Reader Case Study: Maximize Adventure or Career?

Full disclosure, I’m posting this week’s case study as an interview, but no one is being interviewed here. This post is the amalgamation of several email discussions I’ve had with readers in the last two to three months. The premise is this: folks out there know some form of career is necessary, but they’re overwhelmed by the idea of 40+ years of something that isn’t the dream job. Oh yeah, and they’re obsessed with rock climbing.

I’m going to outline below the basic way we’ve structured our lives to be career-focused for only a small portion of our adult lives. From there, we’re free to pursue whatever it is that gets us giddy (which can still be a career).

Before we get going, I want to share how important these discussions are to me. I can’t begin to explain how meaningful it is to have strangers reaching out to elaborate on the details of their lives.

This project is absolutely a labor of love. I get so much out of writing these posts and interacting with readers. Honestly, thank you so much for those of you that are regular readers, and thanks even more to those who have been spurred into action. That’s been the goal all along, and it’s fulfilling to see that the baby tentacles might be beginning to spread. Hmmm, calamari. A little bit of lemon and olive oil and….

The Reader Case Study: Career Balance

We’re going to call this reader Mikey. Again, this post will generalize several email discussions I’ve had in recent months, but through the situation of Mikey.

Mikey is young, let’s say 22, nearing completion of his college education. In recent years Mikey has also sprouted a new-found obsession with rock climbing, and wants nothing more than to finish college and hit the road, climbing all across the US. Mikey is conflicted on the best path forward.

Obsession with Climbing

First off, I 100% understand the magnetic pull of rock climbing. In some of my original posts, I speculate on why climbing is so addictive, and the difference between the lifers and optimizers.

I didn’t discover rock climbing until I was 26 years old and already an intern on the way to a full-blown career, but I still became immediately strung out on this sport.

I often wonder how life would have been different if I discovered climbing earlier in life, during the exploratory years of my early 20s. Would I be another guy in a van, trying to sleep stealth mode in some alley? We’ll never know.

But What About that Degree?

The thing is, Mikey put at least four years and thousands of dollars into an education. Maybe Mikey didn’t pay, but his parents perhaps did, and they’re understandably going to be a little bummed to know that Mikey is using his degree to sleep indefinitely in the back of a Honda Civic in Wyoming.

Perhaps even more alarming, Mikey might be harboring debt of his recent education. According to Forbes, the Class of 2017 borrowers (on average) owe in excess of $28,000 in student loans. For many of these loans, interest rates clock in at a minimum of 4%, and are often into the double digits in the case of many private loans. Never underestimate the power of debt to snowball and hose you big-time bud.

Let’s outline a plan below that can maximize time pursuing Mikey’s passions (climbing in this case) AND get him on the right track financially. Life doesn’t have to be a black and white solution between full freedom and corporate drone/white picket fence/etc.

Step 1. Consider Career Options

First off, and I’m jumping the gun, I’m not necessarily going to suggest that Mikey should get right to work pursuing his career. But hopefully Mikey is completing his degree in some field of study with decent job prospects.

For in-demand careers such as software development or medical professions, the ball is in your court! If you’ve chosen a career path where jobs are particularly competitive, you may need to consider the risk in taking time away. If you’ve chosen a career in art history, start packing the van for the long haul. 🙂 I’m kidding of course, but the availability of jobs and salary prospects make a huge difference in how this will play out.

Internship?

For my career path in oil and gas, many companies hire exclusively from a college intern pool. If you already know that some of your target companies hire in this manner, you might want to make sure you seek and out and complete at least one of these internships before taking time off.

Step 2. Take Some Time Before Your Career!

Like I’ve said before, we’re not the Fun Police! Employers are slowly and steadily warming up to the idea of “the gap year,” or time away between school and a job. I never did it, and the fact that I didn’t is one of my many regrets.

Dude, we’re talking because you love rock climbing. Go climb! But be very mindful of the lessons you can learn in this time. Some of these include:

• Frugality: You’ll likely live on a small budget. Learn to see the beauty of what a minimum spending profile can bring. You’ll soon realize what is and isn’t necessary to provide for a happy and fulfilling existence (hint: not a BMW).
• Simplicity: Along with frugality, you’ll learn a great appreciation for nature and simple pleasures. You’ll place time with friends, travel, and a sense of place over material possessions. Hold on to that.
• Physical Fitness: You’ll likely be in badass shape. Remember what that feels like. People at work make excuses for letting their health slip from priority #1.

This phase can last anywhere from a few weeks to a year. I wouldn’t blow past a year, lest you feel your job prospects will not be limited by the time away.

Step 3: Pursue Your Career

Mikey, after you’ve spent all this time on the road and shredded the proverbial gnar, it’s time to buckle down a bit. You might try to get a job in your field near at least decent climbing.

