Where's WILL?

[HaldorEE]

That is why I will NEVER trust youtube ad revenue. Only 10% of my income is from youtube. We never know what youtube will do next. They could shut down my channel tomorrow.

Makes sense. What youtube does provide you is an audience. That is how I found you for example.

 

[HaldorEE]

I am always expecting my income to go to zero tomorrow. That is why I paid off my house 100%. All of my money is going into assets or precious metals. And fun science projects haha :D

No supercars? I guess the electric golf cart is your McLaren.

 

[Hedges]

I would love to get a degree in medicine because the work is extremely rewarding. And there is always so much to learn.

Consider veterinary medicine instead (although it is harder to get into.) With what the insurance companies have done to the medical profession it isn't a good place to be. For instance, an exam might pay $50 and the lab work might be $50 ("Negotiated" rates.) Same services at the vet are a few hundred, enough to pay staff and keep the lights on.

 

[HaldorEE]

Private practice is a thing of the past. The affordable care act complicated medical billing to the point that you have to be working as part of a corporation to get paid.

Basically as a doc you are a hired gun now.

I have an regular employer and do private consulting on the side. Like I said people who do what I do are never unemployed unless they want to be.

Something like 40% of people who graduate with an engineering degree actual become working engineers. And virtually none of the ones who immediately pursue a graduate degree amount to much of anything as an engineer.

The way I see it engineering school doesn't make you an engineer, it reveals and equips the small fraction of people with the intellect and need to be an engineer. I was designing and building gear, before I ever went to school. I have worked with guys with MS and PhD degrees who were clueless.

I have also worked with older engineers who got a graduate degree later in life because there was a discipline they were drawn to that required more education. These guys are the rock stars of engineering and are treated like the jewels they are.

 

[softdown]

Youtube has changed their monitization policies many times to the detriment of content providers. No reason they couldn't do it again.

I find it telling that you take offence at me giving Will advice, yet feel it is appropriate to tell me what to do.

Youtube has changed their monitization policies many times to the detriment of content providers. No reason they couldn't do it again.

I find it telling that you take offence at me giving Will advice, yet feel it is appropriate to tell me what to do.

/QUOTE]

I said: I just don't understand people telling an entrepreneur what to do.

A number of people, that work for others, have been telling a successful entrepreneur what to do. It is quite interesting. If there is anyone that does not need advice it is Will. He doesn't drink, smoke or do drugs. His house is already paid for. His income is high and likely growing a bit. The web site is a year old and doing quite well. He doesn't really need people.

Our society is absolutely saturated with control freaks. They tell us what to say. What to think. What to buy. What to eat. How to exercise. Who to hang out with. What to think of them, I mean the government. What to watch. When to surf, what sites to surf and how many sites to surf. How many shoes to buy. How to cycle our batteries. Etc. Etc. Etc.

 

[HaldorEE]

I did get an A in Instrumentation and Control.

Course I graduated with a 4.0 so I got an A in every class I took.

Yah, I was that guy.

 

[Bob142]

Will is a self-made person. A successful entrepreneur in multiple disciplines. That's incredibly difficult to achieve. The failure rate of new businesses is very high.

There are a lot of ways to make your way through life. If you love your engineering job or any other job that's great. The constant risks taken by anyone starting and operating their own business are greater than most people who've never tried it can imagine. The rewards of sustaining even a modest business are hard to explain. It's something that you've done on your own terms. The successes and failures are your own and both provide lessons more valuable than most college degrees. Suggesting someone trade that in for a conventional job is only likely to resonate if they are in dire circumstances with only that avenue to rescue them.

Well done Will.

 

[Gazoo]

All I have noticed are suggestions to Will. I haven't noticed anyone telling Will what to do.....

Will....my only suggestion is to keep an open mind to everything! I wish I would have done that when I was your age and listened to those wiser than I was back then. With age comes wisdom unless one chooses otherwise or to be a complete moron...lol. As I look back at myself over the years I see how true that is. I had a serious addiction (alcohol) and I didn't have an open mind and didn't want to listen to anyone. I am really glad to know you managed to stay away from alcohol and have chosen the path you have. Fortunately for me and with help, I was able to nip in in the bud in my early 30's.

Keep the good head you have on your shoulders and you will be fine...

 

[heirloom hamlet]

I do definitely agree with this, one life, live it. But I would also offer that an education does open more doors than it closes, imho.

