Love that advice, particularly because it points to the problem – it’s hard to help others when you don’t have the necessary skills and education. I think it’s great that so many young people want to make a difference, but ironically the fastest way to make a real difference is to take your time and build up some skills/financial means to do so.

It’s awesome to hear that you’re starting to “uncover possible passions” before you’re 30. I think it’s rare for most people to discover what they love even that early on. It sounds like your decision to prioritize your finances has put you in a great position to pursue whatever path you want in life very soon. Thanks for the feedback, I’m looking forward to seeing where your journey takes you from here 🙂

Well said. I agree that the most important thing is for one to acquire the skillsets from the jobs which come along the way and subsequently decide on the paths thereafter. Use the money generated from the day job and use it to build up the investment portfolio who generate dividends on a constant basis. In time to come, one does not have to rely on the full-time employment for survival.

WTK

So true. A friend is at a high level in an international health organization that does international tuberculosis and HIV work. She is constantly pinged by college students and recent college graduates who are passionate to get into the field, or want to go volunteer at health clinics in Africa and Southeast Asia to help all those poor, sick people. Her advice? Go get a nursing degree and get some skills, then come back.

I’d been warned by my mom all my life that a job is a job and its purpose is to make money so I chose a job based on that: one I could stand (since I wouldn’t be uncomfortable in pants suits…) that would make money without driving me crazy. She also warned me about passions and said something similar to the quote above – when you’re 21 it’s rare to know what you’re passionate about. I certainly didn’t. I’m almost 30 and only now starting to uncover possible passions (personal finance being one of them!)

A lot of my friends left college and took the opposite approach. I wish they had followed Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s advice because though they are following their passions and helping people they are supremely stressed out because of a lack of money due to low income. Not only is it stressful because they don’t have a cushion, but pursuing their passions first seemed to box them in – to more debt, to not being able to travel like they wanted to etc. I stumbled into my current situation and I know everything makes sense in hindsight, but I’m very happy with where the path I chose has taken me. There’s no way I’d be 2 years from FIRE if I’d taken the passion path. How’s that for a longwinded answer? 🙂