Any other college grads with no desire to settle for corp. America?

[newcool]

I'm going to graduate from college soon with a business/finance degree from a top 20 school. Every one of my classmates has the standard pattern of thought of going to grad school or getting a standard job in corporate America. A few times a year we have job fairs where all the top employers(google,cisco,boeing,morgan,ml,etc) come to campus and everyone tries their hardest to make a good impression and kiss ass to get hired just to settle into a typical corporate job with no other aspirations.

This just absolutely sickens me; so many bright young people who are content and eager to work for someone else, and they act like getting hired by a large corporation is a blessing and that it is the best way to proceed in life. I have periodically thought about working on wall street in sales&trading for a few years just to accumulate money.

However, I just cannot see myself taking this path and ending up in a boring 9-5 corporate job like everyone else I know. I mean my parents, relatives and friends all have regular jobs working for someone else and even though they may make a good amount of money it just seems like such a restricted standard way to live. Don't get me wrong, it is very respectable to work a steady job for your whole life. However I feel that in 60 years when I look back on my life I would feel nothing but regret at least not trying to achieve something better.

The only way I can see myself proceeding is starting my own venture and carving out my own path. However I realize that very few people actually make it bigtime, some end up as average business owners, and the majority simply fail and don't accomplish anything. I want to make it bigtime, but I realize that there is a very high probability I will end up as a failure with nothing to show for all my hopes and plans.

My relatives, especially the older ones, want me to get a good paying corporate job because they think that is the only way to become someone in life. I'm a firm believer of the phrase "If you keep doing what you've been doing you'll keep getting what you've been getting". I can see how everyone I know lives their life and by doing what they are doing, there is no way to achieve something greater. I try to explain this to my relatives and they think I'm talking out of my ass and that there is no other path to take.

Simply put, I want to accomplish something great in my lifetime, but know that chances are stacked against me and that I will end up as a failure like the millions of people before me who also wanted to achieve greatness. Do those who make it bigtime attribute it to attitude or dumb luck? Does anyone else feel the same way? Anyone been down this path before that can offer some advice? Thanks for reading.

[DcifrThs]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm going to graduate from college soon with a business/finance degree from a top 20 school. Every one of my classmates has the standard pattern of thought of going to grad school or getting a standard job in corporate America. A few times a year we have job fairs where all the top employers(google,cisco,boeing,morgan,ml,etc) come to campus and everyone tries their hardest to make a good impression and kiss ass to get hired just to settle into a typical corporate job with no other aspirations.

This just absolutely sickens me; so many bright young people who are content and eager to work for someone else, and they act like getting hired by a large corporation is a blessing and that it is the best way to proceed in life. I have periodically thought about working on wall street in sales&trading for a few years just to accumulate money.

However, I just cannot see myself taking this path and ending up in a boring 9-5 corporate job like everyone else I know. I mean my parents, relatives and friends all have regular jobs working for someone else and even though they may make a good amount of money it just seems like such a restricted standard way to live. Don't get me wrong, it is very respectable to work a steady job for your whole life. However I feel that in 60 years when I look back on my life I would feel nothing but regret at least not trying to achieve something better.

The only way I can see myself proceeding is starting my own venture and carving out my own path. However I realize that very few people actually make it bigtime, some end up as average business owners, and the majority simply fail and don't accomplish anything. I want to make it bigtime, but I realize that there is a very high probability I will end up as a failure with nothing to show for all my hopes and plans.

My relatives, especially the older ones, want me to get a good paying corporate job because they think that is the only way to become someone in life. I'm a firm believer of the phrase "If you keep doing what you've been doing you'll keep getting what you've been getting". I can see how everyone I know lives their life and by doing what they are doing, there is no way to achieve something greater. I try to explain this to my relatives and they think I'm talking out of my ass and that there is no other path to take.

Simply put, I want to accomplish something great in my lifetime, but know that chances are stacked against me and that I will end up as a failure like the millions of people before me who also wanted to achieve greatness. Do those who make it bigtime attribute it to attitude or dumb luck? Does anyone else feel the same way? Anyone been down this path before that can offer some advice? Thanks for reading.

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- you want to make it bigtime
- you want to start a venture, go down your own path...

...because you hate the possibility of being 'stuck' in a corporate 9-5.

well, guess what? you're stuck.

NOBODY who made it "bigtime" did so for those reasons. they did it because they loved what they were doing, not b/c the hated the other options.

the word "passion" or love to do something didn't appear in your post. that means that no matter what you do, you're likely to not be happy unless you find what it is you WANT to do and pursue that.

if you had $1mil in the bank right now, what would you want to do every day that would make you happy ? (hookers & blo don't count. it has to be an occupation type thing)

start from there.

my dad always had a saying:

"do what you love in life. the money will follow. if it doesn't, at least you had a great life."

