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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2018 21:32:54 GMT
I assume I'll never retire.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2018 21:35:14 GMT
One thing I've noticed, and maybe the older guys can weigh in here -- for all the time I spent dreaming of early retirement when I was in my 20s and 30s, now I have no intention of even trying to leave the workforce when I'm 55. And it isn't a money thing. I just can't imagine sitting around on a Wednesday afternoon with nothing to do. The kids are gone and the intensity of the homefront responsibilities isn't there anymore. Some whackadoo professor last year was theorizing that the workforce would be better off with people ramping up slowly in their 20s and 30s and hitting it full-tilt in their mid-40s to continue into their 70s. It did sound kind of ideal from the individual standpoint. I can’t wait to retire and ship the kids off to adulthood. Wife and I talk about this all the time. We’d spend half our time traveling and the other half sitting on our asses doing absolutely nothing. I thought that too for a while but now couldn't imagine it.
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Post by xanadu on Nov 7, 2018 21:39:24 GMT
I'm 6 years out of the biz and have no idea what I should be doing. I'm not really good at anything.
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Post by Da Man on Nov 7, 2018 21:54:25 GMT
I can’t wait to retire and ship the kids off to adulthood. Wife and I talk about this all the time. We’d spend half our time traveling and the other half sitting on our asses doing absolutely nothing. I thought that too for a while but now couldn't imagine it. I'd retire now if I could afford it.
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Post by asthecrowflies on Nov 7, 2018 22:46:29 GMT
I'm one of the unicorns that is still in sports journalism and I have a pretty good job. Pay is solid, travel is manageable. Wouldn't mind a slightly more high-profile beat, but the life situation is pretty good.
I'm married with kids and occasionally miss life stuff, but probably hit 80-90 percent of it. Not bad.
The only real downside is the job security is just OK. I feel decent about it, but obviously, you never know. I'm still young enough to switch professions if the time comes, but I'm creeping toward the age where it would become slightly more difficult.
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Post by mizzougrad96 on Nov 7, 2018 22:58:29 GMT
I'm 6 years out of the biz and have no idea what I should be doing. I'm not really good at anything. What kind of a job do you have now?
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Post by mizzougrad96 on Nov 7, 2018 23:09:11 GMT
I'm one of the unicorns that is still in sports journalism and I have a pretty good job. Pay is solid, travel is manageable. Wouldn't mind a slightly more high-profile beat, but the life situation is pretty good. I'm married with kids and occasionally miss life stuff, but probably hit 80-90 percent of it. Not bad. The only real downside is the job security is just OK. I feel decent about it, but obviously, you never know. I'm still young enough to switch professions if the time comes, but I'm creeping toward the age where it would become slightly more difficult. I was surprised at how hard it was changing professions at 35. They instantly assume you will cost more than someone straight out of school and that you might not know as much as some of them. I found a job in my current field out of complete desperation. It was with a really good company, but the pay was super low because it was 2010 and they could get away with it because the economy was so terrible. As the economy got better, so did the pay. I was there five years before getting my current gig.
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Post by xanadu on Nov 7, 2018 23:26:03 GMT
Manage a gallery.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2018 23:39:43 GMT
I'm 6 years out of the biz and have no idea what I should be doing. I'm not really good at anything. You have the problem all of us do, I'm sure. We're smart in a general sense. And curious. Hmmmmmm ... wonder what profession those qualities lend themselves to ... Oh, I know, I know!
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Post by Vombatus on Nov 8, 2018 0:06:16 GMT
My job isn’t perfect, but the lifestyle it enables for my family is pretty close. That's what I chose, as well - time, not money, though. As far as the job itself, it has its pluses and minuses. On the one hand, I miss working on big cases for big clients on big teams at my old Chicago gig. The matters were typically interesting and for either huge dollar amounts at stake, or pro bono matters that could be life-or-death. There was also a lot that was bad about it. I left for work at 6 a.m. and got home between 7 and 8. Some days - some weeks - I wouldn't have shit to do, because of the cyclical nature of things, and then, right when I'd be sitting down to watch the Bulls or Blackhawks game or the fucking Final Four on a Saturday night, buzz goes the cell phone. And the cases might have been big, but sometimes I'd be doing tedious work on them, like making a Power Point for some muckety muck partner. Also, you felt like you were constantly being judged - and you were, due to the up-or-out business model. I've been called a "failurist" on these boards for not making partner there, but the truth is, like 5 percent of people who start eventually make partner. It's a long road and you give up a lot, in both time and individuality. Pay's good, though, and you feel like you've made it. This is important: I left 100 percent on my own accord. I could have stayed at least 3 or 4 more years before being nudged out, and I'd have had no problem finding another high-paying job at a smaller but lucrative downtown firm. My new job is in an office with 3 1/2 other lawyers. My boss is pretty domineering, which is understandable - it's his business. But he's a decent guy, and gives me a lot of freedom to write, for example, or go to court and argue, or plot strategy for some of our bigger cases. There's also a lot of keep-the-lights on bullshit that I have to do - harranguing deadbeats for pay for their fucking roofs, battling with little old ladies over late fees on their home loans. That kind of stuff. But I'm home a little after 6 and nobody bothers me at night or on the weekends. I coach Little League. I've seen the entire run of "Breaking Bad," and 1 1/2 seasons of "Stranger Things." But I can't say it's not weird sometimes to have a degree from the University of Chicago, five-plus years at a Top 15 national firm, and be working here. If you asked me where I'm going to be in five years, assuming I'm still above ground, of course, I would have no clue. I can't figure out if I'm satisfied or not. As much as the media focus is on women "having it all," it's tough for men to have it all, too. And, generally, if women opt out of the rat race, people are sympathetic. Men have failed. And that's not me taking too much to heart what someone on the Internet says to intentionally trigger me - it's definitely part of the zeitgeist/in the air. My biggest struggle - and this has been the case whether it was at my two newspapers gigs, or my big law firm job or, now, here, is that I feel that I'm really good at what I do, but nobody ever really has a way of knowing that, because I always for some reason end up buried on the bench behind other people, making them look good. Nobody who matters has ever known who the fuck I am. When it comes down to it, I don't really like working for other people. But I suck at networking and I hate chatting up strangers, so I would have a difficult time with the client-building aspects of being an entrepreneur. Plus, we're not really in the risk-taking phase of our life. I'll talk to Mrs. Whitman at times about whatever it is I might find unsatisfying and her answer is typically some version of, "Well, yeah, most people hate their jobs. Get over it." It's a little rough, because she has a calling and I guess I don't. Not a week goes by when I don't damn the six years I spent covering preps because I thought I was paying my dues. This post is Raguian.
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Post by Da Man on Nov 8, 2018 0:09:22 GMT
Raguian is an awesome word.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2018 0:18:20 GMT
Love my current job, even though I have to deal with internal politics and trying to get money for different initiatives. I don’t have to deal with any work emails on weekends.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2018 0:39:50 GMT
That's what I chose, as well - time, not money, though. As far as the job itself, it has its pluses and minuses. On the one hand, I miss working on big cases for big clients on big teams at my old Chicago gig. The matters were typically interesting and for either huge dollar amounts at stake, or pro bono matters that could be life-or-death. There was also a lot that was bad about it. I left for work at 6 a.m. and got home between 7 and 8. Some days - some weeks - I wouldn't have shit to do, because of the cyclical nature of things, and then, right when I'd be sitting down to watch the Bulls or Blackhawks game or the fucking Final Four on a Saturday night, buzz goes the cell phone. And the cases might have been big, but sometimes I'd be doing tedious work on them, like making a Power Point for some muckety muck partner. Also, you felt like you were constantly being judged - and you were, due to the up-or-out business model. I've been called a "failurist" on these boards for not making partner there, but the truth is, like 5 percent of people who start eventually make partner. It's a long road and you give up a lot, in both time and individuality. Pay's good, though, and you feel like you've made it. This is important: I left 100 percent on my own accord. I could have stayed at least 3 or 4 more years before being nudged out, and I'd have had no problem finding another high-paying job at a smaller but lucrative downtown firm. My new job is in an office with 3 1/2 other lawyers. My boss is pretty domineering, which is understandable - it's his business. But he's a decent guy, and gives me a lot of freedom to write, for example, or go to court and argue, or plot strategy for some of our bigger cases. There's also a lot of keep-the-lights on bullshit that I have to do - harranguing deadbeats for pay for their fucking roofs, battling with little old ladies over late fees on their home loans. That kind of stuff. But I'm home a little after 6 and nobody bothers me at night or on the weekends. I coach Little League. I've seen the entire run of "Breaking Bad," and 1 1/2 seasons of "Stranger Things." But I can't say it's not weird sometimes to have a degree from the University of Chicago, five-plus years at a Top 15 national firm, and be working here. If you asked me where I'm going to be in five years, assuming I'm still above ground, of course, I would have no clue. I can't figure out if I'm satisfied or not. As much as the media focus is on women "having it all," it's tough for men to have it all, too. And, generally, if women opt out of the rat race, people are sympathetic. Men have failed. And that's not me taking too much to heart what someone on the Internet says to intentionally trigger me - it's definitely part of the zeitgeist/in the air. My biggest struggle - and this has been the case whether it was at my two newspapers gigs, or my big law firm job or, now, here, is that I feel that I'm really good at what I do, but nobody ever really has a way of knowing that, because I always for some reason end up buried on the bench behind other people, making them look good. Nobody who matters has ever known who the fuck I am. When it comes down to it, I don't really like working for other people. But I suck at networking and I hate chatting up strangers, so I would have a difficult time with the client-building aspects of being an entrepreneur. Plus, we're not really in the risk-taking phase of our life. I'll talk to Mrs. Whitman at times about whatever it is I might find unsatisfying and her answer is typically some version of, "Well, yeah, most people hate their jobs. Get over it." It's a little rough, because she has a calling and I guess I don't. Not a week goes by when I don't damn the six years I spent covering preps because I thought I was paying my dues. This post is Raguian. It’s homage.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2018 2:23:06 GMT
I have the job I always wanted.
It pays well, I have incredible work/life flexibility, I pick my kids up from school every day I have them, don't have to check in with anyone and justify what I did with my day, I have unlimited resources to pursue basically whatever I want if I can sell the idea. I can travel a bunch and never have to worry about picking a cheap hotel or having a cheap dinner, because my employer will pay for good hotels and good dinners and pick up every Uber receipt. I worked really hard to get this job -- 11 years at a newspaper, including two in preps, two as a college beat writer, four as a general assignment feature writer and four as a columnist/takeout guy -- and I'm pretty good at it.
I also suspect that, one day, my job is going to disappear. I'm 40 and if I could have this job at age 50, I'd be ecstatic, but I'm skeptical that will be the case. Not because I am not good enough to keep it, but because my company is probably going to decide at some point that they see no point in paying people like me a lot of money to write 10 features a year and 20 columns about golf from majors. When that happens, I suspect I'll be able to find work again in journalism, but that's no guarantee. And if I do, I'm almost certain it will be for about half of what I'm making now.
It's hard to know how to feel about that. No one would walk away from a unicorn journalism job in their prime. But what happens 10 years from now when my kids are entering college and I'm suddenly making half of what I've been making? Even those of us who had a hail mary come through and got the job we always dreamed of having wonder if this is like being on a luxury train that enters a dark tunnel not knowing if there is actually an exit on the other side.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2018 2:41:09 GMT
It’s fine. It’s a comms gig at an anonymous nonprofit with great work-life balance. I make a decent bit more than I did in journalism, but not a ton, and between that and my wife’s school admin salary, raising three kids kind of sucks.
I work 35 hours a week, and I like everyone I work with, down to the last person. I can cut out early to coach Little League and raise exactly zero eyebrows. I get an extra day off every pay period if I make up the hours and I can telecommute a day or two a week. They pay 100 percent of my health insurance premiums. I like my job responsibilities well enough. And I see exactly zero room for advancement. I’m like others on here regarding a relative lack of ambition, but I’m 37 years old and running out of time to raise my salary in any meaningful way. So I’m dusting off the old resume again.
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