Lived off trust fund and now my career sucks

[Anonymous]

Well, you could be like me and have a sucky career without a trust fund, so. . .

Agree with PP's to focus on what you want to do first. Get married and start a family, or go back to school, or volunteer. You need to figure that out first, then determine if it will get you to your goal of keeping up with your friends on the money train.

[Anonymous]

I've seen this a lot in trust fund children. They aren't forced to develop the skill/habit of doing the hard work. It's a like a muscle. You have to work it. No one likes doing all the boring stuff. But if you have to do it to survive, you do what it takes. Or you fail. In your case, you don't HAVE to do it, so the muscle was never developed.

I have a job that I half hate/half love. With each project (it's a project by project job) the first half is so hard. I have to make charts, give myself quotas of the amount of work I have to get done each day in order to get to the second part. And once I'm there, I work for hours without realizing where the time has gone. But if I had never had the incentive to get through the first half I would have the career I have today.

You have to learn to lean into the hard work, so that it can eventually pay off. And once you start doing that you will feel amazingly proud and satisfied. Good Luck.

[Anonymous]

What about teaching something you're interested in, like dance? You said you want to make a lot of money, but you don't really need THAT much more, since you have the trust.

[Anonymous]

I am just wondering why no one pushed back on the OP's comments about lawyers not making much money? I mean....

OP, JDs or MBAs both have the potential to bring home $250-500 a year but it will require lots of work and focus. You take on debt, school will be demanding and then you will still land in roles like associate at a law firm or analyst at an investment bank. You will need to have discipline to pay back the loans also.

Why has no one suggested entrepreneur? Is there a business you are passionate about building? Lots of successful entrepreneurs did horrible in traditional workplaces, including my current boss. In your situation you can manage more risk than most. Do you have presence? Can you pitch investors?

[Anonymous]

As a few others have suggested, how about teaching dance? What about other non-desk jobs? These tend to be ones where you are attending to tasks as they come up and not stuck in paperwork all the time. Non-desk jobs can be a good fit for someone with ADHD. I always thought working at a hotel could be interesting. Lots of different tasks and travel discounts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 starting a business, law school, +1 MBA

Forgot to add that these all require a lot of hard work, focus, and often financial investment--as you probably know. It's a good idea to make sure that your ADHD is treated well first if you choose any of these paths.

FWIW I'm very good at focusing on things that interest me and that I care about. I tested extremely highly and have generally done well in school, although I tended to be a slacker and didn't work that hard. So, I think I could handle the workload, I guess I just wonder if that's the right path or if it's too late, at my age, to start something like this. I've considered law school but have heard lawyers dont make much money, and not sure what I would study in business school, but I have been considering them.

OP, never too late to start! Get going. Plenty of people restarting their careers and lives midlife due to divorce and/or bankruptcy, without the cash to make it happen. Have you considered becoming a Master Gardener? A landscape business or working with a high-end nursery might keep you moving, outside, and it's not a boring office or retail job. Maybe you could use your vacation money to meet with a Life Coach to help you focus on the next chapter of your life and the steps you need to take to make it happen. There will never be a shortage for CyberSecurity jobs, so if you have 14,000 tabs open and can manage a master's program, that will get you caught up with your peers quickly. Within the CyberSecurity, maybe field you can find a position that allows you work on projects so it's not the same thing day in and day out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am just wondering why no one pushed back on the OP's comments about lawyers not making much money? I mean....

OP, JDs or MBAs both have the potential to bring home $250-500 a year but it will require lots of work and focus. You take on debt, school will be demanding and then you will still land in roles like associate at a law firm or analyst at an investment bank. You will need to have discipline to pay back the loans also.

Why has no one suggested entrepreneur? Is there a business you are passionate about building? Lots of successful entrepreneurs did horrible in traditional workplaces, including my current boss. In your situation you can manage more risk than most. Do you have presence? Can you pitch investors?

Because it's true? Unless OP gets into a top-tier law school, performs very well, and gets a job in Big Law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+1 starting a business, law school, +1 MBA

Not law school. Try mba.

[Anonymous]

WORK FOR FREE. you can afford to do this, and it is a huge advantage for gaining experience. Start ups and non profits want people who are smart but cheap. And if it’s a small staff, you’ll have more of the “interesting” responsibilities you want (tho you’ll still have to answer phones, etc.) reach out to family friends, work your school networks, do work on spec to get attention from hiring managers.

NO. I have worked for both large and small nonprofits and I feel qualified to say: I would not want the OP working for me, even for free. Someone who is working for free has very little accountability (just their own sense of personal responsibility) and the OP has demonstrated a lack of commitment to anything. I don't need that on my staff. It breeds resentment.

Talk to a career counselor, OP. Make a plan and stick to it. Decide to live for a solid year without touching your trust fund money. You need to learn some life lessons that your friends learned the hard way in their 20s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am just wondering why no one pushed back on the OP's comments about lawyers not making much money? I mean....

OP, JDs or MBAs both have the potential to bring home $250-500 a year but it will require lots of work and focus. You take on debt, school will be demanding and then you will still land in roles like associate at a law firm or analyst at an investment bank. You will need to have discipline to pay back the loans also.

Why has no one suggested entrepreneur? Is there a business you are passionate about building? Lots of successful entrepreneurs did horrible in traditional workplaces, including my current boss. In your situation you can manage more risk than most. Do you have presence? Can you pitch investors?

Because it's true? Unless OP gets into a top-tier law school, performs very well, and gets a job in Big Law.

It didn't seem like OP would want to spend 3 years studying law and then sign up to grind out long hours as a BigLaw associate, at that point in her late 30's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get that it's frustrating, but entry level positions are almost all "menial." If they were exciting and interesting, you'd be competing against people with more experience and training for them.

And I do mean to say this gently, but with your current work history as related here, it's going to be hard to convince a hiring manager that any ability you have to excel at more interesting and fulfilling jobs is worth the risk that you'll get bored or frustrated and quit -- because literally every job comes with that risk. You [ui]think[/i] that if you could leapfrog a step or two, you could handle it and stay, but that's kind of magical thinking. Neither you nor anyone else has any reason to think that, and it's a lot of chance to take when there are people who can both do well at the more cool jobs and have proven they can stick it out when things aren't as awesome.

Yeah, I totally get that people would think that, especially hiring managers. I guess that's why I say it's a catch22, and I was hoping to float out the situation and see if anyone has any ideas for a solution that I havent been able to think of. Obviously it's not an ideal situation, to say the least. But I'm hopeful that I can change it or improve it

You're not looking to improve the situation, which would mean managing your ADHD, buckling down and working. You want a silver bullet solution, where you somehow get a top level position in a field you love, where all of the unrealized potential you seem convinced you have suddenly can flourish.

Good luck with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am just wondering why no one pushed back on the OP's comments about lawyers not making much money? I mean....

OP, JDs or MBAs both have the potential to bring home $250-500 a year but it will require lots of work and focus. You take on debt, school will be demanding and then you will still land in roles like associate at a law firm or analyst at an investment bank. You will need to have discipline to pay back the loans also.

Why has no one suggested entrepreneur? Is there a business you are passionate about building? Lots of successful entrepreneurs did horrible in traditional workplaces, including my current boss. In your situation you can manage more risk than most. Do you have presence? Can you pitch investors?

Because it's true? Unless OP gets into a top-tier law school, performs very well, and gets a job in Big Law.

It didn't seem like OP would want to spend 3 years studying law and then sign up to grind out long hours as a BigLaw associate, at that point in her late 30's.

But it's certainly possible, if OP is interested in it and focused on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get that it's frustrating, but entry level positions are almost all "menial." If they were exciting and interesting, you'd be competing against people with more experience and training for them.

And I do mean to say this gently, but with your current work history as related here, it's going to be hard to convince a hiring manager that any ability you have to excel at more interesting and fulfilling jobs is worth the risk that you'll get bored or frustrated and quit -- because literally every job comes with that risk. You [ui]think[/i] that if you could leapfrog a step or two, you could handle it and stay, but that's kind of magical thinking. Neither you nor anyone else has any reason to think that, and it's a lot of chance to take when there are people who can both do well at the more cool jobs and have proven they can stick it out when things aren't as awesome.

Yeah, I totally get that people would think that, especially hiring managers. I guess that's why I say it's a catch22, and I was hoping to float out the situation and see if anyone has any ideas for a solution that I havent been able to think of. Obviously it's not an ideal situation, to say the least. But I'm hopeful that I can change it or improve it

You're not looking to improve the situation, which would mean managing your ADHD, buckling down and working. You want a silver bullet solution, where you somehow get a top level position in a field you love, where all of the unrealized potential you seem convinced you have suddenly can flourish.

Good luck with that.

Seriously, the ego on this one! Her parents did a number on her.

And I’m really confused about how she is still single if she wants kids and a family? I am guessing she is EXTREMELY picky in men just like in jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am just wondering why no one pushed back on the OP's comments about lawyers not making much money? I mean....

OP, JDs or MBAs both have the potential to bring home $250-500 a year but it will require lots of work and focus. You take on debt, school will be demanding and then you will still land in roles like associate at a law firm or analyst at an investment bank. You will need to have discipline to pay back the loans also.

Why has no one suggested entrepreneur? Is there a business you are passionate about building? Lots of successful entrepreneurs did horrible in traditional workplaces, including my current boss. In your situation you can manage more risk than most. Do you have presence? Can you pitch investors?

Because it's true? Unless OP gets into a top-tier law school, performs very well, and gets a job in Big Law.

It didn't seem like OP would want to spend 3 years studying law and then sign up to grind out long hours as a BigLaw associate, at that point in her late 30's.

But it's certainly possible, if OP is interested in it and focused on it.

Imo law doesn’t sound like a good fit. Op should ideally incorporate some of her interests and strengths.

[Anonymous]

If you are figuring out how real life works in mid-30, you are not as smart as you think. Relying on the trust fund when you are young is probably the worst thing you could have done. Just simply stupid.