year or two when people who I went to school with finish law/biz school, but I always assumed the salaries are better (or at least get better faster). People aren't always willing to talk about their salaries though, so I wouldn't be shocked if it was lower than I thought.

Can't say I really want to move to another country. My ideal goal would be to make enough to live in Canada or the United States and earn enough to live comfortable there. As much as everyone talks about living abroad, I want to just to eventually have a good job that pays well (100k+) in a good North American city (or *maybe* Western Europe/UK). Kind of lame but that's me .

If I do grad school, it's going to be in Statistics or Applied Math, and I'm going to couple it with software and programming skills that are imminently employable.

[Trill Clinton]

(07-03-2015 09:58 PM)Tytalus Wrote:  

I work as a research analyst at a university doing some light business intelligence work and am finishing my MSc in Statistics. At this point here is what I recommend:

1. Quit your day job.
2. Spend the rest of the summer learning some programming skills. Get your base SAS and SQL certifications to show that you used your time well. If you don't know what these two programs are look them up they are essential.
3. This fall and next winter finish up all of the prerequisites you need for a MSc in Statistics or Data Science. Get A's.
4. Fall 2016 start your new MSc program full time.
5. Meanwhile get exercising again, fix your diet, loose weight, cut out the porn, hang out with friends again and game some chics.

PM me if you need more info. Part of my job is studying employment trends.

What SQL certification should I start with? I wanted to get certs for Excel, VBA, and SQL to show I aptitude there since I don't learn any of that on my job and have no work experience working with them.

I could do SAS as well, or SPSS. From what I noticed those two seem to be asked for the most on the job postics in data analysis jobs that I see. Is it possible I could substitute with with learning R? I don't think I've heard of anyone getting a cert for R, but it's free whereas SAS and SPSS are expensive to get on my computer.

I was hoping to learn Excel in and out, and then learn SQL, R, and Python which would give me a good background as part as software goes based on what I've read. Do you think I should replace any of those or add to it?

Thanks for the advice! You're in a spot I'd be happy to be in a couple of years from now.

[Trill Clinton]

(07-03-2015 10:36 PM)Peregrine Wrote:  

(07-02-2015 07:50 PM)Peregrine Wrote:  

Unless you work in the call center of a bank and you're networking internally, you have to quit ASAP.

(07-03-2015 08:43 PM)Trill Clinton Wrote:  

I work at a big 5 bank, and I think there is a possibility that I could move to another department.

Aha, I had a feeling you did. In that case, don't quit your job. Do what it takes to move downtown though, even if it's a shitty basement unit.

Use the time you just saved to follow Tytalus' steps 2 through 5. What's the department you think you could move into? PM me if that's not something you want to share publicly.

Without getting too specific, I work at the brokerage part of a big 5 bank bank (I'll PM you more specific details), and am licensed to place trades on behalf of clients (not solicited ones though).

Most people who leave for other parts of the bank go on to compliance, become financial advisers at the retail level, or get into risk management (not the kind of risk management I'd be interested in), or more full service brokerage-type jobs.

Sometimes people get other jobs that are better but it's rare.

The only thing that worries me about staying at the bank is how slowly the salaries go up even when you're getting promoted, aside from a few parts of the bank. I feel like it would take me 5-8 years to break 6 figures.

It's also impossible for me to finish any extra school while working in the office I'm in right now. I can barely get my shift adjusted 2 hours earlier for my evening classes without getting 2 levels of approval.

I'm going to ask them if I can do part time in the fall and go to school (honestly if it were only 2 days a week my job would be fine), but 99.9999999% chance they say no.

Hence the feeling of being trapped. There are actually several business analyst, analytics, business intelligence, and risk management jobs that would be cool, but I am grossly underqualified for them right now.

However I'm not getting any more qualified for those kind of jobs by working at my current place, and my situation makes it really hard to become more qualified by picking up stuff outside of work.

It would be cool to get a job at the bank that puts me in the right direction, while maybe working on my FRM or something but right now that feels impossible to do. Things are too rigid here. To the point where I feel like school full time in September would be the riht thing to do even if it entails quitting.