Barron

[Thremp]

Barron,

You're somewhat right and somewhat wrong. Money does follow from what you love. But that saying doesn't hold true in all cases. I could give up gambling tomorrow if I knew I had the freedom to wake up each day, decide on a plan of action, and have the financial resources to carry it out. I do enjoy gambling, but I don't enjoy it as much as I enjoy other things. Though I'm 100% positive some people who ended up by some definitions of "bigtime" (retired <35), hated what they did or atleast disdained it enough to eschew it completely post retirement.

newcool,

Bigtime really depends on what you mean by that. If you want to become and entrepreneur earning a few hundo a year, that isn't out of the world and very easily achievable by those who're talented and work hard. Some element of luck comes into play for those who're very wealthy.

I was in a position similar to yours (not as many recruiting ops) and ended up doing fairly well gambling initially. My expectations have soared as it is 1) something I enjoy 2) I have success at. I am now on pace to earn more than any first year kid on WS with about half the hours, but I do enjoy what I do and I work hard at it. I'm not going to say one path is better than another. (I have not some much regrets... But more of curiosity over what would have happened if I had gone to public school or etc etc.) But sit down one day and decide if you want to roll the dice or just grind it out. Then again there are people who grind it out, but move beyond that to change the world. I don't know where this is going as this subject is very philosophical and probably deals too much with happiness research and disappointing topics like that. Good luck.

[jman3232]

I am in a similar situation. I still have a couple years till graduation, but I know what you are saying. I would like to get something going, but I do not know where to begin or what to do.

[kimchi]

I felt the same when I was finishing Uni. I hated the idea of doing what everyone else was doing, and my family hated my alterniative plan (which involved living in a cottage with a mountainside community).

You should do what you want to do and not be governed by what is considered 'standard'. If you surround yourself with people who can have a +EV influence, while being as polite as possible while you distance yourself from the opinions of those with a -EV influence on your plans (relatives), then you'll have a much greater possibliility of whatever 'achievement' means to you.

I chose to reduce my costs and have lots of time off every year, instead of stressing myself out so that I can buy a new Beemer or something else I don't need but society requires I purchase to keep me from stopping grinding.

[Mark1808]

I knew many people who used the experience and contacts from a corporate job to successfuly go out on their own in a niche business they could never have done without the corporate job. The corporate job enables you to learn and gain experience while getting paid and forming some good bonds. I was in the corporate world for about 15 years before striking out on my own 16 years ago. I get much more enjoyment and fullfillment out of my own deal but I do not think I could have pulled it off without the corporate experience.

The previous poster gave geat advice, you really have to enjoy what you do. The cycles in business mean that sometimes you will really struggle and it is imperative that you enjoy what you are doing. If I was you I would take a job I found challenging working with people I enjoyed and keep my eyes and ears open for entreprenurial ideas.

[kyleb]

I dropped out from an unknown private college because I couldn't stand the thought of paying people to tell me what to do; in fact, this is exactly what I was doing at college. Getting paid by people who told me what to do was an upgrade, but I always knew I'd be working for myself one day.

The people you talk about being bright young minds who are willing to work for corporations and enslave themselves to always having a boss aren't making the "wrong" decisions. The world needs employees. Some people are not cut out for the daily (hell, hourly) stresses that running your own business comes with: The taxes, the cycles, the swings, the money (and the lack of it), dealing with employees/partners, and so forth. Many people are content to work a 9-to-5 job that pays well and has benefits.

And that's fine. It's just not for me, and maybe not for you. Just because most people fail at running their own businesses doesn't mean you will - all sorts of idiots try to strike out on their own and fail. There's a population measurement problem in that statistic.

[Isura]

One point your post missed is that many successful entrepreneurs once worked at 9-5 jobs. That is a great way to gain experience about a particular industry, and also network with possible future partners.

[donkraft]

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One point your post missed is that many successful entrepreneurs once worked at 9-5 jobs. That is a great way to gain experience about a particular industry, and also network with possible future partners.

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Quoted for truth.

[skindog]

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However I realize that very few people actually make it bigtime, some end up as average business owners, and the majority simply fail and don't accomplish anything. I want to make it bigtime, but I realize that there is a very high probability I will end up as a failure with nothing to show for all my hopes and plans.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've got some reassuring words for you: depending on the type of venture you decide to run, you're probably underestimating your chances. Don't listen to the corporate types - they liberally throw around the statistic that the vast majority of businesses fail soon after starting.

If you use common sense, you'll be fine. My family has gone through 3 businesses since I was growing up, and it's not magic. All of them have been successful: 2 trucking co's an a mechanic's shop. Opportunities are everywhere in established industries. As long as you start with common sense and a lot of work you have a fairly good chance.

Where a lot of people go wrong is thinking that they want a lot of money and they can get it by doing whatever they love - so you see stuff like a dance studio in a rural town that's struggling, and the owner wonders why. There are certain industries/situations that are profitable, and others that aren't - just pick one that's profitable and immerse yourself in it. You might not like the work, but the choices for money making are limitless - real estate management, taxi co., trucking co., landscaping etc etc etc etc.

This all depends on what you want to do, though. If your goal is to do something that will make you a ton of money, it's definitely doable, and not as risky as you think. It will take time and a lot of hard work. If you want to find something you love that will make a ton of money... that is another situation altogether.