What do you do for a living?

[Mike]

follow the money...get into the banking industry or something financial related (stocks, investment, brokerage). typically 9-5 days, Tons of holidays and good pay.

real estate is good too if you have the right attitude. Own some property in a college town and watch the money flow in.

edit: I work in IT and it has its ups and downs, but unless you're at the top it can get stressful.

 

[canuck brian]

I'm a network engineer. Took a long time to get be able to get what I do salary wise.

I build guitars on the side. It's almost become profitable.

 

[Konfyouzd]

I sell electronics and electronics accessories.
Yes sir, I tell you what.

I'm trying to think of the "charcoal equivalent" to electronics...

But while I'm not simply taking pride in being bad at my job... I'm a software developer... Who's bad at his job...

 

[MFB]

I'm trying to think of the "charcoal equivalent" to electronics...

LED vs. LCD
Android vs. iOS
DVD-RW vs. DVD+RW
Blu-Ray vs. DVD
PS_ vs. Xbox ___

You can guess which is the charcoal for each category

 

[Konfyouzd]

I'm gonna guess LCD...

But I could be terribly wrong...

 

[MFB]

Wise, you are to assume it is LCD

 

[Konfyouzd]

Konfyouzd approves of diodes...

 

[7 Dying Trees]

I work in IT. I am a professional Nerd coding for whoever pays me

On the side I've toured, bought loads of gear and generally having my career in a skill which is in demand (there simply are not enough good coders) has meant the career breaks resulting from touring haven't done me too much damage...

IT is a good field if you're good at it AND if it interests you. If it holds no interest, don't bother, as the long hours and frustrations that can come with it will drive you batshit.

 

[Malkav]

I used to work as a sales man in a musical instruments retail chain, biggest one in my country in fact, and now I work as a Telesales guy in distribution for Fender in my country.

It's not the greatest paying job but I talk, sell and play guitars all day, I've made some useful contacts in the industry and it's been a great platform...

And by platform I mean I'll be quitting in September and switching to playing music full time, cover gigs, wedding gigs, original stuff and teaching on the side

Of course as is there'll be a dip in my salary but after I get orientated I'm completely confident I'll at least be able to earn what I currently earn each month, at this point with all the stuff I'm doing music wise I have three set practices each week and then any extra practices I may have to have, and it's gotten to the point where adding in my daily practice routine I'm only getting to sleep at about 3am everyday and when I go full time I'm not expecting it to tone down at all as I have 2 extra bands I'll be starting up for weddings and another for covers to make extra pocket.

While doing all of this I'm going to be pursuing an official Grade 8 in music theory through Trinity, after which I'll do the practical side of their rock school grade 8 and if there's time I'll be trying to take my higher diploma in sales management and turning it into a degree via correspondence.

I'm an insomniac and a workaholic, which will be a great combination for what I want to do, but it's going to be a really hard road to get to where I want, and I'm damn excited to give it a bash.

I'm currently out of debt and single so I have absolutely no responsibilities, also my parents are awesome so I do have a good support structure in place

If you wanna pursue music getting into a big companies distribution can not only help build contacts but also teach you quite a bit, a large majority of the jazz stuff I know I picked up from customers/known good guitarists while I was in retail and my boss at the distribution is an amazing rock/country hybrid picker so I've gotten a ton of lessons out of him too. If you can make it happen I highly recommend this path

 

[gsdejager]

I used to work as a sales man in a musical instruments retail chain, biggest one in my country in fact, and now I work as a Telesales guy in distribution for Fender in my country.

It's not the greatest paying job but I talk, sell and play guitars all day, I've made some useful contacts in the industry and it's been a great platform...

And by platform I mean I'll be quitting in September and switching to playing music full time, cover gigs, wedding gigs, original stuff and teaching on the side

Of course as is there'll be a dip in my salary but after I get orientated I'm completely confident I'll at least be able to earn what I currently earn each month, at this point with all the stuff I'm doing music wise I have three set practices each week and then any extra practices I may have to have, and it's gotten to the point where adding in my daily practice routine I'm only getting to sleep at about 3am everyday and when I go full time I'm not expecting it to tone down at all as I have 2 extra bands I'll be starting up for weddings and another for covers to make extra pocket.

While doing all of this I'm going to be pursuing an official Grade 8 in music theory through Trinity, after which I'll do the practical side of their rock school grade 8 and if there's time I'll be trying to take my higher diploma in sales management and turning it into a degree via correspondence.

I'm an insomniac and a workaholic, which will be a great combination for what I want to do, but it's going to be a really hard road to get to where I want, and I'm damn excited to give it a bash.