[Tytalus]

(07-04-2015 03:47 PM)Trill Clinton Wrote:  

(07-03-2015 09:58 PM)Tytalus Wrote:  

I work as a research analyst at a university doing some light business intelligence work and am finishing my MSc in Statistics. At this point here is what I recommend:

1. Quit your day job.
2. Spend the rest of the summer learning some programming skills. Get your base SAS and SQL certifications to show that you used your time well. If you don't know what these two programs are look them up they are essential.
3. This fall and next winter finish up all of the prerequisites you need for a MSc in Statistics or Data Science. Get A's.
4. Fall 2016 start your new MSc program full time.
5. Meanwhile get exercising again, fix your diet, loose weight, cut out the porn, hang out with friends again and game some chics.

PM me if you need more info. Part of my job is studying employment trends.

What SQL certification should I start with? I wanted to get certs for Excel, VBA, and SQL to show I aptitude there since I don't learn any of that on my job and have no work experience working with them.

I could do SAS as well, or SPSS. From what I noticed those two seem to be asked for the most on the job postics in data analysis jobs that I see. Is it possible I could substitute with with learning R? I don't think I've heard of anyone getting a cert for R, but it's free whereas SAS and SPSS are expensive to get on my computer.

I was hoping to learn Excel in and out, and then learn SQL, R, and Python which would give me a good background as part as software goes based on what I've read. Do you think I should replace any of those or add to it?

Thanks for the advice! You're in a spot I'd be happy to be in a couple of years from now.

I didn't even know you could get an excel certification via microsoft... If you can, you might as well because having some basic spreadsheet skills is a fundamental skill. I'm not sure about SPSS certs - any serious data science outfit probably won't bother with that software anyways.

Good question about SAS - my institution has a site license for me to practice on. Honestly - a bootleg copy via torrent site is the way to go. Alternatively, if your university has one, AND you quit your job, you can practice on campus.

I would do your certs in this order
1. Excel
2. SQL
3. SAS

R and Python are great but there are no certs in those areas.

I think your #1 best option is to go back to school full time this fall and get an MSc next year. Work on R and Python then - see if you take some stats or programming courses in them too. That helps.

[carolinasmash]

This is my first post but I'll chime in. Basically I never finished college but was lucky enough to have a marketable skill as a programmer. I was let go from my job as a programmer for being an asshole and instead of going out and looking for another job or living project to project like most freelance developers do, I started Freelancing (on retainer) I realized a lot of small to mid sized businesses did not have the money to shell out 20 - 25k (all at once) on a top notch website nor did they have the money to handle the marketing (in a proper way i.e. not some college intern) after said website is built. So I basically went door to door selling web development, hosting and marketing services anywhere from 250 - 1500 per month and in less than a month pounding down doors and getting rejected I was raking in more money than I was making working for a large company as a senior level programmer. Better yet I was location independent with a simi stable income. What I do now is spend 9 months a year traveling and allocate 3 months a year to business development in the States to make up for said clients that occasionally churn.

I think there are a ton of different types of services you can apply this model to, hell you don't even have to be the one doing the work, for simple stuff I'll send it offshore. The only downside is you have to be disciplined enough to work on your own and also be the sales guy (Note i'm one of the rare programmers that avoided the Aspergers train and has somewhat of the gift of gab) but being a sales guy does not mean you knock on 5 doors a day or make 5 phone calls if you really want it, it requires hitting up 50 -70 businesses per day and a shit load of NO's!. Once I cleared my monthly income goal in retainers I buckled down and got to work. Now my next plan is to hire a few people back in the states to go sell for me so I never have to return to the shit hole America has become.

Also did not cost me dime to set up other than the basic cost of incorporating, some cheap business cards.

For a little extra boost of inspiration for anyone who thinks they can't do it, after I had lost my job I was evicted from my apartment for smoking indoors and was on probation for a alcohol related offense. My beautiful EE girlfriend let me squat at her house for several months but since I was pounding vodka all day, not looking for work and acting needy and clingy she booted my ass out. I couched surfed for a week until another ex girlfriend felt sorry for me and let me squat at her place so I could get my shit together without being homeless. I was technically broke, homeless and on the verge of seriously committing suicide when I started my endeavor. No BS

[polar]

Why not get a laptop and earplugs / noise canceling headphones and download Coursera videos, etc. so you can study during your commute?

