Found it:
Letter to Mike Rowe, and his reply:
Hey Mike!
I?ve spent this last year trying to figure out the right career for myself and I still can?t figure out what to do. I have always been a hands on kind of guy and a go-getter. I could never be an office worker. I need change, excitement, and adventure in my life, but where the pay is steady. I grew up in construction and my first job was a restoration project. I love everything outdoors. I play music for extra money. I like trying pretty much everything, but get bored very easily. I want a career that will always keep me happy, but can allow me to have a family and get some time to travel. I figure if anyone knows jobs its you so I was wondering your thoughts on this if you ever get the time! Thank you!
- Parker Hall
Here’s Rowe’s genius reply:
Hi Parker,
My first thought is that you should learn to weld and move to North Dakota. The opportunities are enormous, and as a ?hands-on go-getter,? you?re qualified for the work. But after reading your post a second time, it occurs to me that your qualifications are not the reason you can?t find the career you want.
I had drinks last night with a woman I know. Let?s call her Claire. Claire just turned 42. She?s cute, smart, and successful. She?s frustrated though, because she can?t find a man. I listened all evening about how difficult her search has been. About how all the ?good ones? were taken. About how her other friends had found their soul-mates, and how it wasn?t fair that she had not.
?Look at me,? she said. ?I take care of myself. I?ve put myself out there. Why is this so hard??
?How about that guy at the end of the bar,? I said. ?He keeps looking at you.?
?Not my type.?
?Really? How do you know??
?I just know.?
?Have you tried a dating site?? I asked.
?Are you kidding? I would never date someone I met online!?
?Alright. How about a change of scene? Your company has offices all over ? maybe try living in another city??
?What? Leave San Francisco? Never!?
?How about the other side of town? You know, mix it up a little. Visit different places. New museums, new bars, new theaters???
She looked at me like I had two heads. ?Why the hell would I do that??
Here?s the thing, Parker. Claire doesn?t really want a man. She wants the ?right? man. She wants a soul-mate. Specifically, a soul-mate from her zip code. She assembled this guy in her mind years ago, and now, dammit, she?s tired of waiting!!
I didn?t tell her this, because Claire has the capacity for sudden violence. But it?s true. She complains about being alone, even though her rules have more or less guaranteed she?ll stay that way. She has built a wall between herself and her goal. A wall made of conditions and expectations. Is it possible that you?ve built a similar wall?
Consider your own words. You don?t want a career ? you want the ?right? career. You need ?excitement? and ?adventure,? but not at the expense of stability. You want lots of ?change? and the ?freedom to travel,? but you need the certainty of ?steady pay.? You talk about being ?easily bored? as though boredom is out of your control. It isn?t. Boredom is a choice. Like tardiness. Or interrupting. It?s one thing to ?love the outdoors,? but you take it a step further. You vow to ?never? take an office job. You talk about the needs of your family, even though that family doesn?t exist. And finally, you say the career you describe must ?always? make you ?happy.?
These are my thoughts. You may choose to ignore them and I wouldn?t blame you ? especially after being compared to a 42 year old woman who can?t find love. But since you asked?
Stop looking for the ?right? career, and start looking for a job. Any job. Forget about what you like. Focus on what?s available. Get yourself hired. Show up early. Stay late. Volunteer for the scut work. Become indispensable. You can always quit later, and be no worse off than you are today. But don?t waste another year looking for a career that doesn?t exist. And most of all, stop worrying about your happiness. Happiness does not come from a job. It comes from knowing what you truly value, and behaving in a way that?s consistent with those beliefs.
Many people today resent the suggestion that they?re in charge of the way the feel. But trust me, Parker. Those people are mistaken. That was a big lesson from Dirty Jobs, and I learned it several hundred times before it stuck. What you do, who you?re with, and how you feel about the world around you, is completely up to you.
Good luck -
Mike
P.S. I?m serious about welding and North Dakota. Those guys are writing their own ticket.
