Hakrjak's $500k self re-invention...

For those of you that came over from my $500k professions thread, thank you!



This thread is about helping to re-invent ME! Consider it a reality TV experience, where you get to have a say in how Hakrjak's life unfolds going forward.

I'm going through perhaps a mid-life crisis at the moment, where I'm becoming increasingly dissatisfied with my income level -- and I'm looking to start the self reinvention process over the next 6 months.

As most of you know, I'm college educated, have worked in the IT field for 12 years now, I'm currently 33 and my income has steadily declined while staying in this field. In 2002 I was making close to $100k/yr with much upside, and this year after many annual pay cuts and the industry continuing to sour -- I'm down to about $60k/yr, with a lot of downside possible. Absolutely pathetic in my eyes... I never thought I'd be in my 30's and be making less than $100k/yr, much less constantly be under the threat of losing my job and not being able to find another one!

While I'm always trying things on the entrepreneurial side, and those efforts have been modestly profitable -- I need to increase my day job earnings sharply in order to more quckly achieve my financial goals. I want to change to a more fastlane profession where my hard work can be rewarded with much higher income very quickly.

Fields I am considering:
1). Sports Management
2). Real Estate Broker to the Rich
3). Attorney
4). Wall Street – Banker, broker, trader?
5). Stay in IT and choose some specialized field where I can make more?
The question is -- Which field to choose, based on the fact that I want to invest the least in education and startup? I think this means that Attorney is probably out, since that would require 4-5 years more of school, etc... Which field can I kick into high gear the fastest, and start realizing a huge income from?

Are there any other fields I should look into?

Let's hear your thoughts!

Cheers,

- Hakrjak

Why not flip fulltime? It would not take much to match and surpass your income from your job. Just 3 easy flips would work you out of a job.

Hakrjak,

Wow. I wish you all the success. You can certainly do well as an Accountant. You can also start your own practice, and on top of that either write books, hold seminars, even create courses, all which are very fastlane. Only downside to it is the educational component. How much time are you looking to invest?



If it's not much to ask, what type of position allowed such a salary decrease in the IT industry?

Your never going to make any money working for someone else.

If your good at sales, real estate can be very rewarding. But its a hard business, and in this market just brutal.

Given what I know about you, you probably would be more successful as RE broker for the rich. And you probably don't have to quit and start on that field. After all, you need 3 years of holding your license as agent to open your own brokerage firm (this still holds true, right?).

I agree #2...real estate broker for the rich!

Why not start a company designing software, which utilizes the skill set you have already developed. You length of time in the industry should lend itself to providing you insight on the developmental aspect, and you should be able to fairly accurately determine product creation requirements (development cycle, coding, debugging, beta, release). The software is a very fastlane avenue if you are successful, and it should be easy to find funding and connections with over a decade in the industry.

The trick would be determining what type of product to develop. Perhaps software that would allow someone to learn coding languages (like a tech version of Rosetta Stone?) What about open source app development (like iPhone apps.,) you whip it up and via Apple's distribution network at the App Store you can drop it in front of millions of consumers. Seems like good leverage to me, and it utilizes talents you already excel at.

If you're looking to avoid re-entering academia in furtherance of your goals, Lawyer is definitely out, as is probably accountant. (You need accreditation for this, and you need to pass the CPA exam, which is insanely intensive. Like the worst 2 days of your life intensive.) I am currently going to school, and accounting is one of my majors. I really enjoy it, but its not for everybody. You may really like it, and be really good at it. However, with no experience in the field it would be very difficult to start your own firm successfully, and the average starting salary at the big high paying firms is $52K-$58K per year, so it would be a step backward.

With 150K Wall Street employees with years of experience currently unemployed, this may not be the best time to try to crack this particular nut. You would need you Series 7 license, which can only be obtained by being sponsored by a firm (who won't hire you without one, so read intern).

