The 5 year plan to £50k

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Ayahuasca said:
That sounds brutal Telecaster
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It can be, thankfully jobs 3 hours away aren't the norm so that's not a daily commute. We work nationwide though so I'm rarely any closer to home than 1.5-2 hour drive each way. Plus I don't get paid for 2 hours of my travel each day, so a 15 hour day door to door is 13 hours money, 10 hours a week given away for nowt.

The reason being I do the work of 4 blokes. The company I work for and the company we subcontract to will put in a price based on a "team" of installation engineers, then they send one bloke, so I'm saving them the outlay of 4 blokes wages and doing it for next to sweet FA to boot so they coin it in. To be honest it's that part that doesn't sit with me very well and gets me down, when you're stuck on a site 3 hours from home absolutely knackered and they're phoning you from sat behind a desk in an office they live 20 minutes from asking if you're done yet/why not...
 
Telecaster said:
It can be, thankfully jobs 3 hours away aren't the norm so that's not a daily commute. We work nationwide though so I'm rarely any closer to home than 1.5-2 hour drive each way. Plus I don't get paid for 2 hours of my travel each day, so a 15 hour day door to door is 13 hours money, 10 hours a week given away for nowt.

The reason being I do the work of 4 blokes. The company I work for and the company we subcontract to will put in a price based on a "team" of installation engineers, then they send one bloke, so I'm saving them the outlay of 4 blokes wages and doing it for next to sweet FA to boot so they coin it in. To be honest it's that part that doesn't sit with me very well and gets me down, when you're stuck on a site 3 hours from home absolutely knackered and they're phoning you from sat behind a desk in an office they live 20 minutes from asking if you're done yet/why not...
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I mean... there's gonna be plenty of jobs much closer to home.

I couldn't do what you do.
 
I don't earn anywhere near 50k but I feel perfectly comfortable. Got a stable job, good work life balance and we live perfectly well with what we have. I've got a nice house, a big TV, two pcs etc etc.

My GFs best friend earns about 90k and her constant travel and working 70hr weeks doesn't make me feel like I'm missing out.

These figures are all relative to where you live really. 50k in London would be nothing like 50k in Newcastle or similar. Inflated property prices and costs of commuting take a big wedge of this money.

And the whole not wanting to be someone's slave is a nice aspiration but you need to put up with some things on your journey to get there.

I actually think the OP was always too scared to move out of his mother's house to ever achieve any of this.

Someone pushing 40 and living at his parents isn't the type of person who will ever be a "leader of men" .
 
Man, this thread bummed me out a bit. I know it shouldn't as money isn't the end all, but there are a lot of people my age or younger earning twice what I do.

For better or worse I went to uni. Looking back I wish I had studied mechanical/ electrical engineering rather than science, the mathematics put me off, but it would've been worth the effort. Or just went into an engineering apprenticeship.

At the moment I'm a facilities manager of an 11k sqft building, which is kind of progressing in a direction I like, i.e. I deal with system/ engineers more. Learning a lot too. I feel there is a bit of a cap when it comes to facilities management earning however. Also, the future of it looks like it will be outsourcing.

My problem is that I kind of feel like I'm too old to retrain now (27), has anyone else made such a move at this age?

Great to see so many successful people in this thread, and I hope it gets better for those at the opposite end.

Also, wow, developers! :D
 
I wouldn't say you're too old to retrain. All depends on what's available to you in your local area though.

I went to uni late at 21, graduated at 25 with a BSc (changed course in the first year), and am now retraining as an accountant at 26. In hindsight I could've just done this at 21 instead but perhaps my degree helped me get my current job where they're funding the training? Possible, as I was up against some fresh graduates in the interviews.
 
MichaelAwkward said:
now retraining as an accountant at 26.
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That's good to hear, which route are you going down? Sounds crazy but that's another avenue I've considered, I really just want to do something technical, although I don't know if I'd have a passion for accountancy.

Moses said:
The problem comes if you have dependents/a mortgage/etc and it'd require a drop in income/relocation/etc.
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You're quite right Moses, a drop in income would be a bummer but could be tolerated, don't have any of the rest yet, and don't think I'd have to relocate too far.
 
Hedge said:
I don't earn anywhere near 50k but I feel perfectly comfortable. Got a stable job, good work life balance and we live perfectly well with what we have. I've got a nice house, a big TV, two pcs etc etc.

My GFs best friend earns about 90k and her constant travel and working 70hr weeks doesn't make me feel like I'm missing out.

These figures are all relative to where you live really. 50k in London would be nothing like 50k in Newcastle or similar. Inflated property prices and costs of commuting take a big wedge of this money.

And the whole not wanting to be someone's slave is a nice aspiration but you need to put up with some things on your journey to get there.

I actually think the OP was always too scared to move out of his mother's house to ever achieve any of this.

Someone pushing 40 and living at his parents isn't the type of person who will ever be a "leader of men" .
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I'm not a leader, and never will be. I don't think that's particularly relevant tho? Not all well-paid jobs are managerial in nature.

As for "scared to move out"... not really. I lived away for five years up in Wales.

I couldn't get a mortgage down here atm, and I don't fancy paying vast sums in rent. Also I can help Mum out around the place, and she can stay living in her own home, which she's already told me wouldn't be possible if I moved out.

My living here suits all parties.

Also I don't expect my life to magically improve just by moving out of my Mum's house. I would simply be living on my own, with nobody but my own thoughts (and you lot) for company. Hardly an improvement.
 
