You make $65,000 (USD 🤢) in a dead end career doing nothing but showing up sometimes. Guaranteed employment without change in intensity or salary until retirement in 15 years at age 62. You receive 3 weeks paid vacation, reasonably priced medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401k matched at 2.5%, and virtually unlimited sick days as long as you don’t call out too often (>3x month). You are given 6 college credits per semester to use at the local university. You’re currently working on a PhD.
You live comfortably and have 1 year’s salary saved. Zero dependents.
Do you ride it out, or do you seek a career change before it’s too late.
I know, infinite unknown variables, but what would you do regardless?
UPDATE: I’m slightly taken aback by how many of you actually took the time out of your day/evening to reply to my personal crisis. I’ve think I’ve replied to everyone, which, in doing so, made this morning surprisingly sunnier. So thanks for that.
Adding some thing I’ve shared in replies. I’m a homeowner with zero debt aside from a very affordable mortgage. Purchased my car outright new in 2024, had household concerns addressed over past five years (new roof, HVAC systems, sump pump, water heater, shed, remodeled bathrooms), have three degrees, and a lifetime of piss poor fortune.
65k without even Inflation adjustment could be rough…
But this is at 47, much depends on what happened up to this point. For example if you had a very strong run and had 2 mil on a 401k already… I might be tempted to ride it out. I actually kind of like the idea of taking classes that I just feel like taking. Also depends on the family situation.
I’ve actually been imagining this sort of scenario for finishing out my career. I keep imagining my luck running out and needing to find something, anything to bridge me to retirement. Ideally with less office politics. Working at a university for access to classes has been on the list of fallback careers, under the hope that my 401k can largely take care of itself now.
Thanks for sharing your current thought process on the scenario. It feels like hanging in there is the same as giving-up sometimes. But then I think, why do I want more work and responsibility if I’m living comfortably where I’m at?
It’s a personal ethics issue. I want to crush the capitalist machine and steal time, but I also feel like I have so much more to offer to the world. I’m just not sure what that involves. My interests and hobbies haven’t changed in decades (aside from quitting the drink). Zero aspiration.
Learn new skills. Learn to weld. Learn to solder. Learn to wire up basic electronics. Learn how to build radios. Go camping. Adopt a dog from the shelter and see how many tricks you can teach them. Learn and master anything. Creation is the key to fulfillment and the antidote to consumption. Meet younger people and talk to them about how they can and why they should dismantle the capitalist machine.
Soldering. I have two kits. From the little I’ve watched online, I’ve learned my father soldered incorrectly his entire life. Flux? Never heard of the guy. I have three dualsense controllers with drift, and three sets of replacement sticks. Requires soldering. Everything ready to go, no motivation to do any of it.
I make a bit of a ritual out of my projects, the setup is half the fun. Taking it slow, picking thr right tip for my iron. Thoroughly cleaning the area of the board I’m working on. Actually my whole work area gets clean and organized. Like, clean enough to film a YouTube video. Getting all the old solder off with my desoldering wick. Using my vintage Dazor magnifying lamp. Using my little tiny tweezers to place things just right. The soldering itself goes rather quickly. But the ritual is fun.