Career Dilemma, need some advice

[tdubl]

hi all,

thanks for browsing my thread

okay, so here it goes.. im in the mid 20s and i am determined to figure where my career goes this year. My problem consists of 3 things or whatever factors you may advice me to take.

1. For education i have completed the Associates of Arts Degree, and i have ambitions for continuing my education towards a BA in Human Geography thru sfu or ubc, but my problem with school is my first few years of college haunts me today and averages my GPA into a 2.2 something. I can continue to upgrade and boost that gpa up but my problem that has been chasing my tail are CC debts, that are piling outta control. I dont know if you felt shitty about being in debt or not and actually does a mental thing to me and i always think about it, and I'm sure students out there feel complete shit when they goto school and work but always end up with nothing and worse of all get yourself into debt.
Even if i continue my education it may take another 2 years or more which would bring my age to 28ish, which i figured may be wasting my time competing for jobs with the 22 year olds and what not. would this be a GOOD route for a Good career?

2. i work part time as a team leader at a retail chain. getting around $17.. but the hours are not guaranteed and most of the time i have to work till 11pm or 12am... some times i get around 56-72 hours bi-weekly.. but after Christmas i'm getting around 45 bi-weekly which is sh!@. Not bad but the devil (cc debts) doesnt seem to be going away with part-time hours. So a chance is here for me to move up and take up a supervisor job which pays around 20$ plus benefits and holidays, sick days.. blah blah blah.. no commission though.. hourly supervisor wage. My gut tells me to try and go for it and PAY off the debts before it haunts me and shuts me out in buying a place in the near future which is my ultimate goal before 30. Would this be a good idea..? is 20 bucks an hour a good wage?? sorry if im not familiar with the market. I want to know how much im worth and im willing to try other jobs and work my way up as long as its full time.. but i just dont know where to start. Im suggesting this because im currently not enrolled because SFU denied my appilcation i hope summer they lower their GPA and i can continue IF its a good idea like what i said in 1.

3. I have enrolled in the Sauder Real Estate licensing course before and didnt go through because of personal matters, some family problems, and full time school (getting my AA degree) i laid it aside and missed the deadline. My dilemma here is I'm quite done with school i've expressed what the situation is with school right now in 1. im wondering if i should fully dip my head into this field and just commit to it and dont look back.. BUT.. this may add to my debt into a deeper hole which may screw me up the ahole later on. So what would you do.. im thinking i can get my license before summer if i put my time into it.. and im thinking of just asking my boss at my job for a raise and screw the supervisor position (but, it may be good for me for other jobs and stuff, wouldnt it?) iv been working for them for 5 years and it can be boring and feel dumb cause its the same sh!@ everyday. But i have been loyale to them and never betrayed them with another job (it is a great place to work after all when im at school) I like real estate but i dont know if i can handle the temporary debt that it may cause.. what to do what to do

i probably have more to add but these are my main problems im dealing with right now any advice or words of wisdom is taken to consideration, i thank you all very much for spending your time reading all this

[misteranswer]

2.2 gets you into sfu arts normally if you have an associate degree. I think to ubc as well. at least you used to be able to.

[bcrdukes]

I don't have time to fully post thoroughly yet but some quick tidbits on the matter:

1. You can always go back to school. Period. Whatever people tell you, lack of motivation, blahblahblah - fuck all that shit. School is always there for you to return to at any point in your life. There's always the option of part-time studies and distance education.

2. Rather than stick with your current job, have you tried looking elsewhere? Seems like you have some sort of work experience and good work ethic based on what you've posted. Try to branch out elsewhere in a different industry where it pays more and with more opportunities to grow.

3. Seek help from family or consider getting a line of credit to first solve your debts. Nothing sucks more than being a student and living the fact that you're drowning in debt due to whatever spending habits or mistakes you've made. People make mistakes and that's a fact and it's good that you've taken the first step to at least recognize the issue. See what your options are. Ask for help. Don't mess up your future by drowning in debt because it needs to be contained accordingly.

That's all for now.

[Wetordry]

You gotta do what you gotta do.

Let's look at the root problem: short term cc debt. If you didnt have this debt, would you continue school? be a supervisor? or do real estate?



Are you continually building debt? or are you paying off previous debt?

How big is this debt? (0-5k, 5-10k, 10k+, 20k+?)

