Work had it's time. It's over. This is going to be one of the most significant changes in human history. And your children won't even be able to comprehend why we ever worked.
Not to pivot this thread too much, but my wife has had a hell of a time trying to find work since being laid off from an O&G job (geophysics) in June 2020. There have been zero job openings in that field, so to cast her net wider and transition away from O&G, she just finished a post-grad program in data science and is looking for entry level work there, but the data science/analyst jobs she has applied for are looking for people with more experience. Is there anybody in the data science field that would have some tips for finding and landing that first job? My wife has been unemployed for 15 months now, and her benefits expired two months ago (thanks Gov. Abbott!).
I hate my job right now, I am looking but not ready to quit without a new job. its very cyclical, I will go 2 weeks without hearing a word and then boom 2-3 calls......Sadly, I have taken the attitude of F*** it, I am here for a paycheck, I will do my work and play nice but in my head I am getting my go F*** you speech ready
That's the field I've worked in for the last ~4 years, after leaving accounting. I'm a few months away from finishing my masters. It has taken me.... a long time. The experience issue is a tough one. I had that issue until I just got lucky and found a place that wanted someone with a "fresh perspective." I hate to say it, but she might have to take a lower salary than she deserves, at least for one year. If you're in the Houston area, she might look at data jobs for Memorial Hermann. I used to work there and I suspect that if your wife got hired on there, she would be a major asset for them. I say this because of 3 things: MH was way behind the curve in adapting data science practices, so they are still just getting started. MH, at least when I was there, did not have many analytically savvy people. Her master's degree has no doubt given her some great knowledge and skills. I'm not there anymore so there's nothing I can do directly for her. But I can ask someone I know there to "refer" her for a job if your wife finds one to her liking. Again, however, she will probably be paid less than she deserves. MH doesn't overwhelm you with salary, to say the least. Beyond that, I would suggest looking at insurance companies. Health insurance and other (USAA, Liberty Mutual, etc.). They pay well and offer 100% remote options. But there's a good chance she's already looked at these companies and they require experience. Unfortunately, that's a hard one to overcome. She might just need to get lucky like I did or be underpaid for a bit.
Many thanks, this is very helpful. She has accepted the fact she will be taking a big salary reduction as she starts off on this new career path. The problem she has been facing is that she has been applying to data science jobs that are designated as "entry level," but then she gets denied for not having work experience in Python or SQL. She has learned both of those, but has not had the chance to use that at a job yet. I will suggest she look at Memorial Hermann specifically, if she sees a job she thinks she may qualify for I will shoot you a DM. Thanks again for your insight.
If she hasn't already, she can put up a sample project with both, possibly hosting it on GitHub or a specialized data science tool like Jupyter Notebook? It's weird that they want entry people, but if they're serious rather than cynically underpaying she can try asking them for a take home assignment on the condition they'll give her feedback if things don't work out
I would never quit unless I had something else lined up. But, I would definitely position myself to be in a more fitting role. This was my plan. If you don't mind me asking, did you live extremely frugally to hit your FIRE number? I'm finding that's not necessary for me to stay on track and I'm wondering if I should increase my number because of some big cost that I just don't know about yet. Also, what is it like being early retired? Common complaints I've seen is boredom, particularly while all your friends and similar aged family are still working. My big fear is my children seeing me not working at the time when they're supposed to be doing what it takes to be in the position I'm in.
I'm too lazy to worry about personal finance or numbers but this is a good resource for early retirement schemes. Gist is to move to a lower CoL area, build equity, then leverage equity towards safe interest bearing investments like Vanguard ETFs https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/
Oh, I'm familiar with MMM and the path to get to retiring early. I was more looking for the first hand account of what it's like in retirement from DoD. Most of these early retirement bloggers/YouTubers say they're not bored but they also spend a lot of time creating content. I'm curious what it's like for someone who truly has no job.
