Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 34 year olds and have a small trust fund that gives me a monthly amount to live on. It’s enough to wear I can rent a good apartment in an urban area, pay my bills and groceries and have some left over, go out for the occasional dinner and save up for occasional vacations (not super often though)

Because of my trust, I’ve been able to not rely on working a 9-5 job. So my work history is peppered with jobs I started by left after 6 months (or 2 months) and then long stretches of not working. I have a college degree, but it’s in dance- hardly useful for getting an office job.

I am smart, believe it or not, and always tested very highly. My friends joke that I would make a better president of a company than the low level positions I have been working at. But obviously you have to stick it out at the job in order to get to higher positions, which I have not done so far. Or have the money to start your own company, which my trust does not allow for.

Now that I’m in my mid 30s, living off a trust fund does not seem as cool as it did in my 20s when lots of people were struggling to pay for their small shared apartments. Now I’m starting to see my peers make bigger salaries, go on way better vacations, buy houses, etc- stuff that I can’t do because I don’t have the income. And I know it’s just going to get worse as people move on and their salaries continue to grow with age.

So I guess my question is- does anyone have any advice about the best thing to do? I was always good in liberal arts fields- writing, history- but I know these fields are hard to break into. I'm starting to feel extremely bored with my life and aimless, like there's no point, and I'd like to have a career I'm passionate about where ideally I can also make a lot of money and afford the luxuries I grew up with. Any advice would be welcome.

Get over yourself, and seriously what a weird thing for your friends to say.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think OP lost interest in this thread already.

Heh. I mean, of course.

And here are us strivers still trying to fix the problem.

I literally laughed out loud.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think OP lost interest in this thread already.

Heh. I mean, of course.

And here are us strivers still trying to fix the problem.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think OP lost interest in this thread already.

Heh. I mean, of course.

And here are us strivers still trying to fix the problem.

Anonymous wrote:I think OP lost interest in this thread already.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's a different perspective: you were born with what 99% of people in the working world, even the lawyer/MBA types like myself, are busting their butts to achieve--a stable source of income for the rest of your life sufficient to cover your basic needs. Instead of trying to find a job that will let you buy more stuff and go on more/better vacations, consider taking your amazing freedom and using it to really explore the world or yourself. Ditch the apartment and use your rent money to travel around the world or live in a cabin in the woods for a year (the road less travelled, etc.). You can't start traveling now, of course, because of COVID, but you can start planning now so that you are ready to hit the ground running once things return to normal. You won't be staying in 4-star hotels, but you can see amazing things, meet amazing people, and broaden your horizons beyond buying more stuff to keep up with the Joneses.

If you feel like your life is unfulfilling now, do you really think an office job and bunch of fancy cars and nice vacations is going to give you a sense of purpose?

+1
Something to consider!

TOTALLY

I would also suggest joining some boards. It's way way way more fun to be on a board than to actually have to go to work every day - as you know, since you've quit all your jobs quickly upon starting them.

I don't know how big your monthly payment is. If it's big enough, why don't you start a nonprofit or a foundation or something that you can be in control of, and that way you don't need the tedium of having to go to work every fcking day.

You can do it however you want, but also that way when people ask you what you do you'll have an answer - Oh, I run the Baxter Family Trust. We give grants and support to animal shelters looking to reduce cat euthanasia across the country, and we fund programs to help at-risk shelter dogs get the training they need to be able to get adopted! It's super fulfilling. We've saved 30,000 animals this year by funding programs at 1000 shelters across the country, and next year we're expecting that number to double.

(I can help you figure out how to give out grants to shelters, if that is your interest. Just give a shout!)

LOL joining boards -- I work at a small nonprofit and we would never bring OP on unless she gave a bunch of money. Board want CPAs, lawyers, marketing people, MBAs. Op brings nothing to the table.

OP, start volunteering somewhere meaningful. You are literally wasting your life.

Well yeah obviously she'd have to contribute to the boards. The boards I know want people who have networks or expertise, or have money. It sounds like OP has money. And is looking for purpose. I could see plenty of boards wanting in on that.

What’s the going price for a board seat? Someone with a (seemingly) modest trust fund and no real world experience can just waltz in and get a seat?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't waste time with college classes or getting a degree in X. Since you can't hold down a typical job, the degree won't do you any good. It's a waste of time and money. Given that a lot of colleges/universities are online these days, do you really have the self discipline to complete consecutive online courses?

Since your passion and degree is Dance why not go into coaching or teaching dance? There are a ton of studios, rec centers, camps, etc that are always hiring that you could find a job.
Plus, teaching a bunch of dance classes isn't a 9-5 job so that's a plus since an office-type job is where you struggle.

Hec, even teaching a few zumba classes a few times a week would check off all your boxes.

This is terrible advice. Who would want to pay for their child or budding professional to take classes from a never-professional? College dance degree holders are people who paid 4 years of tuition dollars to self-actualizing their self-fantasies, not actual dancers who the public pays season tickets to watch perform. And frankly, nobody would pay to take physical training lessons from someone who is out of shape. A good number of college dance (i.e. modern dance) products do not have body types to aspire towards.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't waste time with college classes or getting a degree in X. Since you can't hold down a typical job, the degree won't do you any good. It's a waste of time and money. Given that a lot of colleges/universities are online these days, do you really have the self discipline to complete consecutive online courses?

Since your passion and degree is Dance why not go into coaching or teaching dance? There are a ton of studios, rec centers, camps, etc that are always hiring that you could find a job.
Plus, teaching a bunch of dance classes isn't a 9-5 job so that's a plus since an office-type job is where you struggle.

Hec, even teaching a few zumba classes a few times a week would check off all your boxes.

This is terrible advice. Who would want to pay for their child or budding professional to take classes from a never-professional? College dance degree holders are people who paid 4 years of tuition dollars to self-actualizing their self-fantasies, not actual dancers who the public pays season tickets to watch perform. And frankly, nobody would pay to take physical training lessons from someone who is out of shape. A good number of college dance (i.e. modern dance) products do not have body types to aspire towards.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't waste time with college classes or getting a degree in X. Since you can't hold down a typical job, the degree won't do you any good. It's a waste of time and money. Given that a lot of colleges/universities are online these days, do you really have the self discipline to complete consecutive online courses?

Since your passion and degree is Dance why not go into coaching or teaching dance? There are a ton of studios, rec centers, camps, etc that are always hiring that you could find a job.
Plus, teaching a bunch of dance classes isn't a 9-5 job so that's a plus since an office-type job is where you struggle.

Hec, even teaching a few zumba classes a few times a week would check off all your boxes.