How is Business and your anticipation for the future?

[alebrewer]

Just paid over $1k for about 2.5 hours of plumbing work this past week. I mean, from what I can tell, you just need a cool truck and pants that bag in the rear...

 

[J Grant]

It's not a given though. My neighbor's kid didn't feel like going to college. He was given a new truck, right out of high school, by his company and has no college debt. I have another neighbor that eventually started hiring more and more crews and now is bidding jobs to a team. He has a pretty swanky life and is younger than I am. Right now, I'd rather be in charge of three crews of house siders and roofers than three crews of appraisers.

Your neighbor's kid sounds entrepreneurial. Entrepreneurial-minded people make money off the labor of others - what about the people in the crews they hire - how well are they doing? Roofers and house siders can get injured, their bodies wear out, the demand shifts etc.

I agree that in some cases a trade is a better bet for people over college, especially if debt exists - but not in all cases, depending on the person and what they like or can handle. Some people pursue a career such as teaching or social work because they want to make a difference vs make a lot of money .

 

[WestMichiganCG]

This is the biggest problem. Your chosen degree may or may not be a positive ROI by the time you break even.

I think you'd be alright if you stick with STEM and focus on writing. I meshed an engineering degree with liberal arts which focused heavily on writing and comprehension. It could have been Biology or mathematics. I have friends that got an MBA too. There were a lot of MBA's but I would recommend them for the well connected. I watched the rich take over family businesses, get great jobs in sales or work in investment firms.

 

[J Grant]

Just paid over $1k for about 2.5 hours of plumbing work this past week. I mean, from what I can tell, you just need a cool truck and pants that bag in the rear...

I just paid $300 for 2.5 hours of plumbing work.

 

[WestMichiganCG]

Just paid over $1k for about 2.5 hours of plumbing work this past week. I mean, from what I can tell, you just need a cool truck and pants that bag in the rear...

You should see what HVAC is charging.

 

[alebrewer]

I just paid $300 for 2.5 hours of plumbing work.

Maybe they don't have to be licensed in Florida? I'm sure I could have found someone that cheap as well. Not sure how using Hill & Billy's Plumbing would have worked, though.

 

[TerryRohrer]

Entrepreneurial-minded people make money off the labor of others - what about the people in the crews they hire - how well are they doing?

Is there anyone or anything you don't hate (other than your own endless BSing)?

 

[Vermonter]

I think you'd be alright if you stick with STEM and focus on writing. I meshed an engineering degree with liberal arts which focused heavily on writing and comprehension. It could have been Biology or mathematics. I have friends that got an MBA too. There were a lot of MBA's but I would recommend them for the well connected. I watched the rich take over family businesses, get great jobs in sales or work in investment firms.

Yes but deciding on a degree today hoping it will be relevant and profitable 20+ years from now when you reach break even is gonna be a gamble no matter what.

Obviously this has been an issue all along, but current tech acceleration and globalization are increasing that risk exponentially.

 

[alebrewer]

Yes but deciding on a degree today hoping it will be relevant and profitable 20+ years from now when you reach break even is gonna be a gamble no matter what.

According to a recent interview with Musk, nothing is predictable 20 years out - even whether saving for retirement will matter...

Elon Musk says saving for retirement 'won't matter.' I'm not banking on it.

Saving for retirement in 10 or 20 years will be irrelevant, Elon Musk recently said. Financial advisers aren't buying that advice.

finance.yahoo.com

 

[WestMichiganCG]

According to a recent interview with Musk, nothing is predictable 20 years out - even whether saving for retirement will matter...

Elon Musk says saving for retirement 'won't matter.' I'm not banking on it.

Saving for retirement in 10 or 20 years will be irrelevant, Elon Musk recently said. Financial advisers aren't buying that advice.

finance.yahoo.com

There are a lot of troubling statistics with retirement savings. If you follow Dave Ramsey, you may be a bit starry eyed. I used one of the vendor's he recommends and have averaged slightly less the 5% year over year average for the last 25 years. 2010-2020 ruined my averages. A lot of people are recommending buying the S&P 500 indexes but Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet (Class A & C), Microsoft, Amazon, Broadcom, Meta Platforms, Tesla, Eli Lilly, and Berkshire Hathaway make up 38% of that mix so there is a lot of tech pushing that index. The other issue is growth. In the 90's, companies waited 5-7 years to go private, now it's more like 14-years. Most of the growth is occurring on the private equity side.