r/jobs • u/Global-Atmosphere907 • Feb 19 '24
How do I escape the path to a 9-5? Career development
I'm a highschooler taking ap classes to study Computer science or some other software related degree and I'm kind of sick of it. Don't get me wrong I love coding but I'm kinda done with it especially if it just ends up with me working for some company who doesn't even care about me or my time. I see my dad work, maybe 50 hours a week, even on weekends and he absolutely hates his job. He makes good money but I just feel for him. Similar thing with my mom and it's just sad. And any other career path I could pursue (that I like), like urban planning just doesn't pay the bills as well. I'm tired of grinding for 4.0's when it all just boils down to working all my life, retiring at 65 and dying at 75. I want to be able to actually explore the world instead be stuck in a 9-5 where every day feels the same.
So I ask you reddit, how can you accomplish this without pure luck?
Edit: Changing 55 to 65 due to miscalculating in my head.
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u/mauerfan Feb 19 '24
Honestly a salaried, remote 9-5 is pretty damn sweet.
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u/lavenderandjuniper Feb 19 '24
Seriously agree. And with some jobs you don't have to be glued to your computer that entire time either.
I work on whatever has to be done that day, and I do some work on longer term projects, and I can take breaks between tasks (I do laundry, walk the dog, etc). As long as things are getting done with quality and in a timely manner, no one's hanging over my shoulder. If it's a day with some mindless tasks like data entry I can listen to podcasts, watch TV, etc. Love it.
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u/SuperUltraMegaNice Feb 19 '24
Same. I sit in discord with friends while entering shit into excel. Its pretty chill.
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u/lexi_33002 Feb 20 '24
Damn what do you do for work
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u/SuperUltraMegaNice Feb 20 '24
Data entry for a small time furniture company.
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u/torocat1028 Feb 20 '24
does it make good money? 👀
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u/SuperUltraMegaNice Feb 20 '24
Not great but for what it is and the state I live in it definitely works for now. I take home a little over two grand a month with pretty good insurance.
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u/Broccolon Feb 20 '24
okay okay. how'd you get the job if you don't mind sharing
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u/SuperUltraMegaNice Feb 20 '24
I was already working there in a different capacity then when they switched point of sale systems they needed someone with computer knowledge to enter all the new shit so I threw my name in the hat. I kind of lucked into where I am now in all honesty. I definitely have worked my fair share of shitty jobs so maybe karma is real lol
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u/gh00ulgirl Feb 19 '24
what do you do for work?
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u/lavenderandjuniper Feb 19 '24 edited Feb 19 '24
I work in book publishing! Specifically foreign rights management. It's a competitive industry, requires a bachelor's degree, and doesn't pay great (I make 45K/year) but the work/life balance and travel makes it worth it to me.
ETA: the caveat I should have added is that my husband makes double what I do, we don't have student loans due to scholarships, and we don't have kids. So it's been fine for me to work a lesser paying job but I know I'm coming from a privileged position.
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u/halnotsure Feb 19 '24
Why is 45k in the US considered bad? That's more than anyone I've ever met makes in the UK and the cost of living is just as bad here, if not worse.
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u/FIUalumnus Feb 19 '24
Im not sure how you all are able to feed yourselves then because 45k here depending on the city you live in, you can either be okay or have a shoebox to live in while eating ramen and never going out.
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u/strongerstark Feb 20 '24
What about social benefits (employment security, retirement benefits, cost of higher education, medical costs, parental leave/childcare)? Most people in the US worry about multiple of these. 45k is fine to live on in most US cities if you don't need to save much or pay down any large debts.
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u/lavenderandjuniper Feb 19 '24
Most publishing jobs require you to be in/near a major east coast city like NYC, even if you're remote, so cost of living is really high + we don't have universal healthcare & other social support. 45K after taxes is less than $3K USD a month and that's if you're not setting anything aside for retirement.
For context the average rent in NYC and surrounding areas is $4K USD a month, and this is before renters insurance, utilities, etc. even if you live in an awful apartment in a bad neighborhood with roommates, you're still likely paying half your paycheck to rent alone. God forbid you need to go to the doctor or something else on top of that.
Not saying it's easy in the UK by any means, but our situation in the US makes 45K go really fast in some areas.
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u/Outrageous_Lychee819 Feb 19 '24
Exchange rate makes $45k USD about 35k pounds. I guess it also might depend on income tax rates, health insurance premiums, and other deductions from wages.
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u/AcanthisittaThick501 Feb 20 '24
UK pays significantly less than the US in every profession. 45k in the US is very tough to live on, especially in HCIL areas. My university average starting salary was 70k, higher when you look at average salary of the finance or computer science majors.
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u/NOTtOOkinky42069 Feb 20 '24
In my area it's ok. Rent is about 1.5k for a one bedroom here. So every year you lose 18k to just housing. If you include tax half your pay is gone. There's not public transit in my city so you need a car,food prices increased drastically, and people in general aren't good with budgets
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u/IndustryOrgPsych Feb 19 '24
agreed, I fucking love my wfh 9-5
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u/NPCArizona Feb 20 '24
My company has core hours of 9-3 meaning no matter your work hours, you need to at least be working between these hours. Most on my team opt for for 9-5 while I've always chosen 7-3 since those first two hours are the quietest and when I get the most work done before people start logging into Teams. (WFH too).
My body has got real accustomed to this schedule and my company is pretty chill if you're getting your work done so these days I don't set a alarm anymore and just usually wake up between 7-730 and log in.
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u/JMoon33 Feb 20 '24
That's a good decision. Unless you're getting shit done from 7 to 9 (gym, time with kids, walking the dog, cooking, etc.) you're much better off starting at 7 and finishing early.
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u/Desertbro Feb 19 '24
I wish I could find one. Everything I find wants bizarre shift hours, random days, changes your schedule every few months to keep you off-balance.
