A weekly thread to discuss financial matters - from personal all the way up to global.
Ground Rules
- Remember that we're all just Internet randos. Don't bet your life savings on a hot tip from this thread.
- Keep culture war in the culture war thread. Yes, global events may impact our personal finances, but that does not mean we have to incessantly harp on culture war aspects here. If you are going to discuss it, please stick to the practical impacts of it on an individual level.
- Be kind. Remember that everyone here comes from different circumstances. We all have different resources available and different risk tolerances.
- Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Better is better. Celebrate people when they take a step up and work to move their finances in the right direction. Don't flame out because they haven't followed what you consider the optimal path. Everybody has to start somewhere.
Jump in the discussion.
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Notes -
I made a fair bit of money tutoring through college. I'm not sure how good of a gig it would be today, but back then the pay was great.
I would not suggest trying to make an income off writing unless you're willing to grind for years at almost zero pay.
If you're American, waiting tables can be surprisingly lucrative if you can find a place with a good clientele. My friends who still do it can walk out the door on a Friday night with $500 in tips.
What about programming burned you out? Having done just about all the jobs you mentioned above, programming has been the least taxing of all of them for me, and I'm interested to understand what was different for you.
Grinding for years without pay is totally fine. The bigger risk is writing never becoming a career at all. I feel I need to give it at least one good try, though, before giving up on the dream.
I couldn't tell you exactly. I'm quite good at the logic puzzles and algorithm-building. My last job was very technical. I just hate it and can't seem to reliably do more than an hour or two of work, and that only if I set aside 16-18 hours and exert a tremendous amount of effort. Those 5 years (in crypto) aren't really worth much in the broader job market. I don't have the will to go back to college just to get back into a career that never worked for me.
I can't say for sure tutoring will be easier, but warehouse work was good exercise and dull enough that I didn't need to pay attention to what I was doing, which is both inherently enjoyable and I think dovetails nicely with writing when I get home.
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