I'm currently out of debt and single so I have absolutely no responsibilities, also my parents are awesome so I do have a good support structure in place

If you wanna pursue music getting into a big companies distribution can not only help build contacts but also teach you quite a bit, a large majority of the jazz stuff I know I picked up from customers/known good guitarists while I was in retail and my boss at the distribution is an amazing rock/country hybrid picker so I've gotten a ton of lessons out of him too. If you can make it happen I highly recommend this path

Ah... a fellow rainbow nation shareholder.

I'm Chris Broderick's guitar teacher...

...and when I wake up in the morning I'm a grad student. I've been studying for 9 years to become a psychologist. If I can get my thesis sorted out, this will be my final year. Mind you, I didn't get into grad school first time around, so I ended up starting a masters in philosophy. All that thinking gave a me a headache though...

It's been a long road for sure. I've had to sell ALL my gear to pay for school fees and expenses, not once, but twice. Things are looking up though. My wife's currently doing a PhD in genetics, we don't want any kids, and apart from some hefty student loans, we're pretty much debt free. Hopefully next year will see an end to the years of frugal living and sacrifices we've had to make.

 

[nicktao]

Thanks for the advice guys, I knew it was tough but I really had no idea. I'd prefer a day job 9-5 mon-fri, or one where I make my own schedule. I'm sure I'll be happy with around 80k.

So is buying a house cheaper since overtime renting has nothing to show for it? Say you buy a house for ~200k v.s. renting for ~1000, after 16 years you still have the house where as renting just lost money.

 

[Malkav]

Ah... a fellow rainbow nation shareholder.

I'm Chris Broderick's guitar teacher...

...and when I wake up in the morning I'm a grad student. I've been studying for 9 years to become a psychologist. If I can get my thesis sorted out, this will be my final year. Mind you, I didn't get into grad school first time around, so I ended up starting a masters in philosophy. All that thinking gave a me a headache though...

It's been a long road for sure. I've had to sell ALL my gear to pay for school fees and expenses, not once, but twice. Things are looking up though. My wife's currently doing a PhD in genetics, we don't want any kids, and apart from some hefty student loans, we're pretty much debt free. Hopefully next year will see an end to the years of frugal living and sacrifices we've had to make.

Very much a safa

All that university stuff was never really an option for me, partially because I'm poor and partially because that's clever people stuff and I'm not a clever people Seriously though, guitar playing is the only thing I care about and the only thing that really puts a smile on my face, also basically the only thing I'm even marginally skilled at, so life hasn't left me with any options better than pursuing what is probably the worst possible carreer path

For what it's worth I do enjoy philosophy and quite like the works of Machioveli (sp?), Nietzche and Jean Paul Sartre but I could never imagine studying it...My brain would hurt too much if I tried to dedicate large portions of my life to it

 

[musicaldeath]

I do engineering design for oil and gas. With two years of school (and provincial as well as national certification) and three years work experience, I'm pulling in 120k/yr. But that's the oil and gas industry. It doesn't take much for everything to go south in this industry either. So it's kind of a gamble in that respect. That being said, I haven't been able to afford a new piece of gear in two years lol.

 

[The Reverend]

Thanks for the advice guys, I knew it was tough but I really had no idea. I'd prefer a day job 9-5 mon-fri, or one where I make my own schedule. I'm sure I'll be happy with around 80k.

So is buying a house cheaper since overtime renting has nothing to show for it? Say you buy a house for ~200k v.s. renting for ~1000, after 16 years you still have the house where as renting just lost money.

It's a bit longer than that usually, as there is interest on a home loan. In the long run it's the better option simply because it's an investment, whereas renting is, well, renting. You don't see any increase in value unless it's the kind of apartment you buy outright, like in New York or something.

It's also funny that you mention 80K. Studies suggest that after an individual earns 75K there's a marked decrease in returns regarding how happy they are. An easy and probably unneeded explanation would mean that going from 50 to 75K nets you a 25% increase in happiness, whereas that same leap from 75 to 100K would be something less. I think I read that on Cracked or something, so it may not be completely accurate.

I'd really look into a STEM degree. If you work hard, and invest smart in something like rental properties, you can develop quite the nest egg.

 

[gsdejager]

WARNING! This is gonna get weird...

Money and "happiness" are very poorly correlated. Do yourself a favor and google "hedonic treadmill/adaptation" (I just read the wikipedia page and it's good to go).

As long as your basic needs are met, more money will not contribute to your happiness in any significant way. It's human nature to always want something more/else; we're wired that way. If you want to read a beautifully, yet depressing, written piece on this, read Schopenhauer's "On the Vanity of Existence". For a grumpy German dude he sure was perceptive.