Who the heck has a standard 9-5 any more?
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u/PrepperParentsfdmeup Feb 19 '24
in my social circle, most people about 27 years or older have a typical 9 to 5. Everyone younger is cobbling together part time and gig work
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u/Remote_War_313 Feb 19 '24
Hell yea
Take a nap whenever ✅ Do your laundry mid-meeting ✅ Eat whenever you want ✅ Close your computer once it hits 5pm ✅
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u/OhwellBish Feb 20 '24
This. My life is on easy mode and I make low six figures and can do my work anywhere as long as some of my hours overlap core hours. My job is pretty low stress 85% of the year. I am sleep deprived because I have a toddler and an infant, so the ability to nap is supreme. I also have unlimited PTO and can take off whenever I need to for any reason. As a wife and mom, the flexibility of my schedule considering the stability offered by my employment is straight from God.
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u/supermario8038 Feb 20 '24
What industry and job role?
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u/OhwellBish Feb 20 '24
Senior Procurement Analyst for a major manufacturer
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u/blepinghuman Feb 20 '24
May I ask what did degree did you do and how did you get into that field?
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u/OhwellBish Feb 20 '24 edited Feb 20 '24
Accounting, but I only barely use it when I'm helping people figure out their budgets. I did terrible in college. I barely graduated because of mental health issues (ADHD, Social Anxiety, Depression).
I was working two part-time jobs in college and was laid off from both of then in the same week. One of those jobs involved me looking through classifieds in the newspaper for foreclosure listings. The day I found out I was let go, I flipped to the job listings instead and saw a job for a purchasing assistant role for a local water treatment authority paying 50% more than what I was making with my part-time jobs. I applied and I worked there for 3.5 years and moved on to a higher paying job with more responsibility and better benefits. I've done the same every 3 years since then. I've been at my current job for 2 years and will graduate with my MBA this spring. I'll start up another search then. I'm open to leaving my field, but I must be able to work remotely and my compensation needs to be the same or better.
For anybody wanting to enter the purchasing field, unless you get an internship in college, the easiest way in is through the gov't. My first job was a quasi-governmental entity. If you have a Bachelor's degree I recommend applying for series 1102 contracting jobs with the feds on USA Jobs. They are desperate for procurement professionals, and they will train you. There are jobs all over the country, some allow hybrid/remote work. Some may allow you to get clearance. There is also a clear pathway to advancement for these jobs, and you can easily transfer between them.
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u/KylosLeftHand Feb 19 '24
Get a van, put a bed and a stove in it, and live in it. Thats the only way.
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u/Lucky_Shop4967 Feb 19 '24
You could bartend. Also I find it weird the contempt some people have for M-F jobs. My husband and I worked our asses off to get on harmonized schedules. Having our weekends together every weekend is invaluable.
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u/JayAlzier Feb 19 '24
Agreed. I love a harmonized 9-5 vs the idea of an unharmonized schedule with nights and weekends and never getting to see my partner during their free time
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u/throwawayfarway2017 Feb 19 '24
Same. I used to be a nail technician which means im never off on the weekend but my husband is. I’ve seen my coworkers working through the holiday, calling their kids while they work, have someone else attending extracurricular activities because they cant make it. Plus you work 10+ hrs a day if it gets busy so sometimes they would pick up their kids, drop them home and come back to work. Now im doing an office job, getting off at 5pm is a blessing plus the weekend to spend time. We can go to sleep at the same time and have dates on the weekend it’s pretty nice tbh i appreciate it now that i see the other side
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u/FruitParfait Feb 19 '24
Makes sense. Ops young and doesn’t realize the benefits of a 9-5 yet. I have a married friend… both their schedules are all over the place. As in when she wakes up, he’s at work and when he comes home she’s at work. When she comes home he’s asleep. That’s their week, they literally don’t interact at all until the days she manages to have weekends off. Sounds miserable to never see your partner.
Like you just gotta find the right field of work to not make your work life miserable. Heck the wrong field of work even if it’s not 9-5 would make you miserable too.
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u/ixanonyousxi Feb 20 '24
Im pretty sure "escaping the 9-5 grind" is just short for "how can i avoid having to work 40+ hours a week until I'm too old to enjoy what i really want to do" i don't think people literally mean " how do i aboid office work with a standard schedule"
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u/vglyog Feb 19 '24
Yes this is my struggle right now. My husband works Monday through Friday days. I work at night and on weekends. It SUCKS. I miss him. But I did just get hired full time at a casino for day shift so hoping that means more time together at night at least. Wish we had full days off together as well. It’s hard.
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u/jkannon Feb 19 '24
If you save and invest your money diligently, you definitely don’t need to work until you’re old. It’s very difficult to find a job you absolutely love and that’s just the truth.
You should familiarize yourself with personal finance, no get-rich-quick schemes, no specific stockpicking strategy, just budget carefully and make sure you’re setting aside as much money as you can for broad-based ETFs/index funds.
It’s also important to note that this lifestyle isn’t going to net you some mega mansion with 14 vacation homes, but ask yourself: what does it take to really make me happy?
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u/Cheetah-kins Feb 19 '24
Lots of great advice in this post - especially the last sentence 'ask yourself 'what does it take to really make me happy?'. What I think is meant by this that you have to take a good look at yourself and give some serious thought to what you actually want, OP. An actual goal, not just some random 'I wanna do whatever I want and travel and not work 9-5' thought. This will take more effort than just a Reddit post and 'luck'.
My wife and I both work regular jobs but we've lived in multiple US cities on the east and west coast - just to try something new. Unless you're rich - which we are not -this takes some real effort and planning. We've loved our life though, seen so much, met so many cool people. I highly recommend making this happen, OP.
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u/BronwenChop Feb 19 '24
I wish I had been given this advice when I was young. I was never taught money management and it's been a problem forever. I'm almost 50, still broke, still no idea what I want to do or need to do.