Real estate broker to the rich sounds good, but may be extremely difficult as Hatteras pointed out in this market. But the educational requirements are cheap (<$1000 in PA for coursework and exam). You would also have a time sink here as you developed a reputation as a broker people of that caliber WANT to do business with, as there are already established agents/brokers who have earned these potential clients trust and built working relationships with them. You would need to overcome that barrier to entry.

I think you could build a stellar enterprise using your already existing abilities in tech. Its just about you finding a way to capitalize them in a way you haven't done before. It seems to me that the road to true wealth isn't paved, but rather roughshod and untraveled; it is being the first to travel that path and help people in a new way that gives you the wealth.

Best of luck in your endeavor!! I can't wait to hear how this develops for you!!
Speed +++ for this undertaking!

The tech field is going to turm around in my opinion but I think the person above me is right if you are able to create software that would be a fastlane approach. There are several needs from healthcare standpoint that need better software. Good luck in whatever path you choose.

I don't know, IMO this is the wrong way to re-invent yourself. You are 33, aren't you tired of working for just money? Don't you have something that you like doing instead of making money? I wouldn't choose any profession just for the money. Are you going to become a realtor and push people into poor home choices for that big commission check?

If you are going to reinvent yourself, do it for another reason.

"where you get to have a say in how Hakrjak's life unfolds going forward."

that's quite interesting. i'm not sure i would ever let some others dictate my direction. shouldn't you choose what makes you happy and what fits into your life goals?

This is a great idea - I would purchase something like this.

Who says you have to love the activity you use for generating income? The quickest way to meet his goal of financial independence may be a career that he doesn't care for. The goal is to become financially independent as soon as possible, not to find a "job" he likes. Once he meets his financial goal, he can choose to do ANY activity that is in harmony with his talents and desires, regardless of weather it generates income.

Some people want to believe that "the money will just come" if you're doing what you love. This is spiritual mumbo jumbo. (If you don't believe me, just ask a teacher.) Go out and make as much money as possible, don't waste what you've earned, and utilize it to jump start your dream idea or invest in others' ideas.

It's just semantics. All he's asking for is a brainstorm session from us. He's going to make the end decision.

Guys -- Thanks for the replies. Sending out some speed for the good ones!

I should say that I came up with this idea while talking to a doctor friend on the golf course the other day. I always assumed he made around $100k a year, and I finally asked him what he was pulling down annually, and he replied, "I made $290k last year.." -- I was floored... It really puts everything into perspective when you peer across such an income gap.

I'm someone who generally considers himself a huge failure since I don't have that 1st million yet -- but hearing about my buddy's income just sent me into a deep dark depression.

Can anybody identify with me on this?

Cheers,

- Hakrjak

failure?!? No wayyy even 60k a yr is a epic win but compared to my pay lol but I still love what I do and am very happy. If your hanging with people double what you make I can see where your coming from though. I think this article explains more about why we do that, as social creatures. Here's a few paragraphs from it.


( RATED R )

5 Things You Think Will Make You Happy (But Won't) | Cracked.com

So What's the Problem?

Hey, remember when we said earlier that most people wouldn't do the body-switching thing for fear they'd wake up in Nigeria? Well according to surveys, Nigerians are happier with their lives than the people of any other country.

The USA came in 16th.

Hey, did we mention that the average Nigerian makes $300 a year? That's less than a hundredth of what the average American makes. America being the country that hands out 120 million prescriptions for anti-depressants every year.

China is turning into a great object lesson in this, as their economy explodes and incomes skyrocket, but levels of happiness and personal satisfaction are dropping at the same rapid rate.

There's a couple of reasons for it. First, your brain adjusts feelings of happiness downward after you've reached some goal or other. It regulates the good feelings, presumably so that you have motivation to reach the next goal instead of just lounging by the pool for the rest of your days.

