Should I give up a $50,000 a year career I hate for a possibly di

[Syniq]

OK, so, that's probably a bit of a confrontational topic title, but it actually really does sum up how I'm feeling right now.

 

I'm a PHP programmer in London, and, to be frank, I really don't enjoy my job. I want to open a vineyard in Catalunya, but that's going to need me to have saved up at least £15,000 to do.

 

Now, I should point out that, whilst I like drinking wine (and spirits, and anything alcoholic, TBH ), what I really love is writing music and experimenting with creating unusual beverages (sometimes at the same time ).

 

I've come up with at least one unusual sparking wine which I believe is mass marketable, and at least one liqueur which needs only a little work. (That was in conjunction with a friend, who is a licensed distiller. )

 

I hate my current job. Well, I lie a bit, actually. I start my 'current' job when I land back in London tomorrow morning. I'm currently in Barcelona, and I ended my previous job on Friday 7th October, 2011.

 

The problem I've got is that I've been to Barcelona 5 times, and I've visited Valencia once and Galicia twice. Each time, I've fallen more in love with the region, and each time I've been to Barcelona I've found it increasingly hard to leave. And every time, I've been reminded more of why I hate London.

 

In Catalunya (and especially Mallorca) people will greet you on the street, even if they don't know you.

 

In London, people will walk past you, even if you're screaming for help even if you've torn all the tendons in your legs. (Personal experience there…)

 

So, I know I should keep my job for at least long enough to buy some land to start my dream vineyard, but, honestly, I hate London, and I really don't enjoy my job, so, what should I do?

[Robbiee]

You should always choose what will end up making you happy in the long run. So move!

 

But make sure you have a good amount of money saved up.

Edited October 16, 2011 by Misaki

[JamesSavik]

In this economy, the wise move may be to keep what you have until you KNOW that you will land on your feet.

 

That may mean going slow- keeping the job while working on the new enterprise on the side for a while.

 

I don't know all that there is to know about your situation. It's up to you to do your due diligence: market research, planning and financing.

 

My best advice: look carefully before you leap.

 

All the best of luck.

 

At this point I'd like a gig that I hated for a stable 50K/year.

Edited October 16, 2011 by jamessavik

[intune]

Now is the only time there is. It's nice to plan for the future but what if you get stuck in this job? If you can do something you like better now then I say go for it.

[Michael9344]

I think you should stick with the job that are with now for a while. The economy is bad and unstable. It's not exactly the perfect time to be considering making a change like this that would probably leave you in the open for an economical illness:-). Save more money, before you switch over, I suggest.

 

I think you should stick with the job that are with now for a while. The economy is bad and unstable. It's not exactly the perfect time to be considering making a change like this that would probably leave you in the open for an economical illness:-). Save more money, before you switch over, I suggest.

[Benji]

..................I gotta agree her, stick to the job, the economy sucks and what definite handhold have you if it fails! I would wish you the best in your venture but what life line are you holding on to? Your stated here as being 25 years old, can you keep up the dream and hold monies until you are at least 30-35? I made a big mistake years ago, the wife wanted to venture out into large properties and build, but she suffered a massive stroke, the house we had was lost yet would have been paid for ten years ago. Now, we are in a rough spot facing foreclosure ourselves. I think i can understand that as a young (maybe single person) making 50,000 a year you would feel the advent of adventure and exploring your dreams and wishes. Yet you need to understand you need a back-up plan if it fails. Again the economy id the biggest factor here, best of luck though!

[Nephylim]

You're young; you have time.

 

Dreams are something to aim for, to create and glory in; to change the mundane to the special, the impossible to the possible.

 

If you start the job feeling that you are going to hate it then you will. Throw yourself into the job with as much enthusiasm and will as you can. Instead of looking for the negatives focus on the positives. There has to be SOMETHING you like even if it's only a really nice coffee shop across the road that you can have lunch in every day to provide a bright spot.

 

Go to work every day knowing it is one day closer to your dream. One more day's pay in the bank.