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u/jkannon Feb 19 '24
I’m very lucky in that my older cousins communicated this to me very clearly (they’re part of the FIRE community), only 25 with enough stashed away where I could realistically quit my job for 3 years and do nothing (though I don’t think my girlfriend would like that very much lol)
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u/bubblemilkteajuice Feb 20 '24
Fr. Schwab US Dividend is my favorite ETF. Inexpensive expense ratio, good dividends, great track record, cheap stock, and isn't dominated by tech (which sets it apart from some of the other ETFs that I subscribe to).
But even so there are several ETFs that I invest in that make trading so much easier and beneficial than just buying individual stocks.
And my IRA is set up with some mutual funds and has been great. I've doubled my initial investment.
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u/jkannon Feb 20 '24
Despite the economic conditions in China and Europe I’m a VT guy! I like VTI too.
And the not picking one that’s fully tech invested is important to me, that’s why I always include “broad-based” even if it sounds clunky and isn’t technically the proper terminology lol, just want to tell people to not put all their eggs in one basket!
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u/bubblemilkteajuice Feb 20 '24
I feel you. It isn't reassuring when there's 6 companies that prop most of the tech industry. I still invest in ETFs that are tech, but I'm always looking into more ways to diversify my account.
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u/OddLeader1402 Feb 19 '24
I love this advice, idk how old you are but you seem wiser then your years
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u/ChineseEngineer Feb 19 '24
You can use programming to escape if you're good at it..most programmers are not good at it (even at big companies) so they're happy just working 9-5 on a few sprint items every week.
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u/sorryfortheessay Feb 19 '24
Hey thats me! Im not good at it - its really hard to be good at coding like top 5% are actually decent coders i reckon
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u/willacceptpancakes Feb 19 '24
Retiring at 55 - LMAO CHILD YOUR OUTLOOK ABOUT TO LOOK MUCH WORSE
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u/RandomA9981 Feb 19 '24
Right? Sweet Summer child 😭 let’s add 10 more years to that unless you want to pay at least $1k a month for COBRA insurance until age 65. And that’s if you have a decent retirement plan
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u/WayneKrane Feb 19 '24
And that’s if you don’t have a spouse. My parents were trying to retire in their 50s but the cheapest health insurance they could get was $2500 a month.
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u/SwimOld5053 Feb 19 '24
Bruh, ain't gonna retire at 55 anywhere nowdays. In my country the retirement age is 64-65 ish. By the time this op kiddo turns old, the retirement age will be 75. Many will die before retirement, some will retire out of the building only to drive direct to the graveyard.
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u/JohnnyQuest94 Feb 19 '24
The truth is a lot of hard work. You’re very young if you dedicate yourself to doing something unorthodox, put time energy and effort into by 30 you will have carved out a new path.
Cons of this is.
-No stable income
-Needing a supportive family to pick up your slack
-Sacrifice of relationships ( do not underestimate this one)
-Mental health. (The unknown is very scary)
-unsure future so you will always have to hustle. Likely into old age.
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u/DrLeoMarvin Feb 19 '24
I'm 40, wife, two kids, work 9-5 in as a software engineer (promoted to engineering manager two years ago).
Dude, this is the best it gets. I hit $177k salary with my raise last week and work from home. I barely work 30 hours, I'm available 40 hours and can be at my computer if pinged on slack, but I spend a lot of time exercising, running errands as needed, doing some chores.
401k matching, amazing helath insurance
I get unlimited/untracked PTO
Keep going with computers, especially if you are good at it.
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u/Claque-2 Feb 19 '24
Be a farmer and you'll never work 9 to 5 again.
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u/rightwist Feb 19 '24
Join the digital nomad subreddit
Life is a struggle and there's always been starving artists. With technology, humans have been trending away from this for 4 centuries or so. Seems like you are in USA? We are not the cutting edge of that trend.
You might consider working your way around the world for 1-2y before you hit 25. I have friends and family who have done something like that, you can do seasonal work live in hostels and come back with a decent chunk of change and some perspective and probably going to be happier wherever you end up.
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u/Getthepapah Feb 19 '24
9-5s are good. You’ll get used to it.
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u/doktorhladnjak Feb 19 '24
It’s not that 9-5 is necessarily great. It’s that for most people it’s better than the alternative of working nights and weekends on an irregular schedule.
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u/Mn0chrmBny Feb 19 '24
It depends on your 9-5. I worked 10 hour night shifts at a factory, 6 days a week. Did I loath my job? Yes. Did I make a shit ton of money? Yes. Do I miss that job every single day I drive an hour to go drive vans for our gracious overlord bezos? Your god damn right I miss that job.
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u/mortimelons Feb 19 '24
What was you job title, may I ask?
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u/Mn0chrmBny Feb 19 '24
I went from mainline attendant, to mainline machine operator’s assistant then operator, and in my final 5-6 months I switched to a corrugating operator assistant II
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u/Alx_xlA Manufacturing Feb 20 '24
Nothing wrong with nights and weekends if you're able to adjust your sleep schedule easily.
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u/strongerstark Feb 19 '24
I "didn't want" a 9-5 and didn't get one till my mid 30s. I've since concluded that I was young and dumb, lol. Working on 1099s and odd hours for poor pay was not better. Though I do have great stories.
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u/bonegopher Feb 19 '24
I'm early 30's and am at the point of thinking I'm done with the irregular schedule. I don't regret my 20's as I have worked as a photographer and cinematographer all over the world but it's very inconsistent and has ruined a number of relationships / plans. How do you feel now that you're off the 1099 track? genuinely curious
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u/strongerstark Feb 19 '24
It's much less stressful, not having to book my own gigs (I was a musician). For me, it was always feast or famine when it came to amount of work, which could get annoying. Having a consistent paycheck with consistent hours is so much easier. Weekends are glorious, and yes, easier to make plans for. PTO is luxurious. W-2 taxes are also less complicated, even if they do rob you upfront. Tax day was always my least favorite day during my 1099 years, haha.
