There is a stigma to being unemployed, but I think the fact that you have accumulated wealth more than makes up for it. If I quit my job and didn't have much to fill my time, I would still feel pretty bored and additionally fairly unproductive. I think it would be good to find a job that you're passionate about (maybe some nonprofit you really like) and work there. If you want something cutting edge, there are tons of start ups in need of people with a quantitative background. Any way you slice it, your current lifestyle is supported by your current job, and if you change your career, you will likely have to change your lifestyle and possibly the city in which you live. I weigh heavier on the leisure side of the leisure/consumption tradeoff. Depending on where you fall in that continuum, your current position might or might not be the best fit for you.
Quitting your job....
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My dilemma is more at quitting at the bottom of the market. I am getting paid less now than I was before I was "promoted". If things turn around, I will have left behind significant upside that I worked hard to position myself for.
I am not entirely unemployable outside of finance, but I will have the start from the ground up. Yes, I know I have first world choices to make, but that doesn't necessarily make them easier.I dont understand how you can be 35 and feel like you're stuck in a career. Why dont you retrain for something else and find your true passion? Are you a banking quant running calibration routines or doing risk management?
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Not sure. I don't live with them so I dont know all the personal details. But I think you can ask to be laid off.
A good friend of mine did that recently. Couldnt stand the job, the workplace, it was having negative health effects on them, -- so just resigned without anything lined up. I applaud and salute the courage but not sure it was a good idea. Was on UI for about a year looking for work.
How'd he get UI after resigning?Yeah, you've got some BS going on. Not sure what u were told but you can't get UI after resigning. You have to be laid off and it can't be your fault you were fired.
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Very well put. I have view the tradeoff as current vs future leisure, but perhaps that is flawed. There is also the conditioning of the competitive streak which equates quitting to failure.
There is a stigma to being unemployed, but I think the fact that you have accumulated wealth more than makes up for it. If I quit my job and didn't have much to fill my time, I would still feel pretty bored and additionally fairly unproductive. I think it would be good to find a job that you're passionate about (maybe some nonprofit you really like) and work there. If you want something cutting edge, there are tons of start ups in need of people with a quantitative background. Any way you slice it, your current lifestyle is supported by your current job, and if you change your career, you will likely have to change your lifestyle and possibly the city in which you live. I weigh heavier on the leisure side of the leisure/consumption tradeoff. Depending on where you fall in that continuum, your current position might or might not be the best fit for you.
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risk management doesnt pay that kind of money except for mid managers.I dont understand how you can be 35 and feel like you're stuck in a career. Why dont you retrain for something else and find your true passion? Are you a banking quant running calibration routines or doing risk management?
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Did you go into industry after finishing your PhD? If so, there are lots of places that would be very happy to hire finance faculty that is willing to work on a regular econ salary. They would probably not want you to produce great research. You could still do some consulting on the side.
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I do not have a PhD in econ or finance. So I am unlikely to get anything but an adjunct position.
Did you go into industry after finishing your PhD? If so, there are lots of places that would be very happy to hire finance faculty that is willing to work on a regular econ salary. They would probably not want you to produce great research. You could still do some consulting on the side.
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If you are willing to go to a small regional teaching college you may still stand a chance. There are a lot of small places that mostly hire non-PhD faculty (accountants, MBAs etc.)
But in ether case, I don't think that your skill set is really that job specific that you cannot find some other, low-paced job, that still pays you 100k-ish for a 40-45hr work week. Try to find out what your transferable skills are. I am sure you have quite a lot of them.
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I never gave this a thought, but I have gotten so used to working with very smart people that I am not sure how I will handle having to teach students without motivation.
If you are willing to go to a small regional teaching college you may still stand a chance. There are a lot of small places that mostly hire non-PhD faculty (accountants, MBAs etc.)
But in ether case, I don't think that your skill set is really that job specific that you cannot find some other, low-paced job, that still pays you 100k-ish for a 40-45hr work week. Try to find out what your transferable skills are. I am sure you have quite a lot of them. -
You're only unemployed if you're looking for a job but unable to obtain one. If you're not looking you're not in the workforce.