 

If you hate London so much look for a job somewhere else. It's very expensive to live in London. Stay where you are until you can find somewhere else but look around in other parts of the Country where the standard of living is lower. You could easily get that salary elsewhere. Take a look at Cardiff. It's beautiful city and we are a very friendly lot. Life is fast for me but slow for London.

 

Make sure you have enough money to last you for at least a year in case things are slow to take off.

 

Buy the land while you are still working and do as much preparation as you can while there is still a wage coming in. Try not to borrow money as the least debt you have when you start your business the better. It could take years but think how many years will lie ahead with a successful business supporting you. A little time and patience now will pay dividends in the future.

[Andrew Q Gordon]

I'm probably a terrible person to give advice on this because this is what I wished I'd done but didn't.

 

As most know I'm a lawyer - prosecutor actually - and while I love my work and job - it's a good office with great, generous, friendly people - I hate my work. I know. What I mean is I wanted to ditch law and do something else, I don't know what, but anything NOT in an office. I hate that I bring work - even if it's not 'work' I bring my work home with me - Even at home I'll stew about cases, idiot defense counsel, stupid judges you get the idea. So for me, I wish I'd followed my heart and left the law 20 years ago and set out to find what made me happy - The reason I didn't was I met Mike - my partner. He wasn't the type to ditch the job and go in search of what makes him happy. He's always wanted to own a nursery or a landscape architect business, but he worried about paying the rent etc. Although I had money saved for my 'search', I stashed it and we moved in, etc.

 

Fast forward, we dreamed, we had fun, we bought a house, we got dogs, bought a new house, talked about kids, bought this house, had a kid, and viola, in a position from which I can't easily get out. My point isn't my life sucks, far from it, but IF you want to do something different, the time to do it is BEFORE you take on obligations. Mortgage, partner, kid etc. Each new addition makes it harder to follow your dream because each new addition adds a layer of responsibility.

 

Now at the risk of my immortal soul, I'm going to disagree with Nephy. Yeah you are young and have time, but don't think there were be a better time in the future. Chase your dreams while you're young. IF it doesn't work out, you have time to recover and rebuilt. If you try it when you're my age - and things don't work out, you have so much less time to recover and rebuild.

 

As I said at the start, I'm probably a bad person to give advice because I wish I had followed my heart and not chased a paycheck and a house etc. I might be better off if i had done it, but maybe not. So, unless you're the type to worry about money and what will happen to you if you fail etc, I'd do what will make you happy, but not without a bit of planning and extra thought. Following one's dream doesn't mean doing it foolishly or haphazardly.

 

Not sure I helped, but that is my opinion.

 

Andy

[Westie]

PHP programmer? Consider a move up north. You would still earn the big bucks (esp on contractor's rates ), and could svae up that money faster and without giving up your creature comforts. London is expensive. Consider newcastle. Get the right contracting job, and you might even get them to pay your expenses (hotel living during the week)...

[Dannsar]

Lordy ... let me tell you this ... you can't take anything out with you from this life, not even happiness. So there is no point in constantly stashing anything, and you can't stash happiness either. The best you can hope for is that you are in a state of happiness when you go. And let me tell you this ... even if you're living on the breadline when you get to the exit, if you have tried, and have enjoyed yourself in the search or struggle for what you wanted to do, you are most likely to go through the big door with a smile in your heart.

 

That's the philosophical bit Now to pragmatics. It seems to me that it is pretty easy to save £15,000 from a £50k salary even if you are in London. It's not about whether you can, it's about whether you want to. Live the life of a hermit and do the research and planning in that year. It will go past, and the closer you get to it, the less it will hurt.

 

Plus, I don't know if you've noticed, but you have a pretty transferable skill. Remember that even when you do make the move, you can probably still pick up home based work to supplement income. Web development is not complicated and doing a bit of freelance work on the side will help keep the wolf from the door. (It will also keep your hand in at the programming etc, in case you have to go back).

 

Chasing the dream is the only real option. If you don't, it will keep disappearing over the horizon. And when you get on in life, like me and Cutie ( ) you understand that the space left for options is much narrower. Better to crash and burn early, if it has to happen, and have plenty time to resolve it with the energy you have in youth, than to wait, and then find you don't have the energy or your motivating impetus had been strangled out of you.

 

Finally. Money. Money is feck all. It is nothing. You can live on very little and be happy. Take the year, mr.. Then get the hell out. Enjoy it, even if the ride is bumpy. And good luck! xx

[Daddydavek]

It definitely makes sense to follow your heart before you have personal commitments and responsibilities. I think Andy's advice is spot on! Everybody accumulates regrets. Minimizing them is the goal.

[Syniq]

Yeah, I'm actually looking to move out of London soon—possibly to somewhere in Kent, as it's got a fast commuter train straight into St Pancras, which is very near where the new job is (Camden Town).

 

I think that will help a lot. Also, wherever I move to would have to have a garage, which I'd set up a microbrewery in to play around with different ideas I've got.

 

I have thought about waiting a few more years before going into this, but by then things will probably be a lot more difficult to change, as Quonos10 says. Although, hopefully no babies for me by that point.

 

It's difficult, really.

[Mark Arbour]

I'll talk to students who are majoring in accounting, but they hate accounting. I ask them why they major in it, and they reply that it's because that's the best major to have to get a job. I point out to them that what good is getting a job if it's a job you hate?

 

Follow your dreams, and don't be afraid of failure. Find a successful businessman, and you'll find a man who's failed at least once. If you don't take the risk, you'll end up stuck in a cubicle for the rest of your life. Ignore all the cautionary comments. There are always reasons NOT to take the chance. That's not to say you shouldn't have a plan, and a thorough plan at that. But once you figure out what you're going to do, go for it. Follow your dream.

[Mal]

I've had problems with this my whole life. I do know one thing. If you don't pursue your dreams, you will always wonder if. If you have the chance, take it. Take it as soon as possible, or you may spend your life saying I will when I'm more blank. Fill it in with any excuse, and you have an unhappy person in a midlife crisis. Follow your bliss. You will rather look back when you are older and say, hey I tried my dreams, I made the attempt and learned and had the time of my life, than say I got by day to day and made a decent living. Life is too short to put off dreams if you have the chance to fulfill them now. Eff the economy. Yeah, it makes it harder, but so much more worth it. If you have something you believe in, do it and don't look back.

[johnlaw]

I once got a token with the following words written on it:

"Choose a job that you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life." (or something like that)

 

This has been my guide since. I really feel terrible doing anything that I don't like. So I ended up starting a business with my friends after college and fortunately enough, it is still alive and kicking. Though of course there will be pros and cons in the decision.

 

Since you own your company, you're called the boss (hahaha, but just teasing you about it. ) You have to be the leader for all. As Uncle Ben said "With great power comes great responsibility." It definitely is difficult to run your own. I will have to agree with Mission Commander Swanbeck: "Mr. Hunt, this isn't mission difficult, it's mission impossible. "Difficult" should be a walk in the park for you."

 

You control your own pacing. This is what I love. Don't have to wake up so early in the morning. But then again, as far as what we're doing at work, you really have to work overtime. No other people will do it for you. My other personal mantra that I'm trying to kick is "If you want to get things done, you have to do it yourself." Gotta learn to delegate. But getting skilled people and doing it right is difficult as well (because probably they are also in your predicament and not very happy with work.)

 

Since the worldwide economy is generally not doing well, remember that instead of receiving, you are giving. It's driving me nuts having to put out so cash each month for operations and having worry if there are new projects come in. It's not for the faint hearted.

 

Ultimately it is up to you to make the decision. No matter how good a plan sounds, you should have a backup plan. Things don't always go as planned - no matter how good it looks in the drawing board. Taking calculated risks are also part of life. Hope what I said makes it easier,

 

P.S. I apologize if there are grammatical mistakes and typos. Didn't care to edit my post as it drained my mind. It made me sleepy (hahahaha...)