I have no savings and no retirement, I own nothing and have no inheritance coming what-so-ever

I'm not too worried, I have a good income and I can always keep the hustle up to make more online. My first novel is coming out February 14th, 2013, and I have my next two already lined up for staggered release after that.

I feel bad for people trying to fit into the whole mainstream paradigm of:

Need a house
Need a wife
Need kids
Need savings
Need a nice car

One person wrote above that they don't want to work 30 years to struggle to pay for it, and I agree. I can still reproduce with a woman and have the joy of kids, but I don't need to get married or have her live with me someday.

Think of how you'd feel being a 40-45 year old man with a couple of kids, and your wife wants a divorce where she'll get the house you worked 20+ years to pay for. Don't forget the alimony and child support, so that basically your entire life will be in servitude of holding up traditional ideals.

I know so many people with giant piles of money in the bank, and they never do anything with it other than spoil their gold digger girlfriends with another pair of Jimmy Chus

I remember when gas was 35 cents a litre, a subway footlong was like $5, a beer was like $2.50, and renting a bachelor suite in Vancouver could be had for like $450 a month...

That was only 15 years ago!

Strange, marijuana is the only thing that has actually become cheaper over the years!

Employers here won't even look at you straight unless you can shove three/four years of reports in their face.

I had one year of subsidized schooling at VCC (autobody), and at the end, I scored close to the top of my class.

Even if I show an employer that I'm more than capable, the answer is "you don't have enough experience".


I know that I could do a great job in the field, but nobody is even giving me a chance to show it. I'm shy, so all these failed attempts at putting myself out there are really fucking annoying.

Vancouver is not the place to be for a young startup.

More like Vancouver isn't a place for new grads/junior positions.

Everywhere is hiring junior positions/fresh grads except Vancouver in pretty much every industry. Unless you freelance for a while or intern for free, good luck finding a stable job.

It's definitely getting tougher and extremely risk to start up a small business because cash flow is always an issue even when you're making money and banks are flat out refusing to lend money unless you an hard asset like a house for collateral. The Canadian government also has small business loans but good luck with them, they only lend money for certain type of businesses and the process is a pain in the ass.

Vancouver has become a harder place for youths starting out in life - but it's all relative. You can come to Alberta with no education right out of high school and work your way up to a 6 figure salary sitting in an office within 3-5 years. We have it easy in Canada.

Thanked for the article.

You're correct. There is not a lot of Venture Capital in Vancouver -- The beauty of this is that business goes where the money goes. Fortunately, for local entrepreneurs this makes it so that only the absolutely great ideas get all the attention and funding.

Vancouver youth have it hard because they don't want to leave for opportunities elsewhere. Majority seem to shudder about going elsewhere in BC or even leave the province.

I'll probably get flamed for this but I've noticed from the Revscene demographic that quite a few young adults here tend to live with their parents and instead of saving up, they take out a loan for a new/slight used car or sometimes multiple old cars. To make it worse they spend tons on car mods, and shopping/eating out constantly. I know cars are a hobby and im not advocating being a hermit but some people need to make sacrifices and a strict budget. Furthermore to exacerbate the issue, they don't have that great of a wage/salary.

Can't bitch about how hard life is if you're not fiscally responsible.

If you're not getting the jobs you seek despite having great academic credentials to support your name; I'm going to guess that you're lacking in other areas (and I'm not talking about work experience).


I hate to sound like an asshole but the hard truth in the workforce is that you have to have a certain amount of social skill/and grace to close the deal on a job opportunity; because they're not just looking for a person who's capable, but one that fits in well with their professional team, or dynamic.


In fact, and this is hugely true; people get hired all the time despite not having the best academic/work credentials in comparison to their competitors.

Maybe you need to work on your social finesse.




But I will agree with the entirety of the topic that things are much harder now; and more competitive.

Some of the greatest ideas have the quietest voices

Like someone said before, a lot of people that go to university don't really know what they want to be once they finish. They go in there taking courses to get an "idea" of other things.

Some personal experience with school:
Luckily for me I really loved computers, math, and video games so my only option was comp sci. I went straight to BCIT after high school and did the 2 year diploma program for CST (Computer Systems Technology). It was pretty brutal, if you had no interest or just wanted to "see" what it was like, you would've probably failed after the first term. It's very direct and it taught me a lot and gave me a good taste of what it would be like after I graduated (pretty much just programming all the time :P). I also did a month at SFU because my mom wanted to get a "degree" but I dropped out.

Networking and being social helps as well. I don't think I would've been able to start my career if it wasn't for the friends that I made while at BCIT. A lot of the people there were pretty annoying but the few that I got to know were the ones that studied hard and wanted to finish.

It's not about what you know but who you know.

I've been in the mobile & web industry for about a year and a bit now and it's been pretty good. If you like programming it's definitely something I would recommend getting into and trying. You get to do a lot of really cool stuff as well when trying to push current tech and try to innovate old ideas.

I've been a part of a tech start up as well and I wouldn't say that it's dead in vancouver. There's a lot of good things that have come out of here. But yea there aren't a lot of investors thats for sure.

You guys should look up Brian Wong (Brian Wong, CEO and Founder, Kiip Inc. | BCBusiness). He graduated from UBC and he's the same age as me (21) but he already has his own 11 story? building + a great startup and idea.

My family owns a media company and it shocks me how many overqualified and highly talented people e-mail on a daily basis asking for jobs. I've had grads from schools like MIT emailing and inquiring about video operator positions or general studio work, positions which usually get filled by broadcast students and not MIT grads.

Same boat as you when it comes to savings, all my money is in my business but it's a growing asset so I don't stress about it because it'll pay off at the end. And I always say...if you want to build an empire you can't work 9-5 and brag about been debt free, you gotta take risks.

I'm on the ragged edge, money comes in, money goes out, there's a certain fire it gives you though. A forced-growth that attracts like minded individuals.

Also, being passionate about nearly anything attracts women like crazy. Well, maybe not passion for being a brony or smelling your own B.O. on the Skytrain, but passion for something that other people find rare and valuable. Storytelling, entrepreneurial spirit, sports, family, art, or what-have-you.

Throughout the ages, some of our most famous and gifted individuals, died broke without a penny to their names. They did, however, live incredible lives and leave behind legacies that will echo for centuries.

I have a solution, a good number of members should plan to rent out some farm land in south Burnaby in the future and start a trailer park... I know myself I would build a luxury RV out of a large Sprinter van if I had to rather then pay for a house.
Know that when locking down on a mortgage, your basically paying, what, 1/3 of the price in interest along with the other headaches and stresses of monthly bills.

http://i.imgur.com/6f9ak.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/6ukQw.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/f5895.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/XALQW.jpg

^That's exactly what I want to do and where I want to take my career. I don't care too much for the money, it goes in, it comes out.

But creating something out of your name or something out of your own two hands that you know will last way past your grave is worth more to me than money.

We are living in very incredible times.

Creative people have so many outlets, choose one you can entertain people and make a living from, and you have it made!

moving to Australia by next september. w00t w00t.

Looking for a camera operator or non-linear editor? :fullofwin:

Nobody is entitled to anything. I hate it to hear about how it was 'easier' before. Life changes, time changes. Vancouver has too many people expecting handouts and not willing to make sacrifices.

Vancouver has too many coddled youngsters.

That's why you need a prenup

Agreed. I don't know how one can make such bold statements like that. The older generations are probably rolling over in their graves when people say that bs.

It has always been competitive and will stay cut-throat in a capitalist market. Like all animals, we need to adapt to our changing environment to survive.