What do you do for a living?

My apologizes if this thread has been created before. I searched and couldn't find anything.

For you guys that are buying these new boats what do you do for a living that affords this luxury? Decided to go back to school and will be taking a myers briggs test soon. Would like to pick a degree path that in the closer future would allow me to afford one of these lake barges.

my boats 18 years old ..Ill never be able to afford one these big boats .. I work in procurement for penny's for the state of kommifornia

Yep. These threads have been done before and I've never responded to one until now because most of them end up being idiotic, dong wagging contests.

You don't necessarily need higher education. It really depends on the individual. Can you think outside the box? How much ambition do you have? Do you have any existing skills?

Now answer those questions honestly again.

Personally, I'm a high school dropout. Bought my first POS boat at 29. Just bought my third (second new) Nautique (SAN 230) at 48. Big deal. Whoopie. Right? Coulda bought a G too, but who cares?
Point is, I learned a trade, worked my butt off and started my own business at 23. I built up a clientele of customers after years of reliable, excellent service with attention to detail and have never needed to advertise my services, thanks to word of mouth references.

The best thing you can do now is throw away every bit of conventional wisdom your generation has been taught by our crappy public educational system as well as "higher education". Say, "adios" to that "I'm a victim/everyone gets a trophy" garbage and go surprise everyone with your work ethic, your enthusiasm to be the best at whatever you do and your attitude. The money will soon follow. Maybe not soon enough for you, but it will. FWIW, I wanted a boat for eight years before I had enough to buy one.

Originally Posted by CALIV210

my boats 18 years old ..Ill never be able to afford one these big boats .. I work in procurement for penny's for the state of kommifornia

Sounds like you've painted yourself into a corner and have already given up on yourself.

Originally Posted by markj

Sounds like you've painted yourself into a corner and have already given up on yourself.

Wow you don't even know me or what I do . I have a nice home a nice truck a decent boat and two Harley's not to mention my wife drives a beautiful Tahoe that's way to nice to be hauling grubby kids around in . I bought and paid for everything I have myself . My kids and wife are well taken care of . I made a decision long ago that I need the medical ,dental and retirement benefits for my family's sake and if I have to take a wage cut to do so then I will. I used to be a Mechanic and I do a ton of side work when there's no overtime available . I have also built more custom Harley's then I can count . I know how to work and hustle . I'm not the type to sit on my hands and not hustle and grind for what my family needs . I hope this doesn't sound like a weenie waggin contest but I don't like when someone attempts to judge me or my decisions . Trust me when I say that I have irons in the fire for potential new employment . I have passed on a couple opportunity's due to the distance from home and some due to the shifts that were offered . My kids are growing up really fast and I refuse to miss all of it working crazy night shifts far from home . With that said I'm happy to hear you have done well and have the drive to hustle and make nice life for yourself as I too am a high school drop out . I used to feel kinda stupid about it until all the people I went to school with went off to college got into huge debts and more then half don't even work in the field they studied . But that's a subject for a whole different thread .lol

Originally Posted by markj

Yep. These threads have been done before and I've never responded to one until now because most of them end up being idiotic, dong wagging contests.

You don't necessarily need higher education. It really depends on the individual. Can you think outside the box? How much ambition do you have? Do you have any existing skills?

Now answer those questions honestly again.

Personally, I'm a high school dropout. Bought my first POS boat at 29. Just bought my third (second new) Nautique (SAN 230) at 48. Big deal. Whoopie. Right? Coulda bought a G too, but who cares?
Point is, I learned a trade, worked my butt off and started my own business at 23. I built up a clientele of customers after years of reliable, excellent service with attention to detail and have never needed to advertise my services, thanks to word of mouth references.

The best thing you can do now is throw away every bit of conventional wisdom your generation has been taught by our crappy public educational system as well as "higher education". Say, "adios" to that "I'm a victim/everyone gets a trophy" garbage and go surprise everyone with your work ethic, your enthusiasm to be the best at whatever you do and your attitude. The money will soon follow. Maybe not soon enough for you, but it will. FWIW, I wanted a boat for eight years before I had enough to buy one.

BTW your last paragraph is sooooo on point I couldn't agree more !!!! If you want it you gotta work for it !!

Safety Engineer - Degree in safety engineering. If you go the college route choose a stem (science, technology, engineering, math) field or finance/insurance. My nephew is 27 with a degree in international finance and he made 7 million last year - that is no bs real money to be made in finance/insurance.

I'll wait a few more years until they come down alittle more in price and then I'll buy one used. I'll have my boat paid off so I can put a big down payment on a used G23.

You don't have to make a tone of money to get a G23. (maybe a new one). Just be smart and don't get in a huge amounts of debit. I love my boat so I'm willing to make a payment on it. Other stuff I want I save up for. If your not making a 800$ a month credit card payment you can enjoy life a-little better.

