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you can be the most educated philosopher today but the odds of making good money and actually finding a job are pretty slim . we live in a highly specialized world today .
even in the industry i was in , electrical engineering , what we do is so specialized that even an engineer does not get paid much until he is well versed in our end of he business .
on the other hand i had no engineering degree but learned on the job so i eventually went on to be a commissioned sales engineer , designing and selling motor and pump control panels to the water and sewage pumping stations . .
it isn't about a degree as much as learning what others do not know or want to do .
Unless you're both willing and able to sell your car tomorrow, you shouldn't consider it an asset.
I agree with everything you wrote except this.
I think assets still count regardless of liquidity or desire to liquidate. Otherwise you could use the logic above to exclude a house, 401k (if not at retirement age), business assets, etc.
Yes. I was challenged on the generality of my statement regarding education. And I concede.
But for me education has always meant one thing. compete & excel. My education was most certainly the biggest investment I made. But I suppose the other massive factor at play is that I came from a country where my under graduate in electrical engineering cost me 4000 USD total. Living-boarding-books.
Broad generalities aside (guilty as charged), I think I have focused on two things. Get the highest paying job I could find. And then save diligently. I am yet to make a savvy / entrepreneurial investments. My 401K is negative return for the last 2 years... so clearly i don't know much about the stock market.
Some of us in the bay area have bloated salaries. Try this on for size.. I think as much as a third or a quarter of households in the bay area make 200k+/yr.
Its not necessarily real. A lot of that money has to be put into a down payment in the early years. and then cash-flow is restricted with large mortgage payments.
What this thread may not capture adequately is a CA -250K/yr is something like 150K /yr somewhere else in the US.
Quote:
Originally Posted by redguard57
Sweet Jeebus. I'd like to know how you folks on here got so much money. You guys are considerably above the norm.... I mean WAY above the general population. Many of you are reporting net worth and income figures that are well above the 70th percentile, especially those of you under 50 with NW above $250K - those are top 10-15% figures.
As for myself:
Oregon
32
60K gross per year
287K Net worth
I'm not going to humblebrag about my NW. Only about 50K is due to myself and where it would be without special circumstances.... Some of it is due to my home value rapidly increasing in the last couple years which I had no idea would happen when I bought the place - I did not realize at the time Oregon would become such an attractive destination so quickly for Bay Area Californians.
The bulk of that figure is due to an inheritance and a life insurance payout (I had two family members die in 2014, one expected, one not).
Car is a capital asset. Without it you would incur other expenses is time-money-convinience.
I value mine at sale price to pvt party.
Quote:
Originally Posted by numberfive
I agree with everything you wrote except this.
I think assets still count regardless of liquidity or desire to liquidate. Otherwise you could use the logic above to exclude a house, 401k (if not at retirement age), business assets, etc.
Well, that's the problem right there. If you make 50 grand then either don't have 3 kids or make more than 50 grand. That is the problem we have in America. The majority of people are short sighted and/or have unrealistic expectations.
I keep going back and forth about whether I should post, but here goes.
San Jose
45
50K (gross)
340K (no home equity)
I skipped the kids. (Never wanted 'em so it was an easy choice for me.) That's one of many reasons why I have a decent net worth.
Yes, you touched on a very good point. I'm not making any kids either for a variety of reasons. I think I COULD be a good Father, but women have just totally changed today and the Family Court is out of freaking control! So there's a high chance I would just be paying excessive child support for a kid (or kids) I only see 2 - 4 times a month like so many Black Men like me are having to go through.
I'm not going through that. So vasectomy is my option and I'm just keeping women in the "legal" role of "friends" going forward, which is GIRLFRIEND or FRIENDS with Benefits.
That's just the best way to respond to this new changing market, plus with Feminism, women don't even want the Traditional Male anymore, you have to develop into some sort of Player anyway.
But of course, that's another topic . But yes, one of the ways to get your net worth pumped up is through having low expenses. Live in a low cost of living area, ONLY have kids you can afford, etc.
I know people that make $200,000 gross a year but have no net worth, because their expenses are $250,000 a year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107
you can be the most educated philosopher today but the odds of making good money and actually finding a job are pretty slim . we live in a highly specialized world today .
even in the industry i was in , electrical engineering , what we do is so specialized that even an engineer does not get paid much until he is well versed in our end of he business .
on the other hand i had no engineering degree but learned on the job so i eventually went on to be a commissioned sales engineer , designing and selling motor and pump control panels to the water and sewage pumping stations . .
it isn't about a degree as much as learning what others do not know or want to do .
Once again, I agree with MathJak . This is starting to happen more often than not now lol. The College Bubble is out of control with people propping up "pieces of paper" for the reasons why a person is making a good amount of money, rather than:
- Their Unique Networks
- Unique (In Demand) Skills
- Strong Work Ethic
- Being In the right place at the right time
- Having the right connections
- Being In on a Hot Industry
On balance, education is worth it. If it weren't, people wouldn't get it.
Weve all heard the exceptions but as a group, college graduates are much better off than their non-college peers.
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. This is starting to happen more often than not now lol. The College Bubble is out of control with people propping up "pieces of paper" for the reasons why a person is making a good amount of money, rather than: