MyLifeMyCareer.com

College grads with the usual entry-level salary are more like 40k millionaires, but you get the point. If you don't get the point, check out the always classic definition from Urban dictionary:

A 30k millionaire is a person, usually a guy, who makes around 30k a year, usually from working at a window tinting shop, loan office, or an occupation that does not by any means require a college degree. With his pitiful a income, he spends it all on bottles of champagne at clubs, a boat,a nice car, and sometimes a 3-day trip to Vegas, only to be left with nothing in his account by overdraft fees and possibly a pending loan...(more)

I'm familiar with the term, have friends that definitely fit the bill, and actually came across it again when looking at, well, boats. I'm a huge fan of living at the lake in the summer, and enjoy boating. The cheapest wakeboarding boats are in the 35-40k range, so do the math. It would have to be a long term loan with a higher interest rate to realistically happen. Boats are a horrible financial investment, but I'm only young and able once. I have health insurance, dental, vision, short-term and long-term disability, life insurance, a Roth IRA, a 401K, and a stock portfolio. That's enough responsibility and deductions out of my paycheck to negate any comments of financial irresponsibility. Why not balance that out with a little irresponsibility by getting a boat loan before a mortgage?

I don't run game, buy drinks for random girls at the bar, or even go to bars very often. When I do go I never open up tabs, and only take cash. I like to be liquid and have a limit when I'm spending money on being social. I don't buy designer clothes, accessories, or the newest weekly special at Best Buy. I used to be a huge impulse buyer, but I've tamed that habit and do plenty of research before making even small purchases. You could say I am living more like a 45 year old married guy with 3 kids - but I'm not. I'm saving up for things that I truly enjoy, and would get a lot of use out of.

I like to play the card that another year will have passed, I'm almost 25, and if I don't do it now I never will. That's what blood-sucking lenders want to hear, my parents are scared to hear, and I like to hear these words come out of my own thoughts every now and then to help push me over the edge. The only thing holding me back at this point is - will I have the ability to change my job or career if I have a change of heart or will this boat loan lock me into my current position? That's where the responsible side of my decision-making comes into play, and I go back to sitting on my hands thinking about what a horrible decision this would be.

I enjoy having the freedom and ability to change jobs at any point to stay happy should something turn sour in my current situation. I have no mortgage, just an apartment lease that I could easily break. I can take my car loan with my other belongings - mostly easy to assemble furniture which is easy to move. I could take the boat with me, but the financial burden of the loan may be the kicker. I don't want to settle into a work position because of a finance issue, and be unhappy for years to come.

30k millionaires don't think like this.

As I was thinking about what to post this week, I was thinking back to what I experienced this week at work, talking with friends about work, and reading articles and blogs regarding work and careers. I'm going on over a year and a half with the same company that I started with after college and realized that I'm really hitting stride now that the bulk of the initial learning is complete.

I was thinking about the frustrations that come along with taking on a new role, and learning how to perform a new function - while performing that function. The sink or swim method of teaching and passing on knowledge is rough at first, but I can be sitting in front of a demo, instructional video, or a one-on-one training session and only absorb the most basic steps of the process. By actually doing what is being taught I tend to learn much more quickly and efficiently. The mistakes, hurdles, trouble-shooting, and uncertainty of the process as a whole can be daunting, especially when you have other projects and deadlines to hit. All of these factors are necessary in order for you to learn and experience a process that looked orderly on paper, but can only be completely absorbed through all of the non-documented factors coming at you in real-time.

I'm not sure how big or what the expected duration of the initial learning curve is for most entry-level positions, but once you start to see the light at the end of the tunnel the added stress of training on top of working is removed. Work simply becomes work at that point. The learning never stops as processes rarely remain unchanged for long, but seeing the big picture through the experience and first-hand knowledge from completing your projects in the first few years really makes the new tasks seem smaller.

It can be extremely frustrating climbing up the learning curve while your managers and co-workers expect you perform other necessary functions at the same time. With the growth and rate or work speed in America, isolated training for new employees is a huge expense and not an option for most companies. Getting through the first 12-18 months will be tough, but seeing the time invested come to fruition is a good feeling and makes you appreciate the fact that you stuck around and stayed committed.

I know that job-jumping, freelancing, and having employment gaps are all accepted and encouraged according to the new laws of business, but there is nothing wrong with sticking around, flattening the learning curve, and enjoying yourself a bit.

Hopefully you all enjoyed a nice couple of weeks off from the studying, cramming, and attempts to maintain or boost the ol' GPA. Including the weekends and holidays I had 11 straight days off where I was completely disconnected from work and nowhere near the office or cubicle. Unfortunately, I had five straight days of holiday parties and family get-togethers followed by a nine hour drive to Memphis, TN for a wedding. After driving back the day before New Year's Eve I didn't even feel like going out and partying, but I made a brief appearance at a house party before hanging out in a much more relaxing and low-key apartment shin-dig involving two other people.

Before I knew it, I was back at work sorting through emails and voicemails from while I was out and coming up with a plan of attack to take care of project work in a timely fashion. Even though the time off wasn't the most relaxing, just being away from the office environment, client calls, and project deadlines for an extended period of time was enough to allow me to return and be more productive. After three days of 8 straight hours of work per day I'm ready for another vacation - which is where the weekend comes into play.

I'm sure as students you will start to feel the weight of coursework assignments and stress building up as the first few "orientation" and sessions basically covering the syllabus are overcome by actual lectures and assignments. As a freshman, I thought that the three week break between semesters was almost too long and couldn't wait to get back to the grind. Once back in an auditorium listening to a lecture for a course that I was required to take commenced I started wishing I was back at home messing around.

One of my flaws is not being able to fully relax, and always thinking about work or what is coming next. In college, as breaks would drag on I would look forward to the coming semester. Once it arrived, I would look forward to being done with the semester. This is a vicious cycle, and one that I've been trying to break by really taking the time to relax or take part in something that I enjoy from reading or writing to going out to the local bars with friends.

There will be times this semester as with any previous semester where you will turn down social opportunities due to coursework that you will feel needs to be completed in order for you to feel like you can relax and have a drink with your friends. Looking back, I know that I did this way more than I should have realizing that the assignments or studying never took as much effort or time that I predicted they would. I'm not saying, "Screw School, Have Fun", I'm saying "Work hard - especially in courses that matter to you and could benefit your career the most, but play harder". This will allow you to manage the stress and worries that come along with the whole going to college thing.

In the words of comedian, Lewis Black, from the movie, Accepted - "You only have four short years here. And then you're f*****". When you're in college, this is pretty much the battle cry. When you're out of college, you see that life is still very fun if you take the time to enjoy it and take adequate time off from work in order to re-charge and maintain the work/life balance. My goal this year is to use more of my vacation days, and hopefully increasing productivity and contributions while at work as a result.