And start with a cheaper boat and work your way up.

Haha well this got out of hand quickly, as usual...

But if you check out this thread in the "Boats & Accessories" section it will give you a good range of all the options out there:

http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=799038

Originally Posted by whiteflashwatersports1

Safety Engineer - Degree in safety engineering. If you go the college route choose a stem (science, technology, engineering, math) field or finance/insurance. My nephew is 27 with a degree in international finance and he made 7 million last year - that is no bs real money to be made in finance/insurance.

I originally started school going towards a stem degree. I figured it would have been safe choice for a higher income than many other degrees. I ended up getting out of the Mech E. program. I burnt me out way too fast.

I had no idea that kind of money was in finance if you are working for somebody else. Thats really impressive.

Originally Posted by markj

Yep. These threads have been done before and I've never responded to one until now because most of them end up being idiotic, dong wagging contests.

You don't necessarily need higher education. It really depends on the individual. Can you think outside the box? How much ambition do you have? Do you have any existing skills?

Now answer those questions honestly again.

Personally, I'm a high school dropout. Bought my first POS boat at 29. Just bought my third (second new) Nautique (SAN 230) at 48. Big deal. Whoopie. Right? Coulda bought a G too, but who cares?
Point is, I learned a trade, worked my butt off and started my own business at 23. I built up a clientele of customers after years of reliable, excellent service with attention to detail and have never needed to advertise my services, thanks to word of mouth references.

The best thing you can do now is throw away every bit of conventional wisdom your generation has been taught by our crappy public educational system as well as "higher education". Say, "adios" to that "I'm a victim/everyone gets a trophy" garbage and go surprise everyone with your work ethic, your enthusiasm to be the best at whatever you do and your attitude. The money will soon follow. Maybe not soon enough for you, but it will. FWIW, I wanted a boat for eight years before I had enough to buy one.

Thank you for the genuine reply. I thought I would never end up with a college degree but thank you to the wonderful post 9/11 GI Bill, I would be stupid to not seek out a higher education. I feel stagnant right now while I am in school. Yeah the living is decent but it feels like a good three year delay on doing something that is building my wealth. What I was really interested in seeing was how many people like you that built a business an afford these things vs. people with the traditional degree working an 9-5 can afford one.

I have the motivation, but am terrible at recognizing opportunities or failing to realize you make the opportunities not see them. Having my own business is the way to go, my degree is my fall back on if I find my self in a very tight spot. I really don't believe having a 4 year degree really earns an income that puts you into 6 digit income territory minus the few special exceptions.

Orion- yes that is what I was looking for. Thank you.

25 years in the USAF and still going.....

Slowly upgraded over the years rolling over equity into each boat.
99 PS 205
06 Tige 20i
07 Calabria Team V
07 MalibuVLX

I can't see myself having 3X the fun in something new that costs 3x what I paid for my VLX.

Originally Posted by whiteflashwatersports1

Safety Engineer - Degree in safety engineering. If you go the college route choose a stem (science, technology, engineering, math) field or finance/insurance. My nephew is 27 with a degree in international finance and he made 7 million last year - that is no bs real money to be made in finance/insurance.

Odds of you getting a paying gig in finance like that right out of college at 27 is like hitting the lottery. Not going to happen to 99% of people.

I agree if your going the college route STEM is where its at. I majored in Materials & Biomaterials Engineering, did the 5 year bachelor/masters program then received an MBA.

Can I afford to buy a G23? or a boat every other year? no, but I could afford to buy out my Centurion and not worry about payments!

Guess my other point would be just because you have a good salary coming in each week doesnt mean you can strap your self with heavy payments for cars, boats, mortgages etc. Don't want to end up cash poor and in reality own nothing but debt to the bank

"I really don't believe having a 4 year degree really earns an income that puts you into 6 digit income territory minus the few special exceptions."

The exception being the STEM degree that burnt you out. The nice thing about a STEM degree is that it can be only 4 year and still offer many opportunities to get into the 6 figure income range. When it comes to programming you can easily get into 6 figures without a professional license, or even a degree if you are good at it.

Like MarkJ, I did not complete my education, but learned a trade. I started a HVAC business in 1994 and now have almost 50 employees. I work my ass off and have since I was 13 years old. I love to play and have had boats since 1994, but rarely have I ever bought now and never bought top of the line. That goes for my cars/trucks - I buy new, but never top of the line. I am still frugal and try to make careful decision on everything related to money. I have been married for almost as long and having a partner that challenges you as well as support you is a huge plus.

Education will ALWAYS help you no matter what. I completed most of my mechanical engineering degree.I am not saying what they teach in college you will use every day, but it will always help when you get a job verse a applicant that does not have one. A degree shows discipline and the ability to stick with a plan, which as an employer is always impressive.