It's not just about management, you need to earn the respect of others to move up the ladder and I just don't think that's possible if you're still living at home with parents, wrongly or rightly there's still a stigma around this and maybe you could keep it hidden from colleagues but I just don't think you can build the level of confidence and independence required like that. It's not just work it affects either, friends and relationships are also compromised. Your priorities seem to lie with keeping your mother happy and doing things for her which makes any kind of life outside of that far more challenging. Nobody is saying you're doing life wrong, in fact if your mother needs the help it's rather commendable you're looking after her rather than letting a care home or carers do it, many just bin their parents off and see them a few times a year if they're lucky and it's a huge regret for them once they're no longer here. Somewhere in the middle is best though and I'm sure she understands you need to live your own life?

Unsure of the circumstances on your move to Wales but for me going out on my own path and struggling for a few years taught me a great deal about finances, who I was, the kind of people I enjoyed being around and forcing me to do things myself. Outside of the academically gifted, or those who had very supportive families, the people I know who're successful have been on the bones of their arse, very much a case of needing to hit rock bottom to realise what they wanted from life. Something that can't be achieved from a comfort zone.

I might have mistaken you for someone else in this thread but you've said you don't get on with people very well? If this isn't caused by a disability then it's the first thing you should have worked on. You can't get far in this world being the shy, introverted, I'll just do my own thing sort of person who can't hold a conversation with anyone.
 
Oh well, I'm screwed then :p I can't hold a conversation with anybody. Never have. Heck, I can barely make eye contact unless I force myself to, and it's unnatural/painful to do it.

Just not a "people person". Most people annoy the heck out of me. Sad, I guess, but truthful.
 
FoxEye said:
Oh well, I'm screwed then :p I can't hold a conversation with anybody. Never have. Heck, I can barely make eye contact unless I force myself to, and it's unnatural/painful to do it.

Just not a "people person". Most people annoy the heck out of me. Sad, I guess, but truthful.
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Unfortunately this is always going to hold you back. You might not think all high paid jobs are managerial in nature but they really are. Your ability to communicate with others and manage your own workload and that of those around you is vital if you ever want good money.

The reason you are still with your mother isn't due to cost of mortgages (I afford mine on 30k) or high rent (I also rented previously), or the fact she needs you. The reason is you see it as a comfort blanket. It shields you from the grown up world where things cost money and people rightly or wrongly have no respect for someone who hasn't left the safety of home.

People annoying you is a problem. No one will want to employ you if you don't like people. We all have people that annoy us. But if the only person in the world that doesn't annoy you is your Mother than I actually think you need councilling.
 
TacticalFish said:
That's good to hear, which route are you going down? Sounds crazy but that's another avenue I've considered, I really just want to do something technical, although I don't know if I'd have a passion for accountancy.
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It's definitely a marmite career I think - you either love it or hate it. It's hard to put my finger on what exactly it is I enjoy about it. There are definitely large parts that are mundane and boring (and made more so by the fact we don't use a proper ERP system despite being a multi million pound organisation) but the bigger analytical work is where my future lies I think.

I'm in the process of completing AAT Level 4 in the evenings and then I'll start ACCA to become chartered before I'm 30 hopefully. I'd actually like to end up working in the aviation industry as that's where my passions lie (obsessed with Flight Simulators, would like to learn to fly, did a statistical analysis of passenger traffic for my dissertation).
 
FoxEye said:
Oh well, I'm screwed then :p I can't hold a conversation with anybody. Never have. Heck, I can barely make eye contact unless I force myself to, and it's unnatural/painful to do it.

Just not a "people person". Most people annoy the heck out of me. Sad, I guess, but truthful.
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I'd recommended seeing someone about it if you believe it's something you just have and can't change, it's difficult though as at 40 I don't think I'd like to be told the reason I was like that was due to a condition such as autism rather than my own doing, it would probably leave me incredibly angry/frustrated. You're in the age bracket as well where you could have missed being diagnosed with it as it wasn't till the 90's onwards the rates of diagnosis started increasing. This probably comes across rather rude of me suggesting you have a condition but those traits and others you've alluded to in this thread don't sound normal.
 
FoxEye said:
Oh well, I'm screwed then :p I can't hold a conversation with anybody. Never have. Heck, I can barely make eye contact unless I force myself to, and it's unnatural/painful to do it.

Just not a "people person". Most people annoy the heck out of me. Sad, I guess, but truthful.
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Don't you have any friends?
 
I don't think I'm "on the spectrum". I don't have any super maths powers, for starters ;) I'm just a bit of an antisocial git, that's all. I've never understood or empathised with other people, and I've never felt a strong desire for the company of others.

I'm sure that does sound strange to a lot of people. I'm basically just a misanthrope. Sometimes I *do* question if it's by choice, or by lack of effort, or by genetics. That I can't answer. But I wouldn't want to be diagnosed with anything. I'm not trendy enough for that ;)
 
TacticalFish said:
That's good to hear, which route are you going down? Sounds crazy but that's another avenue I've considered, I really just want to do something technical, although I don't know if I'd have a passion for accountancy.



You're quite right Moses, a drop in income would be a bummer but could be tolerated, don't have any of the rest yet, and don't think I'd have to relocate too far.
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I've just turned 28 and I'm thinking of a career change, I don't think it's too late but I'm not sure if I could stomach the pay cut it would require :o I have no dependants and I could still afford my half of the mortgage but I'd have to cut down on the extras for a couple of years which is definitely doable!
 
FoxEye said:
Oh well, I'm screwed then :p I can't hold a conversation with anybody. Never have. Heck, I can barely make eye contact unless I force myself to, and it's unnatural/painful to do it.

Just not a "people person". Most people annoy the heck out of me. Sad, I guess, but truthful.
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Snap. Not had "friends" since I left school, and to be honest I think I was only friends with certain people for a quiet life, haven't seen any of them since the day we left at 16.
 
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