[Brodiaga]

How much do you know about call centers? The industry is booming in the Philippines. Can you try and get a job there as a call center supervisor? Even if that fails, I believe they hire native speakers for sales jobs. The salary won't be great, but at least you'll be swimming in poosy and probably won't have to waste so much time commuting. Potentially, maybe you can start your own call center business.

[carolinasmash]

(07-06-2015 07:45 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

How much do you know about call centers? The industry is booming in the Philippines. Can you try and get a job there as a call center supervisor? Even if that fails, I believe they hire native speakers for sales jobs. The salary won't be great, but at least you'll be swimming in poosy and probably won't have to waste so much time commuting. Potentially, maybe you can start your own call center business.

If you're a member of a 1st world economy never go to a third or second world one for job opportunities unless it's with a 1st world company. I just got back from Ukraine and I met few idiots there that did just that, not call centers but just general work. This advice or suggestion is dangerous for long term life stability.

Also think about this for a second... where my primary home base is in the US, I'm living in a Eastern European community. One of my friends is a very wealthy Alpha Good-looking 35 year old native Russian Venture Capitalist with US citizenship. He goes to Russia to smash broads and dates ones already here in the US, seems to me he has good reason for this which is not to be overlooked. He once told me if their too dumb and not resourceful enough to make it here on their own then he'd rather not place his bets on that girl for a long term dating prospect.

This might not sound relevant to the thread but I think most men move long term to one location to work/live in hopes to find a wife/life partner. Your job should be in no way location dependent for the mere idea of getting slaying twat.

I have not found any advantage at least currently to fully integrate into a single 3rd or 2nd world economy or location unless your location independent, self made or investing into that economy in hard resources. I'm in my early 30's and I could be wrong but it just does not make sense to me.

Maybe starting a Call Center is a good idea but you better pipeline the shit out of some companies in a half decent economy or you're gonna be chasing stars very soon after you open. Company's want ready to go solutions so you need to either have the capital to sustain the set up and client onboarding process or buy and existing one with current clients and grow it from there. Service based businesses are notoriously up, down and sideways, I know because I'm in it myself. And you don't want to be the asshole who uproots with little capital to establish and brick and mortar business in a unstable foreign land with zero experience. My two cents

[nek]

(07-04-2015 12:22 AM)dreambig Wrote:  

How did I escape my dead end job? I quit.

You need to know where you want to go, not just what you don't like.

This is where I'm at exactly. I know what I don't want but not what I want. Any suggestions on figuring this out? I'm getting to the breaking point with my current "career" and need out.

[Brodiaga]

(07-06-2015 09:44 PM)carolinasmash Wrote:  

(07-06-2015 07:45 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

How much do you know about call centers? The industry is booming in the Philippines. Can you try and get a job there as a call center supervisor? Even if that fails, I believe they hire native speakers for sales jobs. The salary won't be great, but at least you'll be swimming in poosy and probably won't have to waste so much time commuting. Potentially, maybe you can start your own call center business.

If you're a member of a 1st world economy never go to a third or second world one for job opportunities unless it's with a 1st world company. I just got back from Ukraine and I met few idiots there that did just that, not call centers but just general work. This advice or suggestion is dangerous for long term life stability.

Also think about this for a second... where my primary home base is in the US, I'm living in a Eastern European community. One of my friends is a very wealthy Alpha Good-looking 35 year old native Russian Venture Capitalist with US citizenship. He goes to Russia to smash broads and dates ones already here in the US, seems to me he has good reason for this which is not to be overlooked. He once told me if their too dumb and not resourceful enough to make it here on their own then I'd rather not place my bets on that girl for a long term dating prospect.

I have not found any advantage at least currently to fully integrate into a single 3rd or 2nd world economy or location unless your location independent, self made or investing into the economy. I'm in my early 30's and I could be wrong but it just does not make sense to me. ..

Maybe starting a Call Center is a good idea but you better pipeline the shit out of some companies in a half decent economy or you're gonna be chasing stars very soon after you open. Company's want ready to go solutions so you have to either have the capital to sustain the set up and client onboarding process or buy and existing one with current clients. My two cents

I grew up in Russia, moved to the US.