It is NOT required to be successful or wealthy, but it helpful for sure. In many fields you will not be considered without.

Your goal should be what you want to do and makes you happy and not making money to buy a boat. If you do the first part, the second part will come.

Good luck!

I agree earning 7 million in a year is a stretch but the area of business where it can be done is finance/insurance. My nephew did an internship which led to a job with a major Wall Street firm. He did two years in New York with them and then went on to a small firm in Denver. He is not an ivy leaguer He went to Wake Forest - which is a very good school but not ivy. He busted his ass just as entrepreneurs and small business people do.

Everyone I know with a 4 year degree in a stem field earns in the 6 figures - the majority of people in my life and social circle have 4 year degrees and are 6 figure earners. If you and your significant other are both in this range these boats and other toys areeasily affordable. All while saving for retirement, college etc. I am not trying to sound uppity or judgmental this has just been my personal experience.

I do not judge people that do not finish high school or earn degrees many are very successful however this is proven to be a very difficult path and is precarious. As you mentioned you seek an education as a fall back.

One thing about today society and college is in 5-10 years having just a bachelors degree is going to be the high school equivalent in today's world. ESPECIALLY if they make college free like half the country is fighting for. Free education will devalue a degree so choose one wisely. And remember even if it does end up free, a STEM degree is NOT easy and it pays well for that reason.

How many former STEM majors on here can remember not partying on those big party nights because while your art, finance and business friends were out getting smashed you had an 8am exam the next day if not 2 exams. But when graduation came around you were employed with minimum to no loans to worry about while they were flat broke living on your couch for a year.

My parents are not college educated and never forced me to go to school, they always told me "you can be successful in either path, but one path may require you to work harder than the other, and when you are 60 praying to retire, working hard isn't as easy as it was when you were 20" food for thought

These are the reasons I choose to originally go into the stem program. I made the mistake of not jumping ship from the ME program into the Chem E program before I got to far. I had 64 credits when I transferred into the business school. Last semester I decided to take 17 credit hours to keep me on pace to graduate by spring of 18' with my degree. What killed it for me was over supply of terrible teachers that expected you to make up for their short comings at home. Example, the first physics 2 test, majority of the class failed and the teacher stood at the front of the class and scolded us for doing poorly. I had 5 classes but for my diff-eq/linear algebra and physics 2 I was spending 20+ hours a week per class studying and doing homework. I was able to spend 2 hours a week give or take in Calc 3 and got an A. It really sucked but I knew I couldn't survive the program with conditions like that.

Lots of good insight here in this thread and kind of confirms what I have been thinking.

Hey whiteflashwatersports1, is your nephew looking for any interns? Im located in Denver my self and I am in the UC Denver business school.

Hey whiteflashwatersports1, is your nephew looking for any interns? Im located in Denver my self and I am in the UC Denver business school.

His internship was with Goldman - those are the kind of internships that set you on the path in the finance world. To be clear his salary is not 7 mil his salary is 1.5 mil the other is bonuses. I agree their is a lot of good insight here. It just shows there are many ways to be successful. The best advice is to find something you like to do the rest will follow.

I do not agree that a 4 year degree will become like a high school diploma. As of the last census roughly 30% of those 25 and older have a 4 year degree and the numbers go down for advanced degrees.

College will never be "free". I agree college is very expensive maybe to expensive. I used student loans and repaid them in full as did my wife. 'Without them we would not be where we are now.

I understand college is not for everyone but if you have the ability and the means it should be pursued. No one ever said I didn't even get an interview because I "finished" college.

Many jobs in corporate america you apply online, post your resume to a job site or company website. These sites have filters that look for keywords in order to narrow down the applicants. Having a degree and especially a stem degree gets you moved to the top.

The company I work for will not consider someone for an entry level management position and above without a degree. Right or wrong that's the way it is.

Mechanical engineer, you just got to get through the math and physics class. You won't get mega rich, but good paying jobs. You also have the ability to transfer into management and climb the corporate ladder that way, or go out on your own and start your own company. I've chosen to stay in engineering so far, which has held my career back a little, although I still get a pretty good salary.

Also with Mechanical Engineer you can work anywhere in the world, work from home in many cases and can always start your own firm once you log in the years.

Bottom line to all of these solutions - WORK YOUR TAIL OFF on your goal/dream. There is no easy/legal way to make good money without hard work.

I would add to pick up as many biographies of people you admire that you can. I spend lots of reading time on Dale Carnagie/President Lincoln/Self help books and than I throw in bio's from some professional athletes and leaders/ceo's. Learn from those that already did what you want to do. Learn the habits that led them to success.