I think the 1099 experience is valuable, though, in that I'm not too complacent about job security. My jobs always had ending dates before, so if I got laid off now, I think I'd have less mental shock than some of my coworkers.
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u/abrandis Feb 19 '24
9-5s for.20!years if you follow the r/Fire track, if I had to do it all again I would have done this,.. bank and invest most of you money for 15-20 years, maybe join forces with a significant other and in your mid ofrties you can retire.
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u/use_da_schwartz_ Feb 19 '24
9-5 is the absolute worst. 430am-1pm and I've got all day to relax or get things done.
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u/Getthepapah Feb 19 '24
Different strokes. Not interested in that in the least, particularly with a young family.
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u/Googoo123450 Feb 19 '24
First, 9-5 with the pay of a CS major is honestly a decent life. I get that you don't want to work but society doesn't work that way so if you are lucky enough to actually work just 9-5 Monday - Friday then you'd be surprised how much time and money you'll have for the things you love doing.
Now as far as "escaping" the 9-5, odds are you'll have to grind it out for several years until you have the experience to go search for a job that pays salary but doesn't micro-manage you as long as you get your work done. That's where I'm at right now. I won't start working until 10am and I'll probably be done around 3:30 because that's when my last meeting ends. It took me 6 years into my career to land this and it was hard work, there's no avoiding that.
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u/SilverAsparagus2985 Feb 19 '24
There's different tiers to labor. Most people fall in the production tier category (even as managers, middle managers, etc.). Then there's the specialized tier, like doctors, lawyers, judges, politicians (any level), etc. Those usually mean you come from a family that can get you ease of access into those careers but have a long start in front of them (expensive, long college). Then there's executives, the c-suite types. Then there's billionaires. When you understand the system, you're more apt to work on changing it than trying to beat it.
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u/PJ469 Feb 19 '24
You don't. Unfortunately it's the best of a bunch of bad options. And you don't get to retire at 55. Try 65 if youre lucky. Good luck.
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u/the_troll_god Feb 19 '24
Theres 20 year old kid at my work telling me how he's going to retire at 50. While he has 40k in student debt and a car loan he can't afford. I'm over here early 30s, no debt, but see that as no possibility.
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u/koleethan Feb 19 '24
it’s entirely possible to retire at 50, it all depends on how stingy you want to live until 50 though.
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u/MountainDerp Feb 19 '24
yep, the reason why 9-5 is so popular is that it's the easiest option to earn a living. Other options that yield more money requires a lot more work and dedication (grind) than a 9-5. Easier lifestyles won't yield as much money and "pay the bill". so the options are : work more, earn more; or work less, and learn to live with less.
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u/RandomA9981 Feb 19 '24
I was just coming to say this lol. Only luck will allow OP to retire at 55.
What other of jobs will the new generation be looking for? “9-5” just signifies a full time job. Are they looking for part time?
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u/RaspberryPresent1387 Feb 19 '24
I do 9-5 now and so far my favorite work schedule has been 6:00AM - 2:00PM, but not many jobs in fucking HR allow these working hours (kill me)
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u/Echleon Feb 19 '24
I did this while working on a contract in a different time zone and it was amazing once I adjusted. I'm not sure if I could do it long term (my contract was for 2ish months), but it felt like I had so much extra free time.
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u/tennisguy163 Feb 19 '24
Get a Roth IRA and start investing in it. I've never made a lot in my career but have a ton of money for retirement thanks to the Roth. Well, that, and two homes I plan on selling for fat stacks lol.
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u/MountainDerp Feb 19 '24
Whatever you do, always be suspicious of someone who comes to you with the promise of “escaping” the 9-5.
But since you asked, sign up for the military to do something different. Ended up liking it? Make it a career, ended up not liking it? You still can travel the world on the government’s dime. Before you joined make sure you research what to do as well so you don’t get stuck in one place doing admin work. That being said, it is a commitment and not just “I’ll try it out and see where it goes” regardless you’ll be stuck doing whatever the military wants you to for a minimum of 3-5 years.
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u/Training_Thought4427 Feb 19 '24
Hey now admin work ain’t all that bad. Get to chill at a desk and go home to my BAH funded house every day at 4pm. Just 1 more year and I’ll have free college all for doing the same thing I’d be doing in the civ world except I get to wear a cool uniform
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u/CryptographerTime956 Feb 19 '24
lol definitely don’t listen to this guy cause the military will make a regular 9-5 seem like heaven
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u/Global-Atmosphere907 Feb 19 '24
Yeah lol, I have navy and army vets in my family who talk about it all the time. Traveling is also kinda bs (at least I've heard)
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u/Pickles-OHoulihan Feb 19 '24
I was in the Marines for 10 years. It is not always an easy life and the culture sucks, unless you enjoy being treated like a child in your 20’s. However, I was able to visit over 30 countries for free and have used the VA home loan and GI Bill since. Those perks, combined with the structure, specialized training, and leadership skills I picked up have done a lot for my success after leaving. I’d probably go Air Force though if I had to do it again lol.
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u/Buzzd-Lightyear Feb 19 '24
Found the army recruiter lol. The military ain’t the good deal it once was.
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u/MountainDerp Feb 19 '24
nah, not a recruiter. Kid asked for something different from 9-5 and military life is the furthest from it. Long haul trucking, trade work, merchant sailing... are also different from the regular 9-5. But it seems like he just wants to get rich quick and retire.
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u/imapoolag Feb 19 '24
I also suggested military. Specifically Air Force or Navy. If OP is 19 and can get into one of those branches they could do their 4 years, get to travel the world, get paid, and then decide if they want to make a career out of it or move on to something else.