My first career job was in Houston, TX. That sucked! There were gyms, and oddly enough I started climbing there, but to touch rock required a 3.5 hour one-way drive to Austin. Don’t do that if you can help it.

I’m not going to give interview or career tips at this point, but the goal in this phase is to simply do good work. Stand out among your peers and also recognize that entry-level work can often be grueling. The sexy jobs are generally given to those with more seniority, as is flexibility.

Don’t be disappointed if your first gig doesn’t feel like a dream job. For example, my first job in Oregon after my undergraduate degree involved standing in sideways rain in the mud. I truly loathed that experience, but in hindsight it led to other opportunities. I also say my time in Houston sucked, but those 2.5 years gave me the experience to land a sweet gig in Colorado. YMMV. Consider the journey.

Here’s two bombproof strategies for having a great career:

1. Be someone that people like.
2. Do good, detail-oriented work and do it dependably.

If you can only do one thing, try to be a good person.

Finally and most importantly, every job sucks sometimes, but never put your health or your loved ones on the back burner to improve your career.

Care, but don’t care too much.

Step 4: Be Mindful of Expenses and Save

Remember when I suggested you hit the road and take note of the lessons along the way? Yeah man, now is the time to act on those lessons.

Mikey, after some time out exploring and climbing, you’ve now found joy in simplicity and a low spending threshold. You also have an income, and very likely, that income will supply more than the basic needs. Now is the time to take a look at whether you are falling victim to lifestyle inflation, where spending (unnecessarily) increases with income.

This is where everyone blows it. Those first big paychecks get gobbled up with crap that is justified as “deserved.” You do you my friend, but know that for all too many across the globe, it’s a losing argument in the end. We all say “if only I made $X more income, life would be so much easier.” I can promise you, I’ve seen many a high-income earner bemoan the hardships of life.

BUT Mikey, if you can save 50% of your income, in one year’s time you will buy yourself a year off from work! That’s at least one way of looking at things, but not the way the CC’s prefer. We want to stack those years and buy ourselves ultimate financial freedom.

But How?

How can you save 50% of your income? Start by asking whether each and every dollar brings value to your life. That’s a good start.

Take a look at the big three: housing, transportation, and food. You know the old 80/20 principle: 80% of your spending is probably being spent on 20% of your budgetary items. Unless you have significant income to support it, don’t follow the herd and move to the expensive, trendy places (cough, Boulder, cough, cough). Or if you do, get a gaggle of roommates.

Of course, tracking your spending is essential.

You might want to take a look at Five “Essentials” that are Destroying Your Savings.

But yeah, we have a whole website devoted to this stuff, so click around. 😉

Step 5. Invest Those Savings

Here is where the world is your oyster. We are all about simple index fund investing, and we’ve outlined our plan here and here.

The stock market isn’t just for chochy business guys in suits; investing is the new sexy. We’ve grown an immense amount of wealth with shockingly little effort this way, but many other options are available. Some folks are very psyched on real estate investing, but we’re lazy and scared. Maybe soon though.

Look for simplicity. Recognize that storing money in traditional checking or savings accounts (or under your mattress) is a losing battle against inflation. Set up automatic contributions to your investment vehicles to make sure it happens and to take your brain out of the equation. If you have to think about every investment you make, you’ll make less of them. Or you’ll do something bad and time the market. Mikey, you’re smarter than that.

If you can save and invest 50%+ of your income, your working life is very likely no more than 15 years. If you can save even more, you can be done in less than a decade.

Step 6. Now Focus on the Journey

If you want time away from work — either temporarily or forever — it’s going to take some time to build up your net worth. This is the reason you need to set up your life to be enjoyable now. Now matter how much you save, you are still going to work in your career for likely a decade minimum. First world problems, I know.

If you grind through life completely focused on that greener grass on the other side, you’ll never find that sweet, sweet sod. Mikey, I’m admittedly guilty of this one, but with intention, it’s getting better every day.

Work on your career, making some sacrifices, but never make it your number one priority. Take all your vacation time, every single year. Take full advantage of your time away from work, and don’t lose sight of the big picture. As Dan John would say, keep the goal the goal.

Summary

Mikey, there you have it. This plan is fairly simple: position yourself to maximize your passions while you focus on your career. Take time when you need it and when appropriate. Save, save, save and invest those savings, meanwhile enjoying life now. Soon enough, the focus of your life can shift to whatever brings you joy and meaning, regardless of what it pays.

Until Next Time

Folks, this is one example of many ways to make this life happen. I’m obviously generalizing here, as I attempted to capture the basics of several recent email conversations. Would you like us to take a look at your specifics? We’re happy to do more case studies and take a deeper dive into individual situations. I can’t promise any sort of regularity, but we’ll give it a good ole’ college try.

What’s your story friend?

See you next week guys.