P.P.S. Think I should forward this to Claire?
[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
Found it:
I just found it too… but I was stuck in a meeting until now.
Where did the OP go?
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
34, shit Beans, it’s time for that condo in the retirement community. [/quote]
Funny, I was reading an article (year or so at this point), I have more saved in retirement than a scary percentage of people my age…
PROTIP
Save 10% of your income. Start NOW![/quote]
Okay the wife has 6% and I have 6% going into a 401K is that enough?
Also being an owner of a company do I need to do more? [/quote]
I think you max out before 10% if my questimation is correct.
You’re in medical tho, retirement is different for you.
[/quote]
Why? Cause we work until we die.
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
34, shit Beans, it’s time for that condo in the retirement community. [/quote]
Funny, I was reading an article (year or so at this point), I have more saved in retirement than a scary percentage of people my age…
PROTIP
Save 10% of your income. Start NOW![/quote]
Okay the wife has 6% and I have 6% going into a 401K is that enough?
Also being an owner of a company do I need to do more? [/quote]
I think you max out before 10% if my questimation is correct.
You’re in medical tho, retirement is different for you.
[/quote]
Why? Cause we work until we die.[/quote]
He means you’ll hit the maximum amount you can contribute by law.
Unless you’re asking about his second statement, which I’m not sure why he said that.
[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
34, shit Beans, it’s time for that condo in the retirement community. [/quote]
Funny, I was reading an article (year or so at this point), I have more saved in retirement than a scary percentage of people my age…
PROTIP
Save 10% of your income. Start NOW![/quote]
Okay the wife has 6% and I have 6% going into a 401K is that enough?
Also being an owner of a company do I need to do more? [/quote]
I think you max out before 10% if my questimation is correct.
You’re in medical tho, retirement is different for you.
[/quote]
Why? Cause we work until we die.[/quote]
He means you’ll hit the maximum amount you can contribute by law.
Unless you’re asking about his second statement, which I’m not sure why he said that. [/quote]
I know you max out at 10% but is that per person? Is 12% together sufficient?
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
34, shit Beans, it’s time for that condo in the retirement community. [/quote]
Funny, I was reading an article (year or so at this point), I have more saved in retirement than a scary percentage of people my age…
PROTIP
Save 10% of your income. Start NOW![/quote]
Okay the wife has 6% and I have 6% going into a 401K is that enough?
Also being an owner of a company do I need to do more? [/quote]
I think you max out before 10% if my questimation is correct.
You’re in medical tho, retirement is different for you.
[/quote]
Why? Cause we work until we die.[/quote]
He means you’ll hit the maximum amount you can contribute by law.
Unless you’re asking about his second statement, which I’m not sure why he said that. [/quote]
I know you max out at 10% but is that per person? Is 12% together sufficient?
[/quote]
There is a dollar amount max per person not a max percentage, unless medical is different. The current max contribution limit is $17,500 per person into a qualified 401(k).
You can then contribute to a Roth 401(k) or Roth IRA, but only if you haven’t hit the income limitation.
You can contribute more when you get older, but you aren’t there yet. It’s 55 I believe, but not 100% sure.
It’s 50.
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
[quote]Testy1 wrote:
I did put in major hours when I was his age, [/quote]
It is rare that this doesn’t happen at some point in a career. Rare.
Most successful people that make real money work more than 2080, or at the very least did for a period of time in their career.[/quote]
X2
I’ve already made 116K this year (on track to make ~250K ish - not including my bonus). I’ve taken three days off. This year. That’s closer to 4500 hours/yr. I average 84 to 100 hours a week including scheduled and unscheduled outages. And I LOVE my job. It’s satisfying, the company has a strong safety culture, the people are cool for the most part, I work in one of the most cutting edge environments in my field (managing the critical power for a data center), I rarely break a sweat, and I provide massive value to my customer. Some of my ideas and design-engineered solutions that I’ve implemented in MY buildings have been adopted by the customer globally. In short, I’ve climbed the stairway to electrical heaven. I’m a master of my trade and widely respected throughout my company and union. And I busted my fucking ass to get here.