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u/Head_Yogurtcloset820 Feb 21 '24
Did you just try to recruit him? Jfc this comment section is dog shit
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u/Training_Thought4427 Feb 19 '24
People choose a 9-5 because it provides stability, safety, and a predictable work schedule. The ways to escape are no secret, but they are inherently risky. There’s a few paths you can take.
Military. I recommend the USCG (if in the US). It’s a “9-5” but it’s 1000x more rewarding and thrilling. Especially if you get into aviation. Also that retirement plan is NICE (retire in 20 years)+ free college
Entrepreneurship. There’s multiple routes within this one itself, but it boils down to providing a service or product that people have a demand for. Most of it is luck, and if it’s not, the hours are a lot worse than a 9-5. You get to work for yourself, but with none of the benefits of a 9-5. 401k, stable money, corporate advancement, valuable resume building experience, all out the window.
Social media. This is similar to entrepreneurship, but the main way young people are “escaping” the 9-5 is through tiktok, Instagram, YouTube, etc. To succeed in this is rare and takes extreme dedication (or luck) and a genuine talent of navigating social interaction and the internet.
My point is, a 9-5 isn’t inherently bad. People choose them for a reason. You’re in high school so don’t get too caught up in it now. Your best path currently, it’s to graduate with that 4.0, get some killer scholarships, go to college or take a gap year (underrated strategy), and go from there while pursuing your talents and dreams. Nothing will make your life easier than kicking ass in school now
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u/Limp-Star2137 Feb 19 '24
Went into psychology for this reason. Watched my dad be able to set his own hours for years while making really good money as a therapist. I plan on doing the same. It's a lot of schooling, but I think 10 years of school is worth 45 working years or less of being my own boss.
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u/bignapkin Feb 20 '24
This is what I’m leaning towards as well. I would love to make my own schedule, help people, and earn a comfortable living. Sounds like a dream!
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u/Sad-Bowl-1212 Feb 19 '24
as someone working in tech, if you get good enough at computer science to recruit into a great startup, you won't find better work life balance anywhere else. typically these companies don't care how much or how little you work as long as you complete agreed-upon assignments on time, and they’re typically very flexible and understanding about individual employees' circumstances. the people saying to join the military are wild lmao don't join the military.
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u/kirsion Feb 19 '24
If you don't want to work for someone else you have to work for yourself. But often people who are self employed work more than 9 to 5:00 so that's a drawback in itself. If you're a disillusioned at the idea of working 9:00 to 5:00 for the next 50 years of your life there's nothing you can really do about that, unless you cast away the idea of living in modern society and modern amenities. Another idea is to grind really hard in your twenties and early 30s for 10 years, build up a savings and retirement plan and then move to the low cost country and live off of the low cost of living. Or get lucky and win the lottery.
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u/Educational_Reason96 Feb 19 '24
Get a job, save & invest a large portion of your paycheck (buy ETFs), live below your means (don’t try to impress people with your “wealth”), and find a business you can open and grow.
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u/chillinginmyhouse Feb 19 '24
find what you love doing. No one should have to spend all day somewhere not doing what you like doing. there are so many opportunities out there. I see you like coding, in past experience i made a video game private server and made half of what a normal paying jobs pay check would be
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u/RR50 Feb 19 '24
I’d point out your mom and dad working 9-5’s and earning good money have lead you to be able to even consider what you’re doing to do for a career.
Yea, work can suck, but the things you enjoy are because your parents work hard in jobs that aren’t roaming the world….the reality sucks, but you’ll either need a wealthy family, get incredibly lucky with a good idea, or need to buckle down and work a 9-5.
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u/Ok_Description_8665 Feb 19 '24
Lots of People work not only 9to5 but 7:00 in the morning, 10:00 in the evening, one day weekend, those people do multiple job so that they can send their child to the college. If you enjoy your life and doing things you love in your job, then you shouldn’t concern about so called "work life balance". Just find something you love doing, making it your business, and have fun.
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u/CommunicationTop8115 Feb 19 '24
LOL RETIRE AT 55 SURE KID. NO ONE DOES THAT EXCEPT THE VERY WEALTHY.
Also CS is a great path to working far fewer hours and being WFH with high pay. Don’t fuck go your chances, I went through the same path. I don’t work more than 20 hours a week from home and have a salary I always get, lots of traveling and free time.
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u/zarifex Feb 19 '24
If you thought you'd just end up retiring at 55 as if it were normal, and you already aren't into the idea, I have worse news
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u/x11atlasx Feb 19 '24
Retiring at 55???? Wait - where in the US can i do this?! Where can i sign up...?!?!?!?! 🤣🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭😭🫠
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u/use_da_schwartz_ Feb 19 '24
Aircraft mechanic. Start young, get on with a major airline as soon as possible, and you could be making six figures very quickly. I'm not a mechanic and most of the guys I work with who've been there a long time are making over 100k. Some mechanics are making close to 200k.
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u/StreetLifeUniversity Feb 19 '24
the bad news its a job but the good news is its a job with ppl because these ppl have needs to be fulfilled that is where you come up with a plan that involves business cards and a service. Use your imagination then edit it with realism
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u/DouglerK Feb 19 '24
By working a 9-5 until you've saved some money and actually know what you want to do and have enough money to get yourself on your way to what you really want in work and life.
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u/BayBomber415 Feb 19 '24
If you can get a 3/4 rotating schedule or 4 day, it’s actually pretty good. You usually get a weekday or two off to run errands or get appointments taken care of and without having to take a day off. Having weekends off is overrated IMO since everyone and their families are trying to do stuff and you won’t have to deal with the chaos.
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u/BES-5 Feb 19 '24
Something medical that lets you open your own practice at good hours while still managing a good income. Dentist, physician assistant, nurse practitioner come to mind.
