What Do You Really Have to Lose?
April 25, 2010 8 Comments
The following is in response to an article at The Simple Dollar titled What Do You Really Have to Lose? I encourage you to read the original article so you can form your opinion based on all of the advice he offers to an upcoming college graduate.
As another school year draws to a close, students around the country will be graduating college. This is an important point in life where the choice of money or passion is typically decided. Some will find careers in their field of study, realizing after four years of classes that they were chasing dollar signs rather than their passion, while others are left to flounder, unable to find their dream job and unwilling to settle for less than they deserve.
A few days ago, a college student I know was talking about his upcoming graduation. His plans mostly revolved around getting a good paying job, but he also talked about how he might go back to school some day and study a particular branch of philosophy that he truly loved studying and reading about.
I asked him why he was choosing to put a good paying job over a path that he was deeply personally passionate about that might not necessarily earn a great deal in the near future. He pretty much exploded, offering up a rant about how the world revolves around money and the only way he would ever be able to chase the dreams he has is if he has lots of income.
What is Trent’s advice to this recent graduate?
Since you don’t need much income, get a job sitting behind a counter at a gas station at night. Earn minimum wage and sit there with your notebook open, collecting your ideas and thoughts about whatever it is you want to do. Spend your mental and physical energy building the life you want.
There is no better time in your life to just throw caution to the wind and see where your passion will carry you than when you’re young and free of many responsibilities. If it doesn’t work, you’re not out anything much – maybe a few years, at worst. If it does work, you’ve opened the door to a lifetime of doing what you want to do.
What do you really have to lose? Not much. What do you have to gain? The life you dream of.
After four years of college, Trent thinks the best option for this student is to sit behind the counter at a gas station doodling in a notebook? Get real! He has a degree which has the potential to earn a lot of money, he should pursue that avenue, even if it doesn’t make him happy, temporarily. At least he will be unhappy while earning a decent wage rather than being unhappy selling cigarettes and porno magazines while barely scraping by on minimum wage.
Unless his education was financed by his parents, repayment on his Student Loans will begin six months after graduation. Trying to pay those loans on a minimum wage job isn’t realistic. If he takes a higher paying position, at least he could focus on knocking out the debt quickly so he is able to move on to better things sooner.
If it is his desire to return to school to study philosophy, having a cash reserve would make that transition much easier. Most people are not able to pursue their dreams in life because of a lack of money. It is not possible for them to switch between the lifestyle they have been living to one which might limit their income. The higher paying position would also allow him to save money on a more accelerated schedule than a minimum wage job would allow, thus making that transition happen much faster and more easily.
This is my advice to this same college graduate:
Your job does not define you. Society’s emphasis on a person’s career obscures our perception of self. Defining who you are as an individual based on your career is limiting. You are unique. Don’t lose your individuality, don’t become another cog in the corporate machine.
Money is not everything but it can help create the life you desire. Maybe your perception of the world is that it revolves around money. It doesn’t. This is a mistake many people make. They believe that happiness is derived from driving fancy cars and living in expensive homes. They believe success is defined by material possessions. Life is about internal happiness, not external gratification. Success is finding satisfaction and acceptance within and of yourself.
Income is only half of the equation. So many people believe that making a lot of money is the foundation to the life of their dreams, only to find out that they have become a slave to their job. Earning a large paycheck serves no purpose if your lifestyle grows with your income. Live frugally, save as much money as possible and use this as your foundation to pursue your ambitions.
This is the time in your life when you have the power to define the remainder of your days here on Earth. Work as hard as you can to set yourself up for success. Seize opportunities when they present themselves, don’t be afraid to take risks. Play the game to your advantage and build a strong foundation for the rest of your life. Make every decision based on how it will affect your dream of studying philosophy.
Don’t work at a gas station!
About Steven
In part I agree with you on this, but the truth of the matter is many people end up more unhappy after chosing the path that gives them more money over the path that gives them more satisfaction.
