Q: Did you always dream of drawing and writing, or were you about to happily settle for a so-called normal job? Was it the misery of “humiliating and low-paying jobs,” or the joy of drawing and writing, that pushed you this way? A: I pursued a normal job so I wouldn’t starve to death while [...] Read more »
lacrosse and Russian
I didn’t get that much out of college, other than friends, knowledge, life experiences, and the ability to blow up an opponent in lacrosse. I majored in math, and now I’m a finance and systems consultant. Related, fine. But they are two different disciplines. I studied linguistics, and while I’m able to speak [...] Read more »
you may not be an entrepreneur
I’ve often fantasized about becoming an entrepreneur. It’s an easy thing for someone who works in the corporate world to do. I made a halfway move: I’m a consultant. I don’t really live ‘in’ the world that my corporate colleagues do, but I do physically sit in the same place and enjoy the same [...] Read more »
how companies miss the big picture
Years ago I was at a conference in Indonesia, of all places. I had dragged myself down there from Moscow, suffering (as I would later find out) from pneumonia. The semi-tropical climate was nice, and I felt much better – but I was still suffering. I knew that the 24+ hour return flight (Surabaya-Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur-Frankfurt) [...] Read more »
in the future, college will be for the rich and smart
Read this: In 2003, only two colleges charged more than $40,000 a year for tuition, fees, and room and board; by 2009, 224 were above that mark. The total amount of outstanding student loan debt is now more than $1 trillion. That’s from this NY Times article. The simple fact is that in the future the [...] Read more »
the only impediment to change is yourself
I entered accounting for a simple reason. Having spent time in Germany during high school as an exchange student, I wanted to get back. I realized two semesters into my mathematics PhD that getting a PhD in math was clearly not going to help me achieve this goal. I also thought that it wouldn’t achieve [...] Read more »
stability and desperation
The same people who crave stability and the idea of “never being without a paycheck” are often in the most unstable positions – they just don’t realize it. They are so dependent on the next paycheck that they can’t begin to imagine even two or three weeks without a paycheck. There are other people who [...] Read more »
8 steps to a six figure career, the infographic
One of the most popular posts on brip blap was my post “8 steps to a six figure career” which now, thanks to The Gap Partnership is now in infographic form. I don’t ask this often, but if you like this you could definitely help me show this off with a Facebook like or a [...] Read more »
home before dark
Related to an earlier post about consulting, I had an interview with a ‘traditional employer’ back in the mid-2000s. I’d had a long standing consulting relationship with the company and was even offered a position with them about a year into working with them. Once every six months there would be a brief flurry of [...] Read more »
a bird in hand, or two in the bush…
OK, think fast: two jobs. One pays $50,000 this year; it will have a steady raise keeping pace with inflation (more or less) for the next 20 years, but there will be no spectacular bumps up. The other job pays $15,000 this year. In 10 years it might give you the experience to make $100,000 [...] Read more »
Control Your Financial Destiny – Be Your Own Boss
Most people are concerned about money. If you aren’t a millionaire, you are most likely part of this group. Money – we never seem to have enough of it and are always looking at ways to spend less of it. For the average person, the concept of taking control of their financial destiny consists of [...] Read more »
3 Things I Wish I Was Told As A College Freshman
Today’s guest post comes from Jenny. In her own words: “I am currently a junior in college and living in New York City. Going through the job recruitment process now has made me reflect a lot on the past 3 years of my life. Here are some things I wish I had been told on [...] Read more »