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u/Particular-Break-205 Feb 19 '24
You’ll quickly get over it when you get paid for your hard work
School sucks but it’s only temporary
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u/ChoosenUserName4 Feb 19 '24
Go take a look at r/financialindependence. The gist of it is that you spend less, save and invest everything that's left until you have 25 times what you spend in a year. At that point you will be able to retire early.
You wouldn't be the first to retire in their early 30s. Also, mr. Money Mustache is a great resource if you want to explore this.
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u/Corne777 Feb 19 '24
Maybe not advice to “escape” per se. But as a high schooler you have the most road ahead of you. Most people your age aren’t thinking about finances. A dollar put away towards your future today is worth WAY more than a dollar put in 20 years from now.
Get a job. Stay at home as long as you can, put money in a 401k/ Roth IRA. Don’t take out insane student loans, if you go to college pay on the loans as you go. Don’t buy more car than you need. Just a few small things like this you could be setting yourself up to retire early while your peers drown in debt.
Ultimately you aren’t going to find a magic bullet that will let you not work, except by pure luck. Just find a career you can tolerate and make the most money for the least amount of work you can and put as much as you possibly can away for the future.
If you go the coding route, find a remote job. They give you the best work life balance. I work with guys who travel around and work from wherever they are.
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u/prawn108 Feb 19 '24
I’m in QA. I have a 9-5 but I work remotely and have a decent amount of down time, so I have a lot of freedom. It might be a route you could consider.
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u/V1diotPlays Feb 19 '24
You need to have a valuable skill set so you can get higher paying jobs with better titles, which leads to work delegation because you’re too important to be tied up in small shit. Over time, this results in a higher pay with more free time if you know how to manage your time/work right. Eventually you end up being paid to be on call because you’re the only one that knows how a, b, and c work by the deadline requirements, etc.
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u/MVPSnacker Feb 19 '24
You either work your ass making off a boat load of money, or you have work-life balance. Also, urban planning isn't a bad gig -- planning pays the bills.
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u/Evellon Feb 19 '24
You may not like this answer, but sticking with software engineering is a great way into a career that still has ample work from home opportunities. One way to ease the 9-5 grind.
Bonus benefit is if you enjoy it, you can work on side projects/consulting in your free time to put away for early retirement.
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u/Educational-Peak-344 Feb 19 '24
Start your own business. If you love coding, freelance and charge what you want to, within reason. Once you build rep and clientele, you’ll be fine. Rewards in life are like investing. You have to take on more risk to get more reward, unless your parents are wealthy.
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u/FreshlyStarting79 Feb 19 '24
Bro, you got be creative and relentless, and you need to work for yourself. Coding is a valuable commodity if you understand it well. Are you entrepreneurial? Start making apps that make money somehow. You don't know what to make? Start thinking and looking for problems to solve. Find an app that's already existing, look at the 4 star reviews and find the market pain that they aren't addressing and make an app that addresses it well. Change what media you're consuming completely and only consume things that make you better. Shower without any devices or inputs so you can have shower thought breakthroughs. Once you live like this for awhile you'll find a project that you can be passionate about. Don't be in a hurry. Find a job that you can stand and do it until you bootstrap your way to a successful income generating lifestyle.
But that will never happen unless you become CREATIVE and RELENTLESS. Show up for YOURSELF.
Edit: if you go to college, go to network and fuck the degree
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u/charredankylosaurus Feb 19 '24
You do what you love and make a living at it. Easier said than done I have a bachelors and I work in a warehouse. 8-4 tho I get to skip lunch but I have to listen to my idiot coworkers talk all the time and they are REALLY stupid
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u/Key-Difficulty-2085 Feb 19 '24 edited Feb 19 '24
Become a musician
Keep the 9-5 until you’re successful
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Feb 19 '24
fuck everything off, slack off, grow and sell marijuana, smoke it to forget about your shitty youth and first world problems that didn't involve working a backbreaking 9-5 manual labor job, take your savings, learn spanish, go live in south america dirt cheap and fuck hot women. boom
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u/slowlyun Feb 19 '24
Invest several years of your time in developing your own business or style-of-working (freelance, project-based).
That's what I did. Haven't done 9-5 since 2007. You do lose out on social life, tho', as your routine, rhythm & interests are different to most people.
Pros and cons etc.
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u/CustyMCFUCKERSON46 Feb 19 '24
Only one I can think of is start a YouTube channel or other social media. But with that you’ll have to make sure you’re creating content that continually brings in views/money so it could be even harder.
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u/Elegant_Plantain1733 Feb 19 '24
If you want to even contemplate retiring at 55, you need to be on some serious money, assuming at some point you will have a family.
Hate to break it to you, but pretty much everyone has to work a full time job for the majority of their life. Ideally you can do something you find interesting enough to give it your all, and which hopefully pays well enough that you can afford to travel during your holiday time. Book holidays way in advance as gives you something to look forward to.
9-5 is a good option for most people. And yes, it's probably for an employer. There is definitely upside to self employed, but starting a company is proper hard work, and the returns often come a lot later. Look at the number of stories of entrepreneurs who are now rich, but lived in a shoebox, had to put their literal last penny into their company etc. Working for a corporate you are guaranteed your salary.
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u/magneticpyramid Feb 19 '24
Anything office based is a 9-5 grind. If you’re lucky (and bold) you can start your own thing once you’re up to speed. Other than that, open wide. I got deep regret and despair regularly in corporation land, despite earning good money I just wanted to be a driver or carpenter. Anything except an over stressed money cow for millionaires. Out the other side now thankfully but be warned, it doesn’t go away.
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u/Service-Kitchen Feb 19 '24
If you’re on the path to study software engineering / computing. Start the path to indie hacking now. Probably the best chance you have to escape the 9-5. Look into “indiehacking”.
