This process is taking too long

[CroMagna]

I have embarked on the journey of finding the right career and completing school. I have decided to pursue a career in finance or economics. I am 90%certain that I want to be an economist.

I'm 25 years old and I have a Bachelors in English. I still live at home with my mom. I know 25 isn't that old to be living at home, especially for girls, but here's the thing:

I will have to take 2-3 years of additional undergraduate coursework in order to land a job in the financial world. In order to afford to pay for the extra classes on an administrative assistant's salary, I will probably have to continue living at home. Then I will have to figure out a way to pay for a master's if I don't get a scholarship. By this point, I will be almost 30. Getting a Master's and a PhD will entail an additional 7 years of study. That means I will not even start working as an economist until I am about 35 or 36. And guess what? Surprise! Time to have a baby. By the time I'm 36 it will be time to have a baby, because of biological clocks.

That's what's the most frustrating thing about this process. It's frustrating enough to live your life as a "nobody" and realize that you won't be "somebody" for another decade, and may never be "somebody". That I feel like I can handle, because I am definitely no show off, and I am secure in myself to want to do this for myself and myself alone, not to prove a point to the outside world. How many people even know me? Not many.

But the most frustrating part: having no indepedence. I love nothing more than being alone. I crave and relish in solitude. I feel most at peace when I am being true to myself in an environment of my own creation. Instead, I am stuck at home, essentially "belonging" to my mom. And when I am finally on my own, I will have to turn around and "belong" to my children! I won't have that gap of time in between childhood and parenthood where you own yourself, where you're not beholden to anyone, where you have both free choice and free time. That's what 25 is portrayed as, and that's what it is for a lot of people. I feel like I'm wasting my 20s and early 30s. I always imagined that in my mid-20s, I would have an apartment with a cool roommate, be going out on the weekends, have a cute car, an even cuter boyfriend, and be an independent young adult. Instead, I continue to live like a 12 year old. And it may be this way until I become a mom.

I'm thinking of doing something drastic. By drastic I mean exciting, risky and adventurous. Like what if I just packed up everything and went to Latin America? What if I just got a job there washing dishes and bunked with someone I know? Or what if I just decided, you know what, if I fall flat on my face, so be it, and just looked for a really cheap basement apartment and split the rent with my boyfriend? At this point I think I would rather try and fail miserably that to know that I never tried, and look back when I'm a mother and wonder if I could have made it....My alternative is to postone pursuing the career as an economist until after I have enjoyed my 20s and 30s, instead pursuing a career in finance that doesn't require so many years of school, and then getting a PhD when I'm in my late 30s or early 40s, when my kids are old enough to be babysat.

Just wanted bounce around some exciting, plausible ideas.

[1000feet]

You need to think about what you really want to do that's interesting to you and useful to others. Does that mean economic research and coming up with new theories? Advising businesses and governments? Writing? If any of these draws you in enough to spend a lot of time focusing on it, start now. Read everything you can and find out who gets attention in that area. Start to get a feel for what's happening and what the big problems are.

Then do something - if you're well-informed and intelligent that's enough to start writing your ideas in a blog (a lot of people do it without either of these qualities). Write about current events, write reponses to articles and blog posts by people who are well-known and respected, comment on bigger blogs, write directly to well-known people to ask them questions or comment on something they said (as long as you're not wasting their time with things you could find out on your own you're more likely to get a response than you think)... you don't have to be "nobody" if you have a reason to believe otherwise.

By doing this you can get a much better idea of what's waiting for you and perhaps make a few connections with others. If you're interested in finance and economics, the sooner you can become a part of that world (in any way), the better.

[CroMagna]

I just sent my resume to 5 temp agencies for placement in finance. So I think that's a step in the right direction. I will also read finance books and start the blog. Good suggestions, thanks. I am also looking at coursework at uni, so that I can enroll next semester.

But will I ever get out of my parent's house? Should I take the leap and start hunting for apartments now?

[srujacobs]

I think it would be good for you to temp at finance companies. That way you'll know if it's really an environment you feel comfortable in or something you would excel in doing. I don't think you need that much schooling to go into finance...why not find someone successful in the field and see what they did? Instead of going back to undergrad, you may just need an MBA in finance. I imagine some MBAs might even be completed in a year. That would make you 26, 27 rather than 37.

[Trezker]

Originally Posted by CroMagna

But will I ever get out of my parent's house? Should I take the leap and start hunting for apartments now?

Definitely. Hunting doesn't equal buying. I may take quite some time to find a good place and you'll learn a lot about apartment hunting. So when you're ready to move out you'll have it lined up for a rocket start.