Bro I so want to do this, but scared of pulling the trigger. I am also concerned with the social stigma of being unemployed.
Alright, my suggestion is to resign immediately and book a flight to Southeast Asia. Travel for the next 12 months minimum, spending most of your time in lower cost places like Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, but also take side trips to Korea, China, and Japan. Rent a furnished apartment for 1-3 months at a time as a base for your travels. Invest your $1.5mn in a balanced fund and plan to spend about $2K/month, which should be less than the dividends and interest you receive. Visit the US, but do not spend more than 30 days per year there, or else you could be forced to buy health insurance due to Obamacare. Cultivate some longer term interests, hobbies that you have put on the backburner while slaving away to buy this time. While overseas, convert at least $15K/year from your 401K to a Roth. You have no reason to work another day in your life. -
You're only unemployed if you're looking for a job but unable to obtain one. If you're not looking you're not in the workforce.
There exist definitions where you are not employed but you are also not officially unemployed. This is fine if you're talking to a group of economists. It turns into a longer conversation with people of other backgrounds, though. If you don't have a job, it's trickier to answer the question, "So what do you do?"
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Conditional on having spent a few years on wall street, that is not a high salary at all. I have had better years when times were good.
Jesus dood, what do u do that u have.400k p.y. are u econ phd
Finance. 300-400k. About 1.5 million. 8k/month,majority is rent and eating out. I am single and pushing 35. Is there any hope for me ?
What industry? Pay? Savings? Living expenses? -
It is not unemployed. Learn to dive. Given how much you have managed to save so far, it is clear you can husband your money properly. Don't worry. Write a book about this and all those others will buy it and you will make another million.
I am in the same position, and but for spouse and children I would do this now. Or so I say.
As an intermediate step, why not look for a new job but create a gap between your new starting date and when you quite your current one -- say 6 months. Even if it is less pay you are hedging. See how those 6 months go....
Bro I so want to do this, but scared of pulling the trigger. I am also concerned with the social stigma of being unemployed.
Alright, my suggestion is to resign immediately and book a flight to Southeast Asia. Travel for the next 12 months minimum, spending most of your time in lower cost places like Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, but also take side trips to Korea, China, and Japan. Rent a furnished apartment for 1-3 months at a time as a base for your travels. Invest your $1.5mn in a balanced fund and plan to spend about $2K/month, which should be less than the dividends and interest you receive. Visit the US, but do not spend more than 30 days per year there, or else you could be forced to buy health insurance due to Obamacare. Cultivate some longer term interests, hobbies that you have put on the backburner while slaving away to buy this time. While overseas, convert at least $15K/year from your 401K to a Roth. You have no reason to work another day in your life. -
How many is a few years? 5? 10? I know ppl who are 5 years in and make 200k
Conditional on having spent a few years on wall street, that is not a high salary at all. I have had better years when times were good.
Jesus dood, what do u do that u have.400k p.y. are u econ phd
Finance. 300-400k. About 1.5 million. 8k/month,majority is rent and eating out. I am single and pushing 35. Is there any hope for me ?
What industry? Pay? Savings? Living expenses? -
What part of finance exactly are you in? Quant investing recruiting is on fire.
The industry is shrinking and there is not a lot of hiring going on. Friends in peer jobs are even more dissatisfied, so moving jobs, even if possible, will probably only put off the inevitable.
I suppose one reason for the burnout is that the professional dissatisfaction is fairly endemic. It is hard to like what you are doing when everyone around you is miserable.
sorry to hear about your former colleagues. if things are that bad in the industry you work, i would not quit my job because i'm a risk averse person.
maybe try looking for a new job and set your start date accordingly so that you can take a 6 month vacation in between the jobs?
Thank you for pointing out the nuance i failed to articulate. Difficult to take just an year off. There is oversupply in the industry i work in and once you are out, it is difficult to get back in. Several of my former colleagues are still unemployed, several years after having been laid off.