this post was submitted on 29 Feb 2024
143 points (98.0% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26238 readers
1600 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

We hear about all the young people making a big deal of their successes in their early years. Twenty-something tech gurus or entrepreneurs that make their fortune early.

Who here is past 45-50 and maybe made a switch or restarted and found success and a modicum of happiness in their new position?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Finished my BA in "regular study time" (3 yrs) and then decided to also do the MA degree within the regular study time (2 yrs), due to the gvmt student loan scheme telling you to fuck off if you take only a day longer than the alloted time (which is way to short for the extend of all required courses). Burnt out right before writing my thesis and had to look for a job to keep myself from becoming homeless. Got royally exploited by the company I worked at but was able to save a lot of money due to my still very frugal lifestyle that I had to pick up during my studies (the monthly student loan being below the officially recognized poverty threshold). Handed in my resignation after 2.5 yrs without having anything lined up because the exploitation and pressure for new tasks without any bump in pay were too much to take. Took it slow and used up 2 years to finish the odd unfinished course and my MA thesis in East Asian Politics while living completely off my savings meant for retirement. The way I figured, this is just preponed retirement, living a frugal but satisfying life and investing my time in my political studies and philosophy. Came out a way better man than the broken and bitter husk I've been when quitting my job. During this time I had to pay back my student loan (10k EUR) with my savings I was also relying on to not become homeless, had a child, finished my MA degree, and, most importantly, joined a progressive political party, as I couldn't take the broken state of our society anymore. This may have been the best decision of my life (next to having a child), as it provided me with an alternative source of self-worth, next to my professional career which had now been in shambles. I engage in local politics and partake in most of the regular meetings and projects the local branch of my party undertakes. There I met intelligent and interesting people who I became friends with, that also share my passion to make the world a fairer and better place for us and our children. I (mid-30s) am currently on the job hunt after recently finishing my degree and am extremely relaxed towards finding a job, seeing as I can always job hop away from a bad one whilst retaining my dignity and self-worth through my political engagement. Life is finally good.