[tdubl]

Posted via RS Mobile

[tdubl]

Hey guys thanx for the posts regarding my problem

I'd love to stay in school and concentrate but I'm not born with a gold spoon so I always have to work part time 35 hrs +
but life always has short comings, so the debt was accumulated through out school spending more than I would make.
I have problems and I admit sometime I may spend very stupid. But I have now realized and want to get rid of it this year, if possible... Amount is in between 10-15k
I'm stopping as of this year cause my plans of owning a house in the near future maybe pushed further if I don't smarten up now while I have time since I'm away from school. Because sfu did not accept me with my gpa
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[quasi]

If I were you the first thing I'd do is consolidate everything with a loan or line of credit if you qualify with the lowest interest rate possible. I'd then cut up and cancel those credit cards so you're not tempted into doing what you've been doing. From here on setup a budget and stick to it, that doesn't mean you can't spend any money it just means you can only spend whats in the budget.

I'd work my ass off for the next year maybe taking a few night classes or something part time well I'm doing that. Once I had my debt paid off I'd evaluate where I am and where I want to be. I'd then figure out a way to get me there.

If it isn't a house or maybe a vehicle and you can't afford to pay cash for it then you don't need it. I'd be the first to admit I'm not the best person at saving money but when it comes to going into debt I've always been very cautious. I've had Credit cards for almost 16 years now and in those 16 years I've never paid one penny of interest because I follow my own rules about spending. Mortgage debt for most is unavoidable but other then that I hate debt.

[Wetordry]

as i have stated in a previous thread:

Originally Posted by Wetordry

1) rent a tiny basement suite near the school of choice
2) Sell your car (you dont need one anymore since you now live close to the school)
3) Sell furniture / clothes on CL
4) work super hard from now to when school starts - save every penny
5) dont ever step foot in restaurants - make your own breakfast / lunch / dinner
6) take transit
Bottom line - do what you gotta do

oh i just noticed you posted via RS mobile - cancel that data plan & sell that smartphone!

[Gt-R R34]

Follow these steps.

Best Advice from the thread, got to do what you need to do.

[Neoxphuse]

1. First, you should figure what you want to do. Landing a job that is good pay and one that you like will be the best. The other option is to go into trades.

2. By figuring out what you want to do you can work towards it much easier. A lot of ppl spend a lot of time at school wasting at useless stuff because they don't know what they really want. Consolidate your debt if you can and don't spend money on things you really don't need. You have to make sacrifices right now in order to get what you want in the end game.
Posted via RS Mobile

[baitano]

i was in the same situation a few years ago.

if i were you, i would just screw the going to school idea. school is for people that have an idea on what they want to do and are working towards it.

and imo, its not worth it to go into debt even furtherl unless im absoutely sure thats what i want to do.

i went to school for a few years without a clue on what i wanted to do.

what a waste.

[Chuck Norris]

There is no easy way to talk about these kinds of things so bravo for being honest and just communicating how you're feeling. You may be surprised but there are many people that have even graduated with a great degree that are working and wondering just what the point of everything is. What's the next step? What about my future? Where am I going?

This is not just limited to people in your shoes so first, do not feel you are alone. Very few people talk about how they feel when it comes to these kinds of things because most people are scared of being laughed at or perceived as a loser.

If you want to go to school, do not think about your age. You are going to get older if you go to school or not. You can be 40 with an education and a career you love, or 40 without it. While you might feel funny going to school as a mature student due to the general younger age of students, remember you are there for you and nobody else.

Do not go to school for something to do. At your age, you should only be going if you have a clear path as to what it is you want to do and you are very sure on that. While at one moment you might feel sure, the next moment you do not. You mentioned taking the Real Estate course at Sauder and then the next you're talking about finishing your BA. This is common but you can't keep changing your mind otherwise more time will pass you by.

The first thing you need to do is take the $20 an hour job. The reason is obvious which is you don't really have a lot to offer in terms of job skills right now, no offense. Considering your prospects, taking that job might be the best thing you could ever do for yourself.

The next thing you need to do is pay down your debt as fast as possible. This might mean you have to give up a few luxuries here and there but it's worth it in the long run.

I don't know how your hours are at work but whatever you work, schools now will find a way to let you pay them no matter what. You will be just fine if you decide to finish your degree part time while you work.

I fully understand your situation believe it or not. The best thing you can do is take whatever you can at the moment and be thankful to have the option to make a decent wage. While it's not big money, it's enough to allow you to pay off your debts and get on track which is what you need.