I'm not suggesting that OP moves to Russia or the Ukraine btw, but if he is stuck in in Canada doing a dead end job, trying his luck in a new country like the Phils may not be such a bad idea, especially if his call center company has an office there or he can leverage his experience and get a pretty decent job with a competitor or even start his own business later on. This path is not for everybody, but some guys are enjoying it. The best parts of Manila are clean and modern, though not cheap. The important thing is that he doesn't have that much to lose by moving unlike your Russian VC friend.

[Marmite]

(07-03-2015 08:39 AM)iknowexactly Wrote:  

...
1) 3 hours a day commute is totally deadening unless yo ucan sleep on a train etc. Driving is quite tiring you have to pay attentin every second.
...

I'm going to have to agree and disagree with you here. Whilst driving is mentally tiring, you don't pay constant attention as you will naturally slip in and out of trance. You will snap out of trance when there is something that needs your immediate attention though.

http://io9.com/what-causes-highway-hypnosis-485514642
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25216601

This is based on my having worked as a professional driver for the last 7 years with ~20k professional driving hours under my belt.

[greekgod]

(07-03-2015 09:58 PM)Tytalus Wrote:  

I work as a research analyst at a university doing some light business intelligence work and am finishing my MSc in Statistics. At this point here is what I recommend:

1. Quit your day job.
2. Spend the rest of the summer learning some programming skills. Get your base SAS and SQL certifications to show that you used your time well. If you don't know what these two programs are look them up they are essential.
3. This fall and next winter finish up all of the prerequisites you need for a MSc in Statistics or Data Science. Get A's.
4. Fall 2016 start your new MSc program full time.
5. Meanwhile get exercising again, fix your diet, loose weight, cut out the porn, hang out with friends again and game some chics.

PM me if you need more info. Part of my job is studying employment trends.

On number 4, you should consider going to school in the States. You will gain a bigger network, pick a great school with tight logistics, and have 30+ months on OPT visa after graduation. If you do Data Analysis, some org will gladly do your GC and boom you now dual citizenship, a new network, and can pick your employment prospects accordingly.

[carolinasmash]

(07-06-2015 09:59 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

(07-06-2015 09:44 PM)carolinasmash Wrote:  

(07-06-2015 07:45 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

How much do you know about call centers? The industry is booming in the Philippines. Can you try and get a job there as a call center supervisor? Even if that fails, I believe they hire native speakers for sales jobs. The salary won't be great, but at least you'll be swimming in poosy and probably won't have to waste so much time commuting. Potentially, maybe you can start your own call center business.

If you're a member of a 1st world economy never go to a third or second world one for job opportunities unless it's with a 1st world company. I just got back from Ukraine and I met few idiots there that did just that, not call centers but just general work. This advice or suggestion is dangerous for long term life stability.

Also think about this for a second... where my primary home base is in the US, I'm living in a Eastern European community. One of my friends is a very wealthy Alpha Good-looking 35 year old native Russian Venture Capitalist with US citizenship. He goes to Russia to smash broads and dates ones already here in the US, seems to me he has good reason for this which is not to be overlooked. He once told me if their too dumb and not resourceful enough to make it here on their own then I'd rather not place my bets on that girl for a long term dating prospect.

I have not found any advantage at least currently to fully integrate into a single 3rd or 2nd world economy or location unless your location independent, self made or investing into the economy. I'm in my early 30's and I could be wrong but it just does not make sense to me. ..

Maybe starting a Call Center is a good idea but you better pipeline the shit out of some companies in a half decent economy or you're gonna be chasing stars very soon after you open. Company's want ready to go solutions so you have to either have the capital to sustain the set up and client onboarding process or buy and existing one with current clients. My two cents

I grew up in Russia, moved to the US.

I'm not suggesting that OP moves to Russia or the Ukraine btw, but if he is stuck in in Canada doing a dead end job, trying his luck in a new country like the Phils may not be such a bad idea, especially if his call center company has an office there or he can leverage his experience and get a pretty decent job with a competitor or even start his own business later on. This path is not for everybody, but some guys are enjoying it. The best parts of Manila are clean and modern, though not cheap. The important thing is that he doesn't have that much to lose by moving unlike your Russian VC friend.