Well, honestly, it's probably foolish for me to say anything since I really can't do a lot of the stuff I want to do because of COVID hitting the world. I'm somewhat forced into more frugality. So I don't know what it's really like to be retired. I had planned on running around the country and take trips out of the country, but ... yeah ... anyway. Honestly some of retiring early and still living a decent life afterwards is about luck, and it was no different for me. I luckily worked and saved early in life and invested well. Luckily I was caught up in the dotcom bubble and didn't lose everything, though I didn't exit at the peak, and during COVID, I got caught up in one of the craziest bull runs in the market immediately after I retired when I thought the market would collapse. So, that was all the "lucky" part. The other part of it is I don't really spend money on stuff like booze, concerts, cigarettes, keeping up with fashion, etc. I think most of what I dump money into is in trying to make more money, whether it be stocks, comics, learning and re-investing in myself, etc. If the average person is just looking to retire early and blow their money on hookers and crack, well, they should probably stay with the 9-to-5 a bit longer. lol. Also, quit worrying about what everybody else is doing or what everybody else has and focus on what you need or want to have to live comfortably -- at least that worked for me. About the frugality, in general, on a scale of 1-10 where 1 is a financial idiot and 10 is a miser when it comes to personal finances, I'm probably a 6 or 7. I tried not to waste money. I always tried to know where my money was going. That definitely doesn't mean I don't buy stupid things or only buy the necessities. I also started investing and saving when I was in my late teens to early 20's which really helped the most probably. After a while, if the market is going up or your reinvestment of dividends/interest starts compounding, it's kind of amazing to sit back and watch. But again, there's luck involved. I live a pretty simple life which also helps with the frugality. Too much complexity gives me a headache. lol. I also don't have a wife or kids. Some say that helps, but eh. I've seen a lot of married couples knock it out of the park when it comes to early retirement, so if you find a good woman, she should be able to help you retire even sooner. Kids, on the other hand, are a money pit from everyone I've talked to. lol. jk. sorta. As for your question about boredom, only because of COVID keeping me cooped up, maybe. But I've always enjoyed reading, learning about different things, etc., and that doesn't require much in the way of expenses. And my hobbies like comic collecting and researching/investing in stocks are things I find fun, but also make me money. You mention those guys doing YouTube videos. To me, if they're doing it because they have to do it, then they're not really retired. If they're doing it because they love doing it as a hobby and it makes them money, then they're retired. The best case is you're doing something you enjoy and it makes you money. When I retired, I wanted to actually go find work doing something I loved, and I really couldn't care less about the money. I wanted to work in a hospital or an airport or something, but yeah ... COVID. Lastly, the big cost? Who knows. I found out I had a health issue early this year which came from out of the blue because for whatever reason, I never thought I'd be that guy. But I've got enough money to have that covered (well, so far), and thankfully having health insurance helps. If you retire early and have paid your house off, your health insurance payments may be one of the biggest parts of your expenses. Your health is the one thing you probably have no idea about no matter how much you plan. Like I tell people, when I was in my 20s, my health was something I didn't really think about that much. Now that I entered my 40s and 50s, it's about all I think about. lol. I say that because how you plan i your 20s won't be how you think about planning in your 40s and 50s probably.
This! Great advice and I feel this is lost on a LOT of younger millennials. They are the Instagram and influencer generation - flexing and showing off is constantly in their face, and it manufactures artificial wants and needs, and makes them feel they aren't accomplishing anything if they also don't have what others are flaunting.
As a trained Data Scientist, I will just say, good luck. Where did she get her degree and what was it in? I'm not sure if I follow what you mean by "post-grad program." Also, what type of models has she worked with? I think it's not necessarily the truth that she will have to accept a "big salary reduction." I guess that also depends on what she was making. That said, I do think she should cast a wide net and also apply to "analytics" positions aside from just "data scientist." It might be easier to break in as some sort of other "analytics" person who uses python or SQL. When looking on Linkedin or Indeed search for "python" "data analyst" "data scientist" etc... If she has done projects during her school-work, those should be mentioned on the resume. It also might be a good idea to put those on GitHub. Some people like seeing those sorts of things. She could also do "kaggle" competitions... some people get really wet over that sort of thing.
What do you do work wise now? and what are you doing your masters in? I thought you were Mr. Oil and Gas
Thanks for this, very helpful. Just to clarify, the post grad program is not a masters but a certification in data science - it was an online program at UT Austin that ran from February to August. It was mostly python based, with some SQL. I would say she is now proficient in python, and knows how to use SQL in a theoretical sense, she just needs a hands on opportunity to use SQL to become proficient with that as well.
Ah, I see. I hate to be brutally blunt here, but it is going to be very tough for your wife. Her competition for any of those roles are going to be people with masters degrees (often times more than 1) and/or phd's. It will not be easy at all to get a job in the field. I do think however there are "analytics" jobs (especially depending on her previous career path) that could take a chance on her. But I would look for something more closely tied to her previous role if possible. Or maybe there are some junior data analyst type positions that can help her break in. In that case though, you are right, there would be a substantial pay decrease. Sorry, I know that is probably not ideal news, but I hope she can get something soon! Once you are in I don't think there are as many barriers preventing someone from moving up. It's just getting in... Maybe @Haymitch can give some more insight on his experiences. He still hasn't told us what he does though