Unless you are up to your eyeballs in student debt and not even working in the field you racked it up pursuing because our society has us deciding what we want to do the rest of our life when we are 18 years old and don't even know ourselves yet. Then it probably does more damage than good.

 

[heirloom hamlet]

I hope Will is socking away as much as he can. It could all go away in a moment. Meanwhile the unemployement rate for people who do what I do has been zero for 50 years.

I make my living with my brain and getting my EE has the best investment I have ever made in my life. But beyond the job issue, I love technology and I love knowing that if I invest the time I can fully understand it. And if I want to I have the skills duplicate it.

40k a month though? If he's smart and practices good F.I.R.E technique, he could do that for only a year and never work again...at least not at anything he didn't immediately desire to.

 

[heirloom hamlet]

Glad to hear you are being financially prudent. You have to treat this like being a professional athlete or a movie star. You can be hot for a while, but you have to be prepared for it to all go away.

Absolutely, this is true. We all do. You did nothing wrong at all giving some advice, to the contrary. In life every avenue should be examined in my opinion, weighed and considered and the best known decision made. But there are most definitely many directions to take, and some of the best ones could be what the majority are not doing.

 

[Bob B]

It kinda amazes me that so may people are trying to give Will career advice .... He is doing exactly what he wants ..... and is earning in the top 1% doing it. I don't really think he needs career counseling.

I am curious how @Will Prowse had the vision years ago to pursue this direction.

 

[Gazoo]

40k a month though? If he's smart and practices good F.I.R.E technique, he could do that for only a year and never work again...at least not at anything he didn't immediately desire to.

Not sure where you got the 40K from. On the previous page he said he makes 80K per month.

 

[Gazoo]

It kinda amazes me that so may people are trying to give Will career advice .... He is doing exactly what he wants ..... and is earning in the top 1% doing it. I don't really think he needs career counseling.

I think its people wanting to be helpful. Nothing more and nothing less and regardless no one should be criticized for it. Whether or not Will takes any of the advice given is up to him. And he may well not need to. But's it's still good advice.

 

[Bob B]

I think its people wanting to be helpful. Nothing more and nothing less and regardless no one should be criticized for it. Whether or not Will takes any of the advice given is up to him. And he may well not need to. But's it's still good advice.

You are probably right that everyone has good intentions .... and Will has been a lot more graceful dodging the advice than me. It just all seems a little strange to me.

 

[sunnydaze]

Bingo! haha

And I prefer educating myself on various topics. At whatever pace I choose.

Also, there is not much use in having a degree at my age. Besides an ego boost :D

I hear a lot of people refer to school as an extended childhood. I agree. When you are over 30yrs do you really need a place to meet 19-24yrs girls ? And a place to “figure out” what you are going to do with life ?

If someone is on the bleeding edge of their field there is no productive use to go back to school. You will end up spending 85% of your time reviewing stuff you already know to find a few gems here and there. The gems can be had out in the world and the same girls can be found on dating sites.

A degree can help you get that corporate job but will not make a differance in your own business or when you submit a proposal or bid on a job.

 

[DENWA]

@Will Prowse you should go to members' houses and help them with their systems! Like hells kitchen or garage rehab but for solar!

It will make for good video.

 

[curiouscarbon]

Marie Kondo’s petroleum reliance therapy.. if your dependence on foreign oil doesn’t bring you joy, let it go! lol..

Seeing Will do their own thing inspires me to continue tackling dream projects individually between visits to this site.

So excited for solar model 3 golf cart build!!!!! ??

 

[heirloom hamlet]

He did a video a few months ago expressing how much he makes off YouTube. At the time he said like 30k to 40k... rarely 45k. Today he said 80k in a later comment, but until then the only basis to comment was the information in his own video. That's were we got it from Gazoo.

Not sure where you got the 40K from. On the previous page he said he makes 80K per month.

 

[Sgt Raven]

All I have noticed are suggestions to Will. I haven't noticed anyone telling Will what to do.....
...snip....
Keep the good head you have on your shoulders and you will be fine...

One person's suggestion is another person's telling Will how to live his life.
Just because I took one path in life, does not mean it the right way for anyone else.
I have known many people who heard, "you're over qualified" for the job time and again.
Or people with their new degree, hearing you don't have any employment experience.
Employers are not allowed to ask many questions, so it is easier to just say you need this or that degree for a job.