Fuck the X2, it’s more like X1000 on what Beans said: THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH IN THIS WORLD.
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
Why? Cause we work until we die.[/quote]
Yes. Plus you have an ownership piece now so you don’t really ever retire.
Doctors/medical field people are a different breed of person in my experience, and those that are good at what they do, continue to be good, not sit on their porch and drink coffee all day gazing longingly at the young strapping man, shirtless, trimming the hedges…
You still have contribution limits to your 401k like has been pointed out, irrelevant of the field your in. It’s just medical personnel and ownership don’t typically “retire” in a traditional sense.
[quote]angry chicken wrote:
THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH IN THIS WORLD.[/quote]
Yup… Pretty much my entire point in this tread boiled down to 8 words.
I don’t care if it is your career, your art, your family, or your weed smoking. Typically, for anything to actually be satisfying, you have to work for it.
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
Fluffer for sure. [/quote]
Only if its 40 hours MAX a week.
lmao.
Anyone that says they make real money and only work 40 hours a week (or in some cases didn’t work more than that for years prior) is a liar.
You don’t make real money only working 2080 a year. You just don’t. [/quote]
Not true. My buddy is a male stripper. He makes about $150k a year, shaking his dong in other mens’ faces, and fucking lonely Scottsdale housewives. Works maybe 20 hours a week.
[quote]iammikewatts wrote:
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
Fluffer for sure. [/quote]
Only if its 40 hours MAX a week.
lmao.
Anyone that says they make real money and only work 40 hours a week (or in some cases didn’t work more than that for years prior) is a liar.
You don’t make real money only working 2080 a year. You just don’t. [/quote]
Not true. My buddy is a male stripper. He makes about $150k a year, shaking his dong in other mens’ faces, and fucking lonely Scottsdale housewives. Works maybe 20 hours a week.
[/quote]
He has to work out to keep that bod. That essentially becomes part of his job.
[quote]Ripsaw3689 wrote:
He has to work out to keep that bod. That essentially becomes part of his job.[/quote]
Thank you.
His diet and training outside of the stage is work… Plus I’d say the total lack of moral fiber is also a burden that constitutes work as well.
Very refreshing read.
You’re “no longer young” when you start yelling at “kids” to get their act together.
You’re “old” when you become useless to society, IE you retire or your mental and/or physical abilities decline to the point where you can no longer be of any use. My grandfather is 87 years old, but he still works full-time (effectively), so he’s not “old” yet. He’s been working for 75 years now; my family just had a party to celebrate a few months ago.
OP, everyone in my family follows my grandfather’s example and works their goddamned balls off, and if they ever heard me talking like you I’d probably be fucking disowned.
40 hours a week is women’s hours.
work to live, or live to work.
you only get so much time on earth, why slave away your life because manliness or whatever.
[quote]Aggv wrote:
work to live, or live to work.
you only get so much time on earth, why slave away your life because manliness or whatever.
[/quote]
Your whole life you will be a slave to something, often times many things. What we interpret as freedom is derivative of that slavery. Someone has to put in the work no matter what. That’s not to say you have to do something you hate if don’t have the immediate need for work or that you have conform to someone else’s standard of what hardwork or good work is.
However, if you intend to reap the benefits of the labor of others, it’s only fair that you produce or provide something. You can enjoy your time in this world. By all means, pursue that. That, however, is the keyword. “Pursue”. I’m sure you understand by now that not all of life will be enjoyable. It’s up to OP to do decide how he (I’m assuming it’s a guy by this point) will pursue this, but I’d highly recommend an informed decision as opposed to a purely instinctive or emotional one. The advice and perspective provided in this thread is solid. It looks to me that you merely take issue with the packaging.