INTRO TO SKIPNSK8
When I was in high school, I skipped a large portion of my classes because I didn't enjoy reading books and studying. I realized that it was not the case later on. I just couldn't deal with the boredom, but mainly, I didn't know what I wanted to do and what I wanted to be. Though I had a natural ability of an entrepreneur, I always thought that getting a secured job with good salary was the way to go. That was the reason for me to keep searching for a job rather than creating opportunities to become an entrepreneur or an investor.
Not having skills or credentials in demand, it was not easy to find a job that paid a good wage to build my future financially. Not to mention, the competition was brutal. Around 2008 to 2010 - The collapse of housing market, I've seen the worst side of human beings. People were running around backstabbing people left and right in order to keep a job and pay their mortgages. I was a victim of that unfortunate event too. I was literally left for dead in an hospital with around 20K debt.
Out of many high school friends I knew, there were only handful who survived without any financial issues during that recession. Those ones who knew exactly what they wanted and invested their time and effort towards that ultimate goal and high paying job survived. Thinking back, if I didn't waste my time and effort with people who didn't have the best interest for me and just focused on my financial and life goals, I probably didn't have to wander and go through one too many unnecessary hardships.
If you are currently thinking about going to school of any kind, you should really take your time and think twice before you make that decision. There is nothing wrong with learning, but you don't want to waste your valuable time and money. Obtaining any degree won't guarantee a great paying job and a career. It is even getting worse as we move forward in the society due to lack of retirements and promotions within corporations.
This COVID-19 pandemic also proved that even teaching jobs are not safe, and businesses can get shut down easily. You can't no longer just have any one job thinking that it will be enough for you to retire and live comfortably. If you are young, I don't want you to make the same mistakes I've made. You don't understand how tough it was for me to survive all obstacles. That being said, I would like to share a story here to give you a better picture.
It was a busy night in Syracuse University campus. There were nothing but students and their parents and others from all over the country for Family Weekend. It was after a football game, I was hanging out by myself nearby Marshall street. As I was just watching my time fly, I was approached by a woman who wanted to talk about her situation.
This woman was a mother of two SU students and she was there to spend some time with her daughters. During our conversation, she started to tell me about her concerns regarding her daughters in school and family financial situation. She was disappointed in herself and inability to pay for her daughters to join sororities. Then she told me about her son who graduated not too long ago. After his 4 years of university, he couldn't find a job in his field for a long time. He eventually found a job working for a call center. However, he had to quit within a couple of weeks because the company was a borderline fraud. His conscience was probably eating him alive.
With her son back living at home under this circumstance, she was worried about being able to handle her mortgage in a suburb of NYC plus all other expenses. I immediately understood her pain and concerns. She was a single mother who raised 3 kids. And her daughter's crying and pressuring for money to join a sorority was definitely not helping the situation. Then again, I could also understand how a young girl would feel and think at that age from popularity contest to FOMO. I could totally understand.
I asked her how much she had to pay for her daughter to join a sorority. I forgot the exact amount, but it was definitely not a chump change. Then she wanted to know what I thought about the situation and what I would do. I told her that there is a value in being a part of sorority as long as it will get you a guaranteed high paying job right after school. However, what was the chance of that happening? Also, if it did happen, how long could her daughter possibly keep the same job or stay in the company without getting fired or laid off? Because she worked in corporate settings, she understood.
Though it is not a huge sum of money, but with that kind of money, her daughter could start a small business based on her interest or passion. And if she works hard at it with the right people, she might not even need to call anybody to ask for job interviews at all rest of her life. I told the mother the same thing. Then I gave her a couple of easy ideas her daughter could do and build while in school. While I could tell her about trading stocks and etc, but those are much more risky. I knew people who couldn't go to sleep at night because of trading stocks and losing big money. I don't even personally trade stocks due to my self-awareness.
After this encounter, I started to ask random students in campus about their career plans after the graduation for months. About 60% didn't have a clue, 30% was living in a fantasy engineered by their friends or rich parents, and 10% knew exactly what they were going to do. This discovery made me think to myself, 'Wow, these kids have no idea that there is a perfect storm waiting for them in the job market and working for corporations.'
I was also one of 60% who didn't have a clue at that age except I didn't pay $80K plus expenses for 4 or 5 years. I wandered around and wasted my time for years until I joined the United States Navy in Brooklyn, NY. When I got out, I moved back to Toronto for all the wrong reasons. I did have a nice job that I enjoyed, but it didn't last long because of the housing market collapse of 2008 - 2009.
It was pretty much survival mode during that time. People were losing jobs left and right. From being end up in ER for an operation and having $20K debt with no job to where I am right now during this pandemic, I had a long roller coaster ride. Thanks to what my Math teacher told me in high school, I was able to weather this pandemic storm. But now that I'm kind of back in square one, I have a much longer way to go, and I have to work harder and smarter than before to make up that loss. I'm upset about the setback, but I understand that it's just a part of the game.
Technically, I'm not completely back to square one financially, I just don't have enough cash I would like to have on hand. Now that I know where I want to settle, I want to have more money to buy a property, but that could take a long time depending on how the economy or the market recovers. The year before I left Syracuse for good, I earned close to 80K USD. I have no university degree. I'm not a lawyer. I was able to do that number because I had a full time job working for a Fortune 100 corporation and 3 other side hustles.
The money from my full time job was my main bread and butter, but I was miserable for the most part when I was working in that place. That workplace was rampant with scandals and nepotism. It was toxic working environment for me to stay for too long, and eventually, I was unexpectedly forced to resign and move on after everything I've done for them and their "numbers".
It was not an easy decision to resign mainly due to my initial fear of losing that main bread and butter. However, I couldn't stop thinking that I would eventually regret years down the road. I thought about the time when I was in hospital with 20K debt, then I told myself that I've been through worse. After watching some managers over the years, there was no way I was going to become one of them in order to join the "boys club" and advance within the company.
Was it the wrong decision? Leaving a Fortune 100 corporation where majority of people want to work for and enjoy that job security? Only the time and my hard work will tell. As of right now, I'm doing better than ever mentally and I'm so much happier than working in that company. I'm smiling more often now than before and I'm somewhat excited to see what the future will bring.
I recently made a decision to create this website to build a community, connect and help others who are also currently experiencing similar hardships or situations. Don't give up and don't waste your life like I have in the past. Whatever you are going through will not last. I'm not suppose to have a business and do everything that I'm doing now. There is no way you would've told me that this was possible back when I was in the hospital with 20K debt. However, I'm here to tell you that it is all possible if you believe in yourself, sacrifice and work harder and smarter. So if you have any questions regarding career, business, corporate politics, please feel free to drop me a line and I will do my best to answer your questions to help you.