I can't work in an office for the next 50 years...

[G-MAN2004]

Welcome to adult life.



lol oh man!! you kids crack me up.

Just because you must have quite obviously slipped into that typical, boring lifestyle that 99% of the population appear to endure, does not mean I too will follow. I get this stuff drilled into me week in, week out by my parents who wish they did differently, and I'm not about to give up just yet. I'd rather end it all than live 70 years putting up with something I dislike just because I was too scared to take a few big risks.

 

[chief barker]

Just because you must have quite obviously slipped into that typical, boring lifestyle that 99% of the population appear to endure, does not mean I too will follow. I get this stuff drilled into me week in, week out by my parents who wish they did differently, and I'm not about to give up just yet. I'd rather end it all than live 70 years putting up with something I dislike just because I was too scared to take a few big risks.

Good for you, you will do well in life, or not if you kill yourself.

 

[MickeyFinns]

Instead of just considering travel have a think about adventure travel. It's generally a lot cheaper than backpacking and depending on what you do it can actually look great on your CV rather than looking like a big gap where you went on a jolly.

A nice bonus of these types of trips is that the challenging nature can really really make you miss the cosy life back home.

I embarked on my trip (Bike ride from London-Shanghai, currently 55% of the way there in Samarkand, Uzbekistan) partly due to desire to go on an adventure and due to dissatisfaction with the 9-5.

The total budget for my entire 10 month trip breaks down as follows;

• £2k on equipment (bike, camping etc.) you can spend a lot less than this or a lot more. Remember you'll have most of it when you go home to sell or use in the future.
• £500 on visas, happend to be going through a bad part of the world for this. Iran on it's own was £250
• £500 for a one way flight home from Shanghai
• £4k day to day costs for 300 days, I'm looking to come in about a grand under budget on this.

Other options could be a long distance hike (across the states or across china). Motorbiking and driving tend to get more expensive but not unfeasible.

I realise £7k is a lot of cash but if you are determined it is not too far fetched, for me it was 4 years of going to the pub a bit less, living in a bedsit instead of a flat and eating cheap food. I mainly mention the figures as most people are usually shocked at how little it costs.

 

[Mercutio]

Thankfully, I met a... foreign lady and life is fairly nicely worked out.

A bit of study (finish certing up with Oracle stuff) and I'll be going the contractor route. Work 3 months of the year (40k contracts), relax on an island in the Med the rest (and get a house built). Once the house in the UK is bought and paid for (maybe a second, who knows) I can pretty much retire.

For anyone wanting direction - if you have something of a head for technology go do the basic certification for one of the big IT vendors (Oracle/Microsoft/Cisco/Netapps/etc) it'll cost you some free time and a bit of looking for torrents of the study material, pay for your own exam (£60) land a job on 25-30k, work that a few years to gain experience while studying your butt off for the higher certs. Once you have the higher certs, go mercenary (contract work) till you got some assets paid for and **** off somewhere where life's cheaper/easier and the weathers nice

Currently approaching mid 30's so... that's feeling pretty good atm

 

[Swarfega]

With no mortgage, wife and dependants to think about if your that keen you should do it. Once you start to settle down in life doing anything you thought about doing will be 4x harder. Go for it.

 

[Muzy]

I just can't. Bit of background...

Finished uni, and felt like I need to get a job fast. Felt almost pressured into it but I'm not blaming anyone, I was naive and was all OMG MUST GET REAL JOB mode. Anyway I got a job working in the city centre, pretty decent pay, work with some good lads and it keeps me ticking.

There's no real direct route for progression, and there is so much corporate ******** that it irks me. The 9to5 lifestyle is really not for me and I feel like I'm living for the weekends (well some of them, I work some too). I feel life should be so much more than this grind.

Last year when me and my pals were on holiday we joked about all moving out there and opening a bar or something, imagine the life! I've just been away again and it's made me think again, I can't waste away in this god forsaken office for the rest of my life!

Seeing some of my friends travelling pics/stories on FB makes me regret not doing something like that.

Has anyone given up a decent job and moved abroad to do something? I don't know what to do..

Halp mah GD

take a year or two to travel the world then come back to modern slavery.

I've been a slave working in IT industry for 6 years. everyday i think about travelling the world, city after city, land after land..etc but sadly i can't... (responsibilities will **** you up).

another option, is try to work few month in x country and another few months in xx country ...etc if money is important to you.


Since you are single, with not wife and kids or mortgage, then enjoy your life man, go and see the world for few years.

 

[Fuggan]

Thanks for all these posts guys, some good food for thought.

 

[wordy]

Just because you must have quite obviously slipped into that typical, boring lifestyle that 99% of the population appear to endure, does not mean I too will follow. I get this stuff drilled into me week in, week out by my parents who wish they did differently, and I'm not about to give up just yet. I'd rather end it all than live 70 years putting up with something I dislike just because I was too scared to take a few big risks.

