Mid-20s Rant (Quarter-life Crisis?)

I'd say screw it and do what makes you happy. Take a chance, 1 or 2 years is not going to kill you. Maybe afterwards you can return back to your "boring" lifestyle making better money.

 

You should both work on a cruise ship.

 

before you know it you'll be 34, posting about fictional boobs in the hangout thread. Whatever you enjoy doing, do it now.

 

You are very optimistic about your life expectancy.

 

Summer camps, Disney or bible school? Cleverly disguised I want to become a Catholic Priest thread.

 

it must be the aspartame in diet cokes, but back in the day brehs lived longer. Enoch, around 360 years. Noah, 900 years and he was into extreme water sports.

 

You are very pessimistic about your life expectancy.

 

Find a job that will afford you the means to travel. Since I really hit my stride in my career 4 years ago, we have been to Europe, Asia and South America for vacation time. Before then, we were lucky to take a car trip every now and again to Austin.

In due time, my young friend, in due time.....

 

What do you do now? What exactly are you wanting to do instead? "Working at summer camps, Bible school, Disney World or overseas" is kind of vague.

 

It's not all about money for many.

Do what makes you happy.

 

Lots of overseas jobs in that industry. Possibly even at your company. Ask about a transfer or even a temp posting at a project. Harder to do once you're older and settled. Volunteer on the side too if you want.

 

You can definitely still serve via ministry and oversees missions all while keeping your current job. Often times those things won't cost you anything but your time. If you're a man of faith, which it seems like you are, your calling will make room for itself in your life. So order your steps and let the plan unfold.

 

Seems like you could do a lot of this stuff without interfering with your job.

Keep your job and do what you really love on nights and weekends. Balance is the key to a happy life.

 

I went through the quarter life crisis and gave up a good income so I could go to b-school to find a job I would really like. I got that job (which Had the benefit of paying well) only to find out I didn't love it after a few years. I identified what I liked and what I didn't and found a better job. That job has gotten really stale after a few more years.

Now I'm over a decade past where you are, and contemplating a change to a very different lower paying job or to a higher paying job that has similarities to my last two. Even though I always planned to make as much money early on so I could do whatever I wanted later, it's really hard to give up income now.

Kids who get to do stuff I never did growing up, cool home in a great neighborhood, vacations when I want, financial security...

I keep checking boxes off my list, but keep adding things to the list. Now I think about building wealth for my kids and their kids. So I'll probably forgo the opportunity to do something very different at a lower pay so that I can make more and hope that my kids will be In a position to do what i am not.

Interpret this story one of two ways:

1) You may not actually really love the job you think you will, so put yourself in a position to enjoy the stuff you know you enjoy (vacations, making your family happy, material stuff, whatever)

Or

2) Get out of the rat race before you get too deep. Because their really isn't an exit.

I'm not sure which is the right answer. But despite dissatisfaction with my gig, I'm pretty happy with my life, so I lean towards lesson #1.

Good luck