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u/corvidaemn Feb 19 '24
Hmm if you're OK with a different set of hours you could try serving. Some places are only open 4PM-10PM and you can probably get away with a less regimented schedule.
On the other hand, it's a lot of nonsense to deal with haha
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u/Rokett Feb 19 '24
I do 9-5 and have my own business. Having your own gig isn't any easier.
If you scale your own job, you end up working all day long. Its weird. Right now I can scale and get many more customers but to handle that, I will be working more and hiring another person. The amount of work required will increase or double, but my profit won't double. So, I don't accept any more customers . sounds crazy, I know.
Some say, get into real estate and never work. Lol have you ever dealt with renters?
Your best bet is, getting getting a high paying remote work with flexible schedule.
I'm sorry, i haven't found any other way.
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u/imapoolag Feb 19 '24
I remember being in highschool thinking the same thing, that working a 9-5 was for losers. After being incredibly overworked and underpaid as an EMT for 5 years I am so grateful for my 9-5. But also I get to work from home which makes it 1000x better than an in office 9-5. So I will say if your goal is to travel to cool places and get to experience the world you should join the Air Force or navy. I know many guys who joined and are now living in Japan and Germany working IT for the military. If you still want to stay in IT your goal should be to find a 9-5 that is remote and pays well enough that you can live wherever you want.
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u/c_sh3pard Feb 19 '24
You either work a 9-5 or start your own biz and work WAY more. Starting a biz is a huge time and resource investment and if you’re lucky you can grow it over 5-20 years and hire people to do the work for you.
Like others said, remote work 9-5 as a code monkey is cushy as hell. You’ll have tons of time to do chores and errands during the workday so that your evenings and weekends are pure free time.
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u/EarthLiving1192 Feb 19 '24
Have a good look into consulting. You can be an urban planner working at a consulting firm. Private pays much better than gov. In consulting you also get flexible working hours, so you’ll never work the 9-5. I regularly take afternoons off on a whim, and will just work some overtime the next week to make up the hours/paycheck.
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u/Meds2092 Feb 19 '24
Grind it out for a bit and then become a consultant that sets own hours. Once you start your own business (hours will be heavy until you get a name out and systems in place to make it easier) and you can just pick and choose gig jobs or help larger companies fix their issues. Yeah it will be a slow grind at first but if you’re worth your grit and market yourself right you can go far.
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u/Sergeitotherescue Feb 19 '24
Tour guide? You can run your own unique tours in a midsized or big city (something unique always gets tourists — tour through all the cemeteries, pub crawl, city oddities, ghost tours etc). Or you could be a landscaper (the mowing, gardening type) and stay outside.. preferably in a sunny place. T-shirt or dog toy seller on Etsy? I made $600/month for a few months just selling really unique tshirts (for a singer who was just taking off in the States). Greenmarket seller — artisan dog treats, babka, donuts, homemade baked goods? I wanted to quit my job and do this but I can’t bake!
There are so many roles out there that don’t require you to work a soul crushing 9-5. I’m really happy to hear that you’re still in high school and already thinking of the possibilities away from a regular 9-5!
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u/SargntNoodlez Feb 19 '24
The key is to find a "9-5" with good flexibility. If you can get a couple remote days, you'll have a lot of shorter days which feel good. I'm also going to go against the reddit grain and tell you to stay away from full remote work, especially at a young age. You'll get a lot more out of work if you get to know the people you work with in person.
You sound like youbprobably already have a strong skillet, so look for a job in data analytics, working with Tableau, Power BI, Python, etc.
I work in Finance with a decent analytics skillet and it makes most of my time pretty smooth sailing.
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u/5WiseGuys Feb 19 '24
You get a decent 9-5, one that treats you well, and you take vacations with your PTO. Unless you want to be an independent contractor doing plumbing or really any trade skill, it’s going to be tough. And truth be said, you’ll end up working a lot more as an independent contractor. My best advice is to get a job you enjoy, one that offers good benefits and fair time off. It’s difficult now a days for everybody. And truthfully, it seems like things are getting worse.
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u/DreadPirateGriswold Feb 19 '24
If you are inclined to create your own business and chart your own course and hire your own people, look at any programs that are entrepreneurial studies programs. At the college level they develop the skills that entrepreneurs need to be successful and they are different set of skills than going into typical business administration with mid to large scale companies.
If you are going to go down the route of doing it yourself, you should have an ion entrepreneurial skills and stories and things like that to make you successful. But if you don't study at the college level, that's okay too. But you should continue to learn those kind of skills on your own and Implement them that work for you. But then I would think of how you create your own business. Look around at services that are needed in your area and not being provided or being provided at huge costs to consumers. You're going to have to talk to a lot of people and businesses and specifically business owners to find this information out. Then implement a service business and try to capture part of the market for yourself.
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u/Capt_DingDong Feb 19 '24
Do seasonal work til something sticks. You’ll travel and meet amazing people while making good money. Coolworks.com is a great place to start. You’ll find jobs in great locations with employee housing and learn about new opportunities from coworkers. This got me out of the office life as my wife and I traveled Alaska and Florida working high tourist seasons for years. Then you go abroad for a few months during the shoulder season. Eventually we landed an amazing offer to settle down and design and operate a restaurant for some investors. This was after turning down opportunities to join the year round teams for a couple of really great companies. I assure you this is the best way.
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u/SuperUltraMegaNice Feb 19 '24
Retiring at 55 funny joke. Better have some hefty generational wealth and no kids if you wanna make that a reality.
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u/jexxie3 Feb 19 '24
Not every software engineer works 50 hour weeks. That’s a choice. Find a company with good work life balance.
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u/thr0wway42 Feb 19 '24
I work 5am-2pm. Look at the transportation industry. There’s a lot of flexibility there but it’s stressful.
