Comments on: Reader Question: Should I Keep my Stressful High-Income Job to Reach F.I. as Fast as Possible?

By: Ben

Ben — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 17:25:12 +0000

Hi all,

It’s not always the situation whereby a lower paying job entails lower stress. I encountered one such circumstance in which the stress level is lower in the higher paying job than lower one.

I guess that it’s up to the profile of the organisation. My take is that it is more appropriate to move to higher paying job as per se.

Ben

By: Damn Millennial

Damn Millennial — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 21:19:30 +0000

I would say stick it out as well. As painful as it may be until she has a nice base. Once the assets start to build up the stress slowly erodes knowing you don’t need it anymore.

The grass is certainly not always greener. I would however focus on what a happier role may look like in a couple of years or however long it may take to build stability.

By: Margin of Saving

Margin of Saving — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 02:56:20 +0000

Gov’t job with no vacation and always on call? I’m guessing CIA:)
I fall into the unicorn camp as well. It’s stressful, but I love it, so that doesn’t really count!

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 20:53:14 +0000

In reply to Samantha Andrews.

Thanks for the suggestion, Sam! I’m really glad to hear that you’ve found something that works for you and that you’re excited about 🙂 It’s funny you mention something like this because I have considered doing something similar before. As you said, I know a fair amount of HTML, CSS, and Javascript. I also know SQL pretty well because I use it at my day job often. PHP is still a language I’m not familiar with, though. Right now I’m trying to learn more about a specific JavaScript library called D3.js to potentially switch fields to data visualization.

Thanks so much for the suggestion and best of luck with the web development path 🙂

By: Samantha Andrews

Samantha Andrews — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 17:53:46 +0000

Hey Zach! I just wanted to offer a suggestion. I’m currently taking a break from work to be in an immersive Full Stack Web Development/App Development Bootcamp. I’m only the first week in, but it’s already an amazing experience. I’m learning so much at a rapid pace, all while collaborating with peers! It feels like something you’d be good at, so I thought I’d share. I even found grant funding to get the whole thing paid for. I know you already know some HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and I bet you could find some opportunities that go more in-depth with other languages or the back-end languages and databases (I’m learning PHP and mySQL, for example).

I’m finding that web development is my path to financial independence AND doing the type of work I love (design and creation). It also offers the freedom to work remotely, start my own business, etc. Happy New Year!

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 15:01:11 +0000

In reply to paying for private school.

“Don’t save it up for the end” – complete agree with you on that.

By: paying for private school

paying for private school — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 01:57:38 +0000

My opinion:
Live the life you want to live – now. If that means the office gig – do that. If that means sticking it out where you are – do that.

Don’t save it up for the end. Your smart enough to make either situation work just fine.

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 14:07:45 +0000

In reply to WealthyDoc.

That’s fantastic that you were able to transition to a lower-paying job and have such an enjoyable career. I agree with you – it’s likely not worth it to stick it out at a job she can’t stand. It’s important to enjoy the journey to wealth.

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 14:06:06 +0000

In reply to Millennial Boss. A pay cut can be a great path to a less stressful job. That's awesome that you were able to take a cut and still be well-paid. You must be in a technical industry. Thanks for the feedback :)

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 13:59:58 +0000

In reply to Joe Saul-Sehy.

Thanks for the feedback, Joe! You make a lot of great points – potentially the easiest solution would be to find a way to make her current role less stressful. That isn’t an option I explored deeply here. Also, I believe the reader is very young and still quite far away from her F.I. date, which makes sticking it out with her company until F.I. seem like a less appealing option. Glad you liked this piece and thanks for commenting! 🙂