Good lad, keep it coming!

I used to think like that when I was your age, before the crushing weight of what conformist society expects turned me into the empty, lifeless, grey office drone I am today.

And it'll happen to you too!

 

[Haircut]

A bit of study (finish certing up with Oracle stuff) and I'll be going the contractor route. Work 3 months of the year (40k contracts), relax on an island in the Med the rest (and get a house built). Once the house in the UK is bought and paid for (maybe a second, who knows) I can pretty much retire.

Good luck to you if you can do that, but it's not quite as easy as it sounds.
It could take a few months to find a contract, so you can quite easily spend lots of time searching for work rather than chilling on your Mediterranean island.

Also you have to think why people would hire someone who only spends a quarter of the year doing the job and may potentially have let skills lapse, not be up to speed on the latest technologies etc.
Not saying you would be like that, but that's how it can come across.

 

[Guerrilla]

I know the sentiment, have worked the same job since i was 16 (am 28 now ) and whilst in a lot of ways I feel lucky to have a job when many others don't the idea of packing it in and living life and experiencing more of the world is certainly very appealing.

My gf has done it a few times, left her job to go travelling and she still talks about going travelling, so the opportunity is there and I wouldn't be doing it alone which is a plus. Ideally it would be nice to be able to have the money to do it (or at least have a safety net of some sort if it all goes wrong), but I don't earn an awful amount and coming back to no job if things don't work out is one thing, but coming back to nothing with no job and no money scares me.

I think if i am to do it, it will have be sooner rather than later though.

Hope you manage to do it and have the adventure of a lifetime

 

[porushinobu]

I know the sentiment, have worked the same job since i was 16 (am 28 now ) and whilst in a lot of ways I feel lucky to have a job when many others don't the idea of packing it in and living life and experiencing more of the world is certainly very appealing.

My gf has done it a few times, left her job to go travelling and she still talks about going travelling, so the opportunity is there and I wouldn't be doing it alone which is a plus. Ideally it would be nice to be able to have the money to do it (or at least have a safety net of some sort if it all goes wrong), but I don't earn an awful amount and coming back to no job if things don't work out is one thing, but coming back to nothing with no job and no money scares me.

I think if i am to do it, it will have be sooner rather than later though.

Hope you manage to do it and have the adventure of a lifetime

You dont necessarily have to leave your job, you could take a sebattical( long term unpaid leave) for like a year and then come back to your old post.

That is if your employer allows a sebattical ofcourse.

 

[Fuggan]

...but coming back to nothing with no job and no money scares me.

I think if i am to do it, it will have be sooner rather than later though.

Hope you manage to do it and have the adventure of a lifetime

This is the part that scares me too.. and thanks!

 

[mattyprice4004]

Organise an OCUK Leeds meet, we'll help you through it

 

[DELETED_83755]

I think you should appreciate that you only work 9-5 and have weekends. Many have to work on weekends and even longer hours. Should do more things with spare time to develop hobbies and interest.

 

[Fuggan]

I think you should appreciate that you only work 9-5 and have weekends. Many have to work on weekends and even longer hours. Should do more things with spare time to develop hobbies and interest.

I do work weekends (9-9 sat&sun) on a rota (1in4 weeks), I have no shortage of hobbies either.

 

[porushinobu]

I think you should appreciate that you only work 9-5 and have weekends. Many have to work on weekends and even longer hours. Should do more things with spare time to develop hobbies and interest.

atleast he earns enough to enjoy his days off, whenever he gets them. some people dont and end up ni 2 or even 3 jobs.

That being said I suppose theres far worse than the 9 - 5 ****

 

[infernox]

I think like this almost every day. I'm 21. no responsabilitys and I want to do something different with my life. I started work in IT and I no longer enjoy it. I want to enjoy my life rather than spend it locked up behind an office desk with artifical lighting. Some of my friends feel the same and I doubt that before to long we will do something instead of talking about it.

 

[Fuggan]

I think like this almost every day. I'm 21. no responsabilitys and I want to do something different with my life. I started work in IT and I no longer enjoy it. I want to enjoy my life rather than spend it locked up behind an office desk with artifical lighting. Some of my friends feel the same and I doubt that before to long we will do something instead of talking about it.

I want to know what you do!

 

[porushinobu]

I want to know what you do!

I too am curious, do you and your friends have anything in mind

 

[Fuggan]

I too am curious, do you and your friends have anything in mind

We've thrown around ideas of doing a summer season in a bar in Greece or the likes, then perhaps a ski season off the back. Longer term we'd like to own a bar but we're just throwing around ideas at the moment.