During the time when you're working, paying off the debt, consider what is it you really want to do (really) and then start working towards it. Responsibility sucks sometimes but if you don't take care of yourself, things are only going to get worse.

[tdubl]

Originally Posted by Chuck Norris

There is no easy way to talk about these kinds of things so bravo for being honest and just communicating how you're feeling. You may be surprised but there are many people that have even graduated with a great degree that are working and wondering just what the point of everything is. What's the next step? What about my future? Where am I going?

This is not just limited to people in your shoes so first, do not feel you are alone. Very few people talk about how they feel when it comes to these kinds of things because most people are scared of being laughed at or perceived as a loser.

If you want to go to school, do not think about your age. You are going to get older if you go to school or not. You can be 40 with an education and a career you love, or 40 without it. While you might feel funny going to school as a mature student due to the general younger age of students, remember you are there for you and nobody else.

Do not go to school for something to do. At your age, you should only be going if you have a clear path as to what it is you want to do and you are very sure on that. While at one moment you might feel sure, the next moment you do not. You mentioned taking the Real Estate course at Sauder and then the next you're talking about finishing your BA. This is common but you can't keep changing your mind otherwise more time will pass you by.

The first thing you need to do is take the $20 an hour job. The reason is obvious which is you don't really have a lot to offer in terms of job skills right now, no offense. Considering your prospects, taking that job might be the best thing you could ever do for yourself.

The next thing you need to do is pay down your debt as fast as possible. This might mean you have to give up a few luxuries here and there but it's worth it in the long run.

I don't know how your hours are at work but whatever you work, schools now will find a way to let you pay them no matter what. You will be just fine if you decide to finish your degree part time while you work.

I fully understand your situation believe it or not. The best thing you can do is take whatever you can at the moment and be thankful to have the option to make a decent wage. While it's not big money, it's enough to allow you to pay off your debts and get on track which is what you need.

During the time when you're working, paying off the debt, consider what is it you really want to do (really) and then start working towards it. Responsibility sucks sometimes but if you don't take care of yourself, things are only going to get worse.

well its been about 2 months with my situation..

here is a little update.
debt hasn't grown.. iv controlled my spending drastically (i know my gf prob thinks im a cheapass, but i rather be debt free than care about that)

I have decided to continue through with Sauder and get my license. I realized that i have invested in it and really don't see that i can juggle with debt/university, and with your help and all the fantastic RS community's advice. I'm going to stick to this plan for at LEAST 2 years.

As to becoming a supervisor that has changed... during these 2 months things have changed at work and my attitude towards management has, how can i say.. become "sour". I guess my aspirations to become a supervisor was sudden and i found that i don't want to be like them at work. I felt in the pass couple of weeks i was bitter about the company because of stupid wage change due to recession and this year the raise was less than 1%. Thats RETAIL for you.. im not bitching but im realizing that a job only keeps you from just over broke. They are a great PT and the wage i built up isn't really something that i can give up at this moment with all the 8-10hr jobs out there.

So my plans are to stay as PT and finally EXPLORE my options even in tough times like these. WHICH is something i need help in right now! that is why i posted again =)

With my current course and pace I'm expecting to do my exam in May hopefully be fully licensed by summer. But, even if god gave me the license tomorrow i wouldn't be able to pay for post-licensing costs. So im contemplating to get another PT or even full time (if the job has potential for me to stay) and then make it my primary and just move on with my 6 years exp. at my current PT position(from above).

Things i thought about:
1. restaurant, i have no exp. but i did help at a coffee shop (basepay+ tips+late night cash after current job) at my financial level, im willing to do anything that may keep me up all night or try things i have never tried.
2. Bank. If they are even hiring.. im willing to work hard and build good rapport, which would benefit me in the future in real estates..
3. anything you guys can help me with im willing to try

i'm really willing to finally "grow-up" and adjust to reality than being an idiot like the past. any comments will be much appreciated!

[What_the?]

good for you for finishing your license...

not sure how much post-licensing costs are for a realtor, but i'd say best thing to do is to get a loan from family...

once you have your license you want to focus on that career, as opposed to being a realtor where your clients see you moonlighting at starbucks or something...

focus fire, try to find a good mentor in real estate, and devote your energy towards building your career... get your name out there, network, talk to friends who will keep you in mind if buying/selling...

keep your image professional. I know if my friend approached me and wanted me to buy with them, if they weren't a very professional person I would have my doubts about their knowledge/ability, their seriousness towards the career/buying my property, and their ability to give me good advice when selecting a place...