Where's WILL?

[heirloom hamlet]

Those students who take job offers and don't finish their degrees will end up with golden handcuffs. They can make good money in those jobs, but their promotion potential is limited and it is harder to change jobs without the degree. Especially if you want to change employer.

That was where I was in my 20's. One of the reasons why I went back and got my degree.

I think that most people in our culture think of taking a job or getting a job. That is, working for someone who in the past wanted to do something of their own, and then started a company.
But many don't remember the remaining option. Being the guy that had an idea and made his own income source and life around it. Often times, no secular degree necessary for that. That's the life for me. And I think guys like Will. I love learning and being a better man for it, but I would never trade my daily, in fact hourly, freedoms for a more institutional life. It makes me personally feel almost like a slave and follower. Path less traveled for me, and I'll gladly take less income, less accolades, and more backbreaking work, in the name of freedom to choose and express. I really don't care about any badge of honor or even about money. I'll be 44 Monday and have felt retired for 10 years now, with no degrees, a willingness to work and embrace hardship, and intense planning and frugality. Point is, there is another way no one talks about and it works as well and maybe better. I can't imagine a guy like Will doing this life and then placing himself under the requirements of a learning institution, then an employer for approval. To each his own I guess.

 

[tictag]

To each his own I guess.

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.

 

[HaldorEE]

He makes ~$40,000 mt in a rapidly growing field. Plus he learns a lot more than most students. You folks telling him to go back to school are beyond the pale.

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.

 

[softdown]

My cousin has a masters from MIT in EE and is frequently unemployed due to being "overqualified". That's what I'm told.

It is doubtful that youtube collapses any time soon. Seems to be growing in leaps and bounds. Think Yahoo will bounce back and body slam Google and youtube?

I just don't understand people telling an entrepreneur what to do. He isn't 16, I mean he looks at least 22.

 

[Will Prowse]

Currently, I make over 80K per month, and 99% of it is going towards my next home purchase. I do not like to store money. It is a liability dependent on the reckless habits of our current government. USD index value has been down for the last five months due to our reckless money printing and national deficit: https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/DXY:CUR

Also, take a look at our current monetary supply: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M1

American dollars are still "good" to hold for now, but not to be trusted in the future. I would rather own assets and precious metals.

I am not a fan of cryptocurrency either. It is inefficient and not backed by anything (similar to fiat). I could see myself buying a gold backed crypto, but nothing else.

I also do not agree with the various forms of welfare we have today. More welfare = more crime and inequality. America loves to "bailout" corporations that do not deserve it, in my opinion. I am tired of using our tax money to fund zombie companies. They should be allowed to fail.

I am sure that some people will disagree with what I stated, but I am pretty firm on all of these points and I can expand on them if you need me to.

 

[HaldorEE]

My cousin has a masters from MIT in EE and is frequently unemployed due to being "overqualified". That's what I'm told.

It is doubtful that youtube collapses any time soon. Seems to be growing in leaps and bounds. Think Yahoo will bounce back and body slam Google and youtube?

I just don't understand people telling an entrepreneur what to do. He isn't 16, I mean he looks at least 22.

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.

 

[Will Prowse]

I would probably go to med school if I went back to university. That was my original inclination, and I finished the pre-med requirements in college.

I LOVE electricity and science, but I prefer doing that for fun.

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

Many of my engineer friends voice concerns of extreme burn out from the nature of their work. I could not imagine creating something on my own, then a company owns full rights to my intellectual property. This is a big reason I never wanted to become a full-blown engineer.

I would love to be a systems engineer, or own an engineering firm. But being an engineer does not sound like my cup of tea.

 

[HaldorEE]

Currently, I make over 80K per month, and 99% of it is going towards my next home purchase. I do not like to store money. It is a liability dependent on the reckless habits of our current government. USD index value has been down for the last five months due to our reckless money printing and national deficit: https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/DXY:CUR

Also, take a look at our current monetary supply: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M1

American dollars are still "good" to hold for now, but not to be trusted in the future. I would rather own assets and precious metals.

I am not a fan of cryptocurrency either. It is inefficient and not backed by anything (similar to fiat). I could see myself buying a gold backed crypto, but nothing else.

I also do not agree with the various forms of welfare we have today. More welfare = more crime and inequality. America loves to "bailout" corporations that do not deserve it, in my opinion. I am tired of using our tax money to fund zombie companies. They should be allowed to fail.

I am sure that some people will disagree with what I stated, but I am pretty firm on all of these points and I can expand on them if you need me to.

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.

 

[Will Prowse]

Youtube has changed their monetization 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.

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.

That is another reason why I started this forum. I could easily upload all of my videos here and help people directly.

My main income is affiliate programs and book royalties. I own the rights to my videos and books for a very very long time. I have everything backed up on multiple hard drives in my safe. I will have multiple safes soon for redundancy.

And this forum is not for making money, and I will pay for its hosting fees till the day I die. I do not need this forum to grow or succeed. I just want it to be a truly open platform free from advertising. The world needs it.

 

[Will Prowse]

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

 

[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.