The second one is that as social creatures, we compare ourselves to our neighbors. This is why executives can cry about the $500,000 salary cap that comes with taking government bailout money. Their friends are making $3 million a year and live in igloo made out of cocaine. We can laugh at their complaints, but of course then you're giving the Nigerian permission to laugh at yours. That guy made 100 times more than you, you make 100 times more than the Nigerian.

Once you start hanging around the other high earners, you'll want all the stuff they have. No, that's not right--you'll want the stuff that's so much better than their stuff that they'll vomit with envy. As one magazine for Wall Street bigshots put it, you want the stuff that will be "a huge middle finger to everyone who enters your home."


"Yeah, same model as yours. Only covered in solid fucking gold."

But what about sudden wealth, like if you won the lottery, or sold your novel for $10 million? That'd be cool, right, because you'd still remember your former life and appreciate your new riches! Well, just ask William "Bud" Post, who wound up broken and bankrupt after he won $16 million in the lottery. It turns out that while he knew how to handle the stress of being poor thanks to a lifetime of experience, he had no concept of how to handle the new and alien stresses of wealth.

Wait, it Gets Worse...

Remember the whole Invasion of the Body Snatchers phenomenon we talked about with famous people, where suddenly all of your friends turn into leeches? Same here, only worse. With your newfound riches, suddenly "friends" pop up from all over. Cousins who you've never met, forgotten classmates from school, women who'd never even look your way before, all suddenly in your orbit, complimenting you, doing you favors. Then they casually slip it into conversation that they're going to have to default on their mortgage unless somebody helps out.


Your very own entourage!

Suddenly every relationship is in doubt. Do they actually care about you? Or do they just want a seat on the Bling Train? Would they sell you out to get to your cash?

That lottery winner we mentioned above . . . somebody hired a hitman to take him out, to get to his money. That somebody was his own fucking brother.

I still think you should do more REI. I have made as much as your doctor friend a few times in this market and so have my investor buddies. You just have to roll with the times. I know a few investor friends who looked for another business when things change. They are now back working a job. If they would of changed with the times instead of jumping ship for the next easy idea.They would of made some good money.

"Who moved my cheese" is the book that most REI lived.The cheese has been moved,go find it. Don't keep on looking for it in the same place.

Just throwing this out there.... how much of your Dr. friend's $290k did he bank/invest. If he spent $300k, do you really want to trade incomes? How much do you keep is more important than how much you make?

I like the idea of continuing to flip, while maybe also being a real estate broker -- which some folks have mentioned here.

My main barrier there is financing. Seems like I can not get approved for enough financing to make this happen. I need access to a pool of probably $500k to make this happen, so I can flip 3 or 4 houses at a time.

FYI -- For those asking about the $500k figure... it's a somewhat meaningless figure pulled out of the air by me to get your attention. If I could start a career tomorrow that would make $250 or $300k or even $150k, I'd probably be pretty content.

Cheers,

- Hakrjak

100k around here and you can do 3-4 rehabs at a time. You can flip contracts,I know a woman in my area who does this with no money and makes over 100k a year.

Everytime you sell a house bank what does not go towards taxes, after two years of steady profits banks will look at you. Also you need to save up your own money to be self financing.

You can overcome the financing barrier, Hak. We had the same fears, when our traditional financing options came to an end last year. We had to start thinking outside the box. Start attending 'Self directed IRA' events (Entrust, Pensco, Guidant, etc.) and talk to people in attendance there and everyone you know, personally, who has an interest in investing (particularly, busy, well-paid, W2 types).

Start with that doctor buddy of yours. As him if he would like to get a 8-12% return (secured by a REAL asset), instead of battling it out in the stock market. After you please him a few times, tell him to feel free to mention it to all his MD pals. With a proven track record of RE investing, you will find that now, more than ever, people are looking for an alternative to the stock market. We now have access to more (private) funding than we can handle. We need deals!!

Oh, and check out JScott's thread on Self Directed IRAs - powerful stuff!!

Best of luck to you.