I was not suggesting that you were suggesting he move to Russia or the Ukraine. Starting a business is always a major risk no matter where you're at. And suggesting someone without local knowledge, language skills and a local network to up root and go to a foreign 3rd or 2nd world economy and roll the dice is absolutely insane. That might make sense if your moving from a 3rd or 2nd world country to a first world one but not the other way around.

Basing my opinion on the fact he is asking how did you leave your dead end job already says he is not ready for that kinda shock nor financially capable of the risk. Why doesn't the OP start some kinda small business in Canada where he should have family, some sorta support system and network then after a little success parlay over to somewhere and take some risk when he at least has something to fall back on.?

This seems like a much more reasonable way to go IMHO.

[robreke]

(07-02-2015 02:06 PM)Trill Clinton Wrote:  

How did you escape your dead end job? I’m just looking for advice, ideas, or even inspiration.

I feel like I’m trapped in my current gig, which I hate, and because of a bunch of things related to the job (long commute, stressful job, lack of opportunities to move up within my organization), the rest of my life has suffered. I’m a lot less happy and my health has suffered despite not being that old (24).

Two years ago when I started this job, it was just something to get some experience on my resume, and I was a lot more optimistic about the future. Now it feels like I’m gonna have to climb a steep hill to even get a respectable income (60k+/yr) and a somewhat respectable life. I feel like the job market for people like me is a crapshoot.

Current Situation:
-work a dead end call centre type job, that I hate 80% of the time, make around $40,000 a year (in Canada). 40,000 a year can’t get you shit in Toronto.
-do not develop any real marketable skills at work that could impress future employers
-have around $40,000 of fairly liquid assets (cash and blue chip stocks)
-have a little over $25,000 in student loans, but monthly payments are low
-have a bachelor’s degree in economics
-live at home with my parents at age 24 (how I managed to save good money while making 40k)
-commute to work is 1.5 hours both ways (total 3 hours a day)
trying to do evening classes at uni, struggling due to lack of time to study

Goals:
-have a job where I don’t sweat it out with mind numbing tasks. A hard job is fine, just hard in the right way. Challenging.
-improve my income so that I can earn 4000 post tax per month (or, 48000 post tax per year). This is so that I can move out and still save around 1000 a month.
-move out and get my own place
-get back into good shape. I’ve gained 25lbs in two years working at my current place, and LOST muscle so it’s MORE than 25lbs of fat gain. I had a good v-taper two years ago and would get looks when wearing a tight shirt. Now I’m a fat guy.

Any ideas, or stories of how you escaped?

Get a job where you have your own clientele. If you do this, your clients are your customers. You service them. You can set your own appointments and hours. If it's a sales job or other high end job with clients, you can make a lot of money.

Ideas:

Real Estate sales: Get a license and get on with a broker. Build a clientele and reputation. Maybe go out on your own.

Lawyer: Same idea. This costs more money as you have to go to law school but you can eventually 'be your own boss'

Insurance agent - get licensed. Build a clientele and sell insurance. you will make "renewals" on all policies which is akin to residual income.

Stockbroker/Financial Advisor: Interview with a firm that hires trainees. Get your appropriate licensing. Bust your ass for 5 + years prospecting/networking/ asking people to open accounts with you. Put all their money in accounts that are appropriate for their risk tolerance/expectations and will do go for them, obviously number one and number 2, will pay you a residual income ( in the business, known as a "trail") Get paid every year just by keeping their accounts with you and servicing them.

All investors pay investment fees, regardless of if they're doing no load funds or working with an advisor. The difference is that with an advisor a part of that fee goes to the advisor for being a steward of the money. This is the route I took. OPM-other people's money.

Of the jobs I've described above, you can pretty much be your boss and set your own hours and come and go as you please AFTER years of building your clientele where you are generating reliable monthly income for yourself and your firm. The good thing about any of these careers is you can always go independent later after you've accumulated clients and built a reputation for yourself.

Anything where you "have" to be somewhere, like 8 to 5 well, screw that. Don't get me wrong, you will have to have set hours and answer to a boss in any of my above examples for the first few years. But once you've established that clientele, your boss should let you do as you please, set your own hours, etc. The idea is to have a job with the potential to lead here. Everyone starts off as a pleb.

I recommend Ken Fisher's book "The 10 Roads to Riches"