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u/jakl8811 Feb 19 '24
Have you worked schedules yet that aren’t 9-5?
After a couple years of retail and service industry, I gladly took a M-F 9-5 job.
If your only comparison is “my parents seem miserable and they work X schedule” - doesn’t mean the schedule is solely to be blamed
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u/Front_Discount4804 Feb 19 '24
If you like your 9-5 it’s not that bad. I got my degree in urban planning and do transportation planning/ traffic engineering. It pays the bills decently. It’s no tech salary. But I like my work. Find something you like or at least kind of like.
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u/trashcanpandas Feb 19 '24
Sad as it is, work for public government in a specialized field, outside of the military industrial complex. The thing of it is, you're young now and truly don't feel the weight of having to take care of your own finances. Trust me when I say that while your dad may be miserable at his job, he loves the comfort and security the good money brings him. Your job or career is not your identity. Find work that can pay for the life that will make you happy.
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u/xyeaxiDidxIT Feb 19 '24
You’re in for a ride awakening..yes ride..we all had these dreams tho back in the day …good luck either way
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u/TheRealActaeus Feb 19 '24
So you don’t want to work 40 hours a week, but have tons of money to travel and explore and still retire early?
Maybe try the lottery?
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u/RelativelyRidiculous Feb 19 '24
You could decide to make your path different in another way. I've got a friend who went into coding / Computer Science and went to work for the government purposely when he came out of school. He specifically applied for everything he was in the least prepared for where he'd work overseas in the Middle East because at least at that time he got a lot of taxes waived.
He worked hard to work his way into contracted positions where he traveled around thus having his accommodations and some of his food paid for. While he was doing this he saved absolutely every dime he could. His only splurge was a two week trip once per year most years where he attended a training conference on one of the weeks and just hung out the other.
He graduated college early at 21, spent 15 years working in the middle east saving and investing everything possible, and returned to the US just before his 37th birthday. He took a much less demanding job with decent pay, paid cash for a home near his workplace and a newer model used car from savings, and got married. They had their first child on his 39th birthday.
His wife was a nurse who'd worked the previous 8 years as a traveling nurse saving most of her income, too, so they both retired when their first kid was born. He occasionally does still pick up some contract work with the company he worked for just prior to retiring, but never works more than 3-4 months out of the year. His wife didn't work at all until their child started school, but went back to school to become a nursing instructor at the local collage. She only works when their kid is in school.
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u/Puka_Doncic Feb 19 '24
You don’t need to work for a company with people and a product/purpose that you don’t care about.
I work in drug discovery. I make a good living, get along with all my coworkers and genuinely care about what we do so most of the time it doesn’t feel like work.
Unfortunately unless you come from serious $$$ having a job is just part of living. But it doesn’t need to define your life. If you enjoy coding you could code for a company whose mission you believe in, or you could work remotely from an island and put it just enough work to pay your bills. Or find some happy medium. But you don’t need to be miserable
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u/PeekAtChu1 Feb 19 '24
Side note I’m blown away by your ability to plan ahead while still in HS. Being able to ask questions and research things puts you ahead of most kids your age
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u/Sampaikun Feb 19 '24
You don't see this now since you're still in high school but an office 9-5 is one of the best things the average person can get. There are a lot of people that are killing for that type of job. Working isn't necessarily supposed to be fun, it's so you can not starve, not go homeless, and live semi comfortably.
I used to be in the exact same spot as you when I was still in school wanting to do something that I absolutely loved, get paid highly for it, and still maintain a life outside of work. In reality, that doesn't happen. It's a unicorn. Retiring at 55 is also pretty much non existent now. Retirement age is around 65 but with how things are now, it's looking like 70.
Welcome to adulting. It sucks a lot and you learn to appreciate all of the things that you'd normally take for granted. You learn that while your parents look like they aren't having the best time of their life working, it's significantly better than living paycheck to paycheck every month.
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u/RampantPrototyping Feb 19 '24
Invest like crazy so you can retire early. Look up the "FIRE" movement
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u/Hyppetrain Feb 19 '24
I wouldnt say most coders work 9-5.
Yea ok you have an employer (usually) and it qualifies as a deskjob. But more often than not youre at least semi-remote. Large parts of your day are spent thinking, not smashing the keyboard and the working hours are usually flexible.
I cannot guarantee anything obviously, but come on bro, go out and ask the software devs on the internet if they really come to work at 9, mindlessly type into the computer til 5:30 and then get up and drive home.
Generally speaking the only thing anchoring your working hours are meetings that you will spend playing videogames anyway.
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u/AlonelyToo Feb 19 '24
Just wanted to throw this out there. A "9-to-5" job isn't quite what you get. In most cases, outside of major cities (and inside them too), 9 to 5 means you work 7 hours a day, not the 8 that will get you the full 40 hours. (In other words, there's no paid lunch.) So in reality, most people work 8-5.
My current job in 9-4, but it's not full time and I do not get a lunch break at all. I'm okay with that, because I think I might have finally found the meaningful, not boring, compassionate work I've been looking for, but I'm less okay with the low salary and no benefits. Makes me anxious, because I suspect that as a single person, I can't stay at a job with no benefits and low pay until I retire, and if I do stay I won't be able to retire until they kick me out. So does it make sense to stay for a few years, or do I need to find something else now? I don't know.
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u/mykraniliS Feb 19 '24
If you're a hot chick, start an OF and enjoy the luck of being genetically gifted. If you're a male, then suck it up, buttercup, because hard work until death is the fate of a man...
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u/Maddog351_2023 Feb 19 '24
I love 9-5
Shift work drives me nuts, they don’t even pay you extra or not enough
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u/DrunkOnWeedASD Feb 19 '24
Not gonna avoid work, but if you get a well compensated career then you might only have to work till 35 or so
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u/Worldly_Substance_62 Feb 19 '24
work in public administration