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This is the definition of angst. Quite a good example in fact. The most important line though is: "The caveat here is that studying hard my whole life and savi

This is the definition of angst. Quite a good example in fact. The most important line though is: "The caveat here is that studying hard my whole life and saving for almost 5 years afforded me the opportunity to have this time completely off payroll[.]"

twelvechairs 13y ago
except that a lot of smart people in other industries also study hard but can't save enough for those opportunities. the key is that she also picked a good industry to be in, which is basically down to luck and the opportunities offered by where she grew up
- nostrademons 13y ago
  Well, there's some degree of conscious choice involved. When I graduated from college, I didn't know exactly what industry I wanted to be in either, but I knew I liked working with computers and I just took the highest-paying offer that wasn't terrible. I'm of the opinion that if you know what you want to do, you should do that. If you don't know what to do, you should take whatever opportunity will expose you to more opportunities in the future. Saving up money is a part of that.
  - twelvechairs 13y ago
    lucky you that your guess went well for you. what worked for you, however, may not necessarily work for others.
    - nostrademons 13y ago
      Salary numbers are not much of a guess - they're stated right there in the offer letter. Neither are expenses - you know exactly how money will be going out and can make choices to limit that. What will make you happy is a guess, and it didn't actually work out the first - or second, or third - time that I tried. I'm still evaluating whether my fourth choice works on a happiness level, but if it doesn't, I've got the resources and professional reputation to try again. But in the absence of any useful information about that, why not take the choice that gives you the biggest chance of being able to make more choices later? Picking a job that gives you savings gives you a bunch of options later, should you decide that you hate it, and it also gives you information about what sort of work you like to do. So if your guess works, great, if it doesn't, you have the resources to try again.

twelvechairs 13y ago

except that a lot of smart people in other industries also study hard but can't save enough for those opportunities. the key is that she also picked a good industry to be in, which is basically down to luck and the opportunities offered by where she grew up

nostrademons 13y ago
Well, there's some degree of conscious choice involved. When I graduated from college, I didn't know exactly what industry I wanted to be in either, but I knew I liked working with computers and I just took the highest-paying offer that wasn't terrible. I'm of the opinion that if you know what you want to do, you should do that. If you don't know what to do, you should take whatever opportunity will expose you to more opportunities in the future. Saving up money is a part of that.
- twelvechairs 13y ago
  lucky you that your guess went well for you. what worked for you, however, may not necessarily work for others.
  - nostrademons 13y ago
    Salary numbers are not much of a guess - they're stated right there in the offer letter. Neither are expenses - you know exactly how money will be going out and can make choices to limit that. What will make you happy is a guess, and it didn't actually work out the first - or second, or third - time that I tried. I'm still evaluating whether my fourth choice works on a happiness level, but if it doesn't, I've got the resources and professional reputation to try again. But in the absence of any useful information about that, why not take the choice that gives you the biggest chance of being able to make more choices later? Picking a job that gives you savings gives you a bunch of options later, should you decide that you hate it, and it also gives you information about what sort of work you like to do. So if your guess works, great, if it doesn't, you have the resources to try again.