[JimOfferman]

1. No where does it say that you have to have children (and since you cherish your solitude so much, I'm wondering why you would want them in the first place)

2. 36 is not your last boarding call for getting pregnant. A friend of mine delivered her first child at 39 with a clean bill of health for both mother and child. Heck, the other day it was in the news that a woman delivered a healthy child at 72...

3. Don't worry about the future so much. We live in the now. What do you want to do now?

[Marty McFly]

Good grief! I am 32 and still living at home. I'm broke too. Just don't end up like me....I've had too many stumbling blocks and I need to race to catch up. You're, right, you have more respect when you're living independent of your parents. Mine still talk to me like I'm 15....I look forward to vacations alone and that's where all my debt is now.

[uberinquisitive]

Why do you want to do econ or finance? What is your motivation?

Exactly what do you plan to do with the degree?

Let me give you a reality check, courtesy of my cousin. She worked at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs for 4 years.

If you want this career path - you are competing against a cadre of hungry youngsters (mainly men) who can crunch numbers as easily as they breathe. In some positions, you need to take a math test to get in.

You need to be a whiz at numbers, and have a very high tolerance for mind-numbing work. Working in finance is not varied.

Also, because of the international nature of the finance world, the hours are long as all hell. My cousin used to get in at 8am, and not get back home until midnight. She had the office car service take her back home almost every night, because her accounts were also in India.

The work atmosphere in finance is extremely tough. We're talking good 'ol boys club, a lot of favoritism, and just a whole lot of office politics. She found this especially hard, because she is not the most extroverted person.

You really need to find out what sort of finance you want to get into. If you're going into economics - exactly what do you want to do?

Also - a lot of MBA programs will only take you after you have 2 years of work experience.

Make sure you really love this field.

[uberinquisitive]

Originally Posted by CroMagna

I feel like I'm wasting my 20s and early 30s. I always imagined that in my mid-20s, I would have an apartment with a cool roommate, be going out on the weekends, have a cute car, an even cuter boyfriend, and be an independent young adult.

Why don't you do this NOW?

[Lanya]

Originally Posted by CroMagna

...Like what if I just packed up everything and went to Latin America? What if I just got a job there washing dishes and bunked with someone I know? Or what if I just decided, you know what, if I fall flat on my face, so be it, and just looked for a really cheap basement apartment and split the rent with my boyfriend? At this point I think I would rather try and fail miserably that to know that I never tried...

This is the most excited I've ever seen you.

Do it.

[Holistic Star]

A lot of companies will pay for your education. (well they do in the UK, not sure where you are)
My company sponsors all sorts of qualifications. So sometimes all it takes is to get your foot in the door at a company and they pay for your education (with a caveat that you stay with the company for a certain amount of time or pay it back).

However I'm not getting your Big Why, on why you want to be an economist. I'm not sensing a lot of passion for it. (Maybe you do and I've just missed it)

but it's not either / or. You can study and have children. You can work and have children. but really its about what you really want.

x

[BenThere]

Hi, I'd be happy to see if I can help you find some plausible ideas.

I think you are carrying around some IMplausible ideas I get from your message:

1. With my English career, I COULD NOT get ANY job that involves economics. All I COULD do is be an administrative assistant, but that would have nothing to do with a future career is an economist.

2. There is NO chance I could go to a state school or get a scholarship to fund further education.

3. The ONLY jobs that would possibly satisfy my interest in economics would require a doctoral degree. (For example, nobody EVER uses a 2-year full-time MBA, with a finance speciality, as the stepping stone into a great economics job that doesn't require a doctorate.)

4. There' NOTHING AT ALL I could do to raise extra funds for graduate education other than work more years as an administrative assistant in a field I don't enjoy, but it's the only job I could get with an English degree.

5. Biological clocks ruthlessly have an alarm set for 36. After that, IT'S ALL OVER!

6. While developing my career and education, there's ABSOLUTELY NO chance I could ALSO find a wonderful relationship that would lead to marriage and kids. After all, all that overtime as an administrative assistant, than all that studying required for the job I really want, is 100% incompatible with ANY chance of having a social life and starting a family.

7. Steve Pavlina's example of completing college quickly has nothing to do with me. A PhD would definitely require at least 7 years of full time study.

8. As an administrative assistant saving up for a prepaid PhD, there's NO WAY I could possibly afford to share an apartment, have a cute car and enjoy dating.

9. Graduate school and a PhD program simply can't coexist with any opportunity to work one's way through school as one goes. The money simply HAS to be there BEFORE you can start any studies.

I think, if you're going to be an economist, you need to do better at debunking unexamined fallacies! What if these axioms you've adopted are actually invalid? What if your own personal economic paradigm is already obsolete?