Great present or great future

[hillbillysurf]

Hello everyone,
I posted in the 'Life' section before realizing this section probably makes more sense! I'm new here....

Sounds like if anyone has legit advice, the people here do.
Anyway my situation is as follows. I am 22 yrs old, I moved to the Florida to start working as a full time engineer pretty much right after college. I've been working for about 9 months. The thing is, all of my old college roommates (there are 5), seem to be doing things that I want to be doing, like being snowboard or surf boys around the country. Backpacking, picking up part time jobs to get by to help them afford the bare essentials.

I love living in Florida, I get to surf in the evenings and weekends, but it makes me wonder...would I be happier if I got a job making tips where I could have all the fun and lack of responsibility that I want? Sometimes it seems they make about the same amount in tips as I do, and that's hard for me to deal with. I would love to go move where I could surf all I want, maybe get a waiter job like I had in college, but should I really walk away from the great job I have now? It looks like to me, it's a choice between my present happiness and my future happiness.

[Restless&Lost]

Hello everyone,
I posted in the 'Life' section before realizing this section probably makes more sense! I'm new here....

Sounds like if anyone has legit advice, the people here do.
Anyway my situation is as follows. I am 22 yrs old, I moved to the Florida to start working as a full time engineer pretty much right after college. I've been working for about 9 months. The thing is, all of my old college roommates (there are 5), seem to be doing things that I want to be doing, like being snowboard or surf boys around the country. Backpacking, picking up part time jobs to get by to help them afford the bare essentials.

I love living in Florida, I get to surf in the evenings and weekends, but it makes me wonder...would I be happier if I got a job making tips where I could have all the fun and lack of responsibility that I want? Sometimes it seems they make about the same amount in tips as I do, and that's hard for me to deal with. I would love to go move where I could surf all I want, maybe get a waiter job like I had in college, but should I really walk away from the great job I have now? It looks like to me, it's a choice between my present happiness and my future happiness.

I don't understand this. People do this kind of thing because they don't know what else to do with themselves (sort of like why people go to grad school). But you already have a career -- a good, potentially lucrative career -- and have enough free time to play in the water.

Explain to me what the attraction of living like a homeless person is, because I don't get it.

P.S., I've lived several months in just the way you're describing. It's thrilling for maybe 2 weeks. Trust me, it gets old. Stick with what you got, kid. You'll thank yourself later.

[Rob_Loblaw]

Stick it out for now if you are just jealous and not truly hating your work but just remember your Epitaph doesn't have to say Engineer on it. You can do whatever you want in this life and nobody has the right to fault you on it.

Use this time now to invest for the future and plan out what you really want to do. It can take decades though. Just remember that for many successful people their 20's were throwaway years while it was easier to try a bunch of new things.

[winneythepooh7]

You got to do what is right for you. Do you think if you left the 9-5 grind, and got say, a bunch of temp or restaurant jobs, you'd still be able to make ends meet? Would you be able to get rehired easily in your field if you find out that the "no responsibilities" lifestyle is not for you?

[hillbillysurf]

I don't understand this. People do this kind of thing because they don't know what else to do with themselves (sort of like why people go to grad school). But you already have a career -- a good, potentially lucrative career -- and have enough free time to play in the water.

Explain to me what the attraction of living like a homeless person is, because I don't get it.

P.S., I've lived several months in just the way you're describing. It's thrilling for maybe 2 weeks. Trust me, it gets old. Stick with what you got, kid. You'll thank yourself later.

Restless, I believe you it gets old. On the other hand, this is the type of experience that I should do sooner than later. It might be a 'grass is greener on the other side' kinda mentality, but doing it now might be the only chance I have before my peers and friends move on to something like I have, then I'm left in the dust.

Thanks for the replies.

[Rage]

I'm 27 and sometimes envy my single friends who are living like that. The flexibility of being alone is great. On the flip side, they envy that I have found someone to settle down with, have a well paying job and a family. I'm already into my career while they are still trying to figure things out. They say they're lonely and tired of living paycheck to paycheck. Just remember - the grass is always greener on the other side.