Gunning for a high paying job so you can buy more stuff will be very short-sighted since you'll spend inordinate amounts of time doing that job. While any job you enjoy might not contribute to your overall level of happiness, a bad job will significantly decrease it, regardless of how much money you make. Rather find something that you enjoy doing and learn to appreciate the smaller things in life.

Most researchers agree that happiness is a mind-set, lame as that may sound. Some of the happiest people are happy because they got off the treadmill. Ironically, these same people have very few physical possessions.

"Happiness within they found" (said in Yoda voice).

Mindfulness is a big deal in psychology nowadays since it proves to be just as effective as meds, while having no side-effects.

I honestly believe we'd be better offer worrying less about happiness. I apologize for my demented rambling, I'm just really passionate about this stuff.

 

[EcoliUVA]

WARNING! This is gonna get weird...
*snip*

I suppose this could be true for certain personalities, but I don't see it for me. I'm a mechanical engineer. At a certain quantity of money, I would completely stop being a mechanical engineer and study/pursue music full-time (I have a wife, and to do so now would be unfair to her). I would be happier at that point. Though I suppose I wouldn't continue to make money (i.e. the treadmill), just live off of that chunk. On the bright side, we all die eventually, so that critical mass will definitely happen.

To OP: Engineering will not typically net you that kind of money, unless you shoot for management. Management hours suck, and it will generally be stressful. Some engineering degrees + experience can get you close to the lower end of that range without being a manager, though (computer, chemical).

 

[Cyntex]

I am a Technical Support Representative within a global leading enterprise in the field of telemarketing. It's out of my comfort-zone and not really within my general skillset, even though I am doing pretty good. That being said we are in a worldwide economical crisis, so the joboffers don´t come that easy, however one thing is certain, people who specialize and make sure they are hard to replace get a much bigger shot at making a decent to luxurous income. Meaning 100 to 200k is luxurous, far beyond comfortable with all respects.

 

[Konfyouzd]

WARNING! This is gonna get weird...

Money and "happiness" are very poorly correlated. Do yourself a favor and google "hedonic treadmill/adaptation" (I just read the wikipedia page and it's good to go).

As long as your basic needs are met, more money will not contribute to your happiness in any significant way. It's human nature to always want something more/else; we're wired that way. If you want to read a beautifully, yet depressing, written piece on this, read Schopenhauer's "On the Vanity of Existence". For a grumpy German dude he sure was perceptive.

Gunning for a high paying job so you can buy more stuff will be very short-sighted since you'll spend inordinate amounts of time doing that job. While any job you enjoy might not contribute to your overall level of happiness, a bad job will significantly decrease it, regardless of how much money you make. Rather find something that you enjoy doing and learn to appreciate the smaller things in life.

Most researchers agree that happiness is a mind-set, lame as that may sound. Some of the happiest people are happy because they got off the treadmill. Ironically, these same people have very few physical possessions.

"Happiness within they found" (said in Yoda voice).

Mindfulness is a big deal in psychology nowadays since it proves to be just as effective as meds, while having no side-effects.

I honestly believe we'd be better offer worrying less about happiness. I apologize for my demented rambling, I'm just really passionate about this stuff.

Don't the Hindu elders give up literally everything at some point in life? Some ppl have even been enlightened enough to work this into their culture...

 

[SpaceDock]

Lets sum it up,

No such thing as easy money
If you kick ass you can make 100k+, but likely not until you are middle aged
It used to be normal to get high level positions without edu with XP, not the case anymore
35k and up is a normal wage for a hard working American and will supply a normal life
People in the 100k club pay for it by moving a lot, giving up a lot, and devoting themselves
A house costs 3-6 times the selling price after interest, upkeep, updates over loan life

Me personally: Service Technician for pharma equipment for five years, bachelors degree, mucho dinero, own a house and two cars (never buy new), zero debt excluding mortgage.

 

[Ralyks]

Financial Services Rep for a Credit Union, as well as Office Assistant for my father Chriopractor/Acupuncture office on my off days to make a few extra bucks.

I did my Bachelors in Music Theory/Composition and Contemporary Music Studies in hope of teaching Composition and other music subjects at the University level. Then, for some reason, earlier this year I moved to Buffalo to do my Masters in Music Education for K - 12.

What a mistake that was. Terrible job market. And, honestly, I realized I did not want to teach at a K - 12 level.

So, right now, I'm good at being a banker and make an ok living while I get other things in my life sorted out, and still write and play in my free time. I do plan on ressassing my situation in a few years, and if it's feasible, I'm going to go back and do my Masters in Music Composition like I had originally planned, and try to go for teaching at the University level like I wanted. It may not be the greatest paying gig and hard to get, but yeah, don't give up on your dreams blah blah blah. And also, with experience, I don't necessarily have to be where I am to do the banker thing, and could probably make more money elsewhere, so its nice to have it as a fallback.