meeting old classmates is a good thing. 3 out of the 8 of us who were present are currently teachers, and if i add myself in for teaching in the past, that's already half of us.
some of the topics that were shared after our dinner were:
1. high pay, little freedom
2. low pay, little freedom
3. want to go overseas, need to get leave approved
4. pragmatism of choices - what to do, where to do it... and WHY do it
5. job stability
i'm glad i've now no need to submit leave applications, have the flexibility to do things when i want to - without being subject to timing restrictions etc. my income is pegged to as many people as i see - it's a positive-relative instead of an inverse-relative. freedom? there's a good chance of real freedom - chronological, physical, emotional, and just as fundamental - financial.
with the timing that i left the civil service, there was absolutely no other way that i can accelerate my income if i were to rely on my two diplomas - one of which is obsolete now (computer studies - i am totally out of sync with technology now) and the other worthless once i'm not in the line (diploma for teaching physical education). i must however, agree that they are still important - but just that they're not important to me. to others, they would be of more use.
i used to wonder occasionally about prostituing oneself by studying a course just for the sake of doing it in order to secure the next higher rung of income. honestly, in my then-career of teaching, that was the most logical thing to do - get a degree. a degree is helpful, but as kiyosaki tested out, you don't need to have a degree to fix a car - your mechanic wouldn't have one, for sure - though there can be exceptions of bookworm mechanics. in fact, as a show of defiance or rather non-conformity, i had kiyosaki's if you want to be rich and happy, don't go to school on the shelf of my school staff cubicle! but i must agree that education in the conventional sense is no doubt important - i've seen delinquents before, and honestly what kind of income are they bringing in for themselves and their families? i'm not in a position to judge, but i'd rather be a simple man, lead a simple life. and not worry over money - because a lot of things arise from the lack of money.
job stability is another thing i am wondering about too. people are so concerned that agents get zero basic income - everything comes from commissions - and we have no cpf (that's social security or maybe 401k for you usa folks) but let's say if you were a ceo, and in an economic crunch, would you rather keep the hordes of older staff you're paying more, or the junior staff you are paying less for? i've heard of one too many times that people are retrenched... why work into a line where there is retrenchment?
a term that was also mentioned was "mid-career switch". in the past, only working folks about in their 40s would mention it, but now it seems like we've accelerated it forward. if i don't do insurance as i am doing now, i think that same thought would be on my mind as well!
boy, am i glad i found a career, business and lifestyle all at once! best of all... by sheer serendipity!
some of the topics that were shared after our dinner were:
1. high pay, little freedom
2. low pay, little freedom
3. want to go overseas, need to get leave approved
4. pragmatism of choices - what to do, where to do it... and WHY do it
5. job stability
i'm glad i've now no need to submit leave applications, have the flexibility to do things when i want to - without being subject to timing restrictions etc. my income is pegged to as many people as i see - it's a positive-relative instead of an inverse-relative. freedom? there's a good chance of real freedom - chronological, physical, emotional, and just as fundamental - financial.
with the timing that i left the civil service, there was absolutely no other way that i can accelerate my income if i were to rely on my two diplomas - one of which is obsolete now (computer studies - i am totally out of sync with technology now) and the other worthless once i'm not in the line (diploma for teaching physical education). i must however, agree that they are still important - but just that they're not important to me. to others, they would be of more use.
i used to wonder occasionally about prostituing oneself by studying a course just for the sake of doing it in order to secure the next higher rung of income. honestly, in my then-career of teaching, that was the most logical thing to do - get a degree. a degree is helpful, but as kiyosaki tested out, you don't need to have a degree to fix a car - your mechanic wouldn't have one, for sure - though there can be exceptions of bookworm mechanics. in fact, as a show of defiance or rather non-conformity, i had kiyosaki's if you want to be rich and happy, don't go to school on the shelf of my school staff cubicle! but i must agree that education in the conventional sense is no doubt important - i've seen delinquents before, and honestly what kind of income are they bringing in for themselves and their families? i'm not in a position to judge, but i'd rather be a simple man, lead a simple life. and not worry over money - because a lot of things arise from the lack of money.
job stability is another thing i am wondering about too. people are so concerned that agents get zero basic income - everything comes from commissions - and we have no cpf (that's social security or maybe 401k for you usa folks) but let's say if you were a ceo, and in an economic crunch, would you rather keep the hordes of older staff you're paying more, or the junior staff you are paying less for? i've heard of one too many times that people are retrenched... why work into a line where there is retrenchment?
a term that was also mentioned was "mid-career switch". in the past, only working folks about in their 40s would mention it, but now it seems like we've accelerated it forward. if i don't do insurance as i am doing now, i think that same thought would be on my mind as well!
boy, am i glad i found a career, business and lifestyle all at once! best of all... by sheer serendipity!