I believe that if a person has no major commitments and are still young, it is an opportune moment to pursue their dreams. With the gas station example, providing the student doesn’t have excessive debt, I think the advice given is quite sound. One never knows where his passion will lead him. Those quiet evenings spent doodling in the notebook could result in a work of art that would pay off over and above what the alternative avenue would.
I remember reading a while back about a successful company director who quit his job to become a firefirefighter. He was an amateur stock market investor who was doing reasonably well in his investments. He eventually figured out that he could make more money from his hobby but was reluctant to lose the security of a permanent job. His solution was to become a firefighter because it’s something he had dreamed about in his younger days but more importantly, because in the absence emergency’s firefighters have a lot of free time between callouts. Time he spent studying and investing in the markets.
At the end of the day, it all depends on the individual. If the money makes them happier then by all means take that path, however, if you get more satisfaction from your passion than that, I believe should be your priority.
I’m inclined to believe most will go for the money, because truth be told the majority of people do not even know what their true passion is!
I am not implying the student stay in a position where he is unhappy. My suggestion is that he use it as a springboard to set himself up financially in order to pursue his goals in a more meaningful way than sitting at a gas station. There is also this assumption that he couldn’t take on the higher paying position while still pursuing his dream of studying philosophy.
I am a real supporter of people pursuing their life goals but I also think (depending on the individual situation) that it is irresponsible to recommend that a college student forget everything they just worked 4 years to earn in order to work at a gas station and earn minimum wage. They will likely be far more miserable working at a gas station than they would be working in their feild of study. Why? Because on top of being dissatisfied by their work, they would also be broke and under pressure from their Student Loan debt.
Take the higher paying job, live frugally, pay off any and all debts, save like crazy until you reach a point where it is possible to focus on pursuing your dreams. It doesn’t mean you have to work at a job you hate for the rest of your life. A couple of years working at a higher paying job can do much more to improve your situation than working for minimum wage, which means that you will be able to pursue your dreams sooner rather than later.
I’m glad you posted a response article because I read TSD every day and the line of advice Trent gives, I believe, is very irresponsible.
As someone in the comments on his article pointed out ( I don’t remember if it was you), he is following his passion now precisely because he spent several years in a job that paid well but wasnt his passion.
The idea that you shouldn’t have to spend one minute doing something you aren’t “passionate” about is silly. That’s what children do. Sometimes you have to suck it up and do the unfun stuff for a while so that you can fit in the stuff you do want.
And you’re absolutely right that your job doesn’t fully prevent you from doing something you enjoy the rest of the time.
If there is a way to _not_ achieve your dreams the route certainly runs along the valley of not having any money.
“… the need for money in the bank comes down to what you’re responsible for.”
That is true, but you also have a responsibility to your future wife and family, and being able to make a down payment on a house is certainly part of that responsibility. Of course, like Steven mentioned, many recent graduates are responsible for paying back student loans.
That’s not to say if you have to find a job in the thing you majored in. Get a job in the direction of your passion. It needn’t be a perfect match either. As a recent graduate the thing you need most is experience. Get it. Get a job.
I guess Trent’s assumption is that you shouldn’t take large student loans for college education, but try to graduate with as low debt as possible, even by working on a side job and taking more years to get the degree. Of course if you’re responsible for your loans, you have something to lose.
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The post and comments are very insightful. With everything we read, I think it is important to understand examples for what they are regardless of how extreme it is. No I would not work at a gas station after graduating college, but I took a job that was equally as unrelated to my passion. From the articles, I gathered that you have to do what you have to do in order to do what you want to do. This will look different for each of us.
I like your perspective, and agree that we do what we have to do in order to do what we want to do. This DOES mean many different things for different people. The trouble I found with Trent’s advice (if a true story) is that he is essentially setting this person up for failure (in my opinion). If this person could suffer through a high paying job for a few years while setting themselves up financially, that would do much more for them than working a minimum wage job while trying to pay rent, groceries and (possibly/probably) student loans.
At the end of the same time period, the person would probably be miserable either way (which job would be more miserable is open to debate) but it is likely that they would have more money to pursue their ambitions if they took the higher paying position. To me, that makes more sense.