Goldman Sachs hires like 1-3% of the people who apply for jobs. Kudos to your nephew for working out that deal because hes on the path alot of people want to be on. but, lets be serious, you have better odds of gambling to make money than getting a job with a good firm on wall street. Friend of mine worked for them and he quit after a few years, made great money, but he was literally a slave working 20 hours a day, never taking a lunch, holding in a pee or poo all day and had constant stress 24/7.

Most people cant handle that kind of work, and we cant answer the question of what do you want to do for you. Each line of business has its pros and cons, I like sitting in an air conditioned building for 6-8 hours and being home by 3pm to be on the lake. Others would rather work outside.

Does not matter really what you do, only matters what your priorities are.

There is a big distinction when you learn the difference between a dream and a goal.

Project manager for a large commercial construction company. I'm not really happy with what I do, and I have some irons in the fire to start my own construction and development business. I recently got my realtor license, and I am testing for my contractors license soon. I am doing both these on the side right now, but he 5 year goal is to be independent. I'm 30 now.

Failed out of college and lost my full scholarship in 1999. Joined the Navy. Became a Nuke Electrician. Went into sales 6 years later as a recruiter and was decent at selling opportunities. Got selected for an officer program. They paid for my undergrad. I had 3 years (year round) to finish it. They paid for it and paid me to go. Now I'm in aviation and have 3 years left until I retire and should have a ~$40k pension with medical the rest of my life starting at age 39.

Oh and they're paying for my MBA too.

I choose to treat my undergrad time as a full time job. I gave it 40 hours a week no matter what was going on in my classes. This left plenty of family time and freedom during the weekends to save my sanity.

My point is... Be mature, treat it like a job, GO to class and actually pay attention (novel idea I know), and most people will be fine in any major. Those who fail usually don't want to do what it takes to finish since the 'big payoff' is a ways into the future. Instant gratification is what today's society wants.

Director of Ops for a Multifamily Marketing Company.

chief bottle washer at a couple of restaurants.

see the dream, live the dream, vote against all that oppose the dream

I see this thread is going in typical WW fashion...
Do I also need to list my education,salary, and explain why my way is the best way and that no one else should do as they see fit to chase success?

I deal with the FDA/regulatory bodies on the behalf of the pharma and med device industries.

I was actually expecting way worse on this wakeworld thread.

This isn't an easy question to answer.

It's about a decent paying job, life choices, shared incomes, priorities, and hard work.

I worked as an Environmental Consultant for 10 years, in that time the best I was looking at would have been a used boat at least 10 years old. Why? Because of how I chose my priorities. I put a large down payment on a condo and later started a masters degree

With my MSC in Environment and Management I still worked at a lower paying consulting job for a few years before I transitioned in Environment Health and Safety for a large pipeline company. I could have mortgaged up a new boat but still chose to buy used, albeit 2 years VS 10. I still have boat payments but I'm comfortable with the debt/payment/income ratio.

While it's easy to say "I make X and do Y so can therefore afford a boat" for most of us it's not so simple. I could have owned a new boat sooner but while I love wakeboarding it wouldn't put anything other than a lower income roof over my head. I could have made the choice to purchase and live in a decent trailer park to afford a boat, vehicle, and place but I held off. Choose a career path that you find some enjoyment in. Boredom and being unsatisfied with your career is often harder to deal with than shifting priorities to make the best of the opportunities you have.

Owning your business is definitely the best way to accumulate wealth but watch out. It's also the best way to have no time to enjoy a boat.

My best boating years were when I had a salary. Business degree and then additional licenses for the job...stock market (not sales). First boat was used so saving for a home was also possible.

Wealthy people often have good paying jobs or businesses but they also have wealthy habits. Dropping too much money on a toy isn't one of those habits. How much is too much depends on your circumstances. Accumulating appreciating assets is a good habit. Focus on that for years and you'll do well.

Probably will never be able to afford any of the new stuff.... I'm an Engineer (degrees in Mechanical / Electrical) working for a big food manufacturing company as a Project Engineer. Short description of what I do is manage large capital projects... and I really enjoy it. Each project is a bit different and my current company is really open to giving me creative control on solutions to problems we have.

Boats have been a slow progression. 87' Ski eliminator (my dad bought this), 94' Hydrodyne was my first boat I made payments on, 95' Supersport nautique (went 50/50 with a buddy and later sold to my brother), and currently have a 04' Wakesetter LSV.

Probably could have bought a nicer / newer boat but put the money towards a house on the water vs. being off-shore, but honestly the LSV is all I need. I'm getting too old to learn anything really new and crazy where a G23 wake may come in handy.

Boats are like horses. Only two types of people should own them. People who eat, breath and sleep wakeboarding. And those so rich that they can afford to have everything take care of so when they want to ride it is ready to go. If you approach wakeboarding like a lifestyle, $500-1000/mo is affordable even if you aren't rich, but it it won't leave much extra cash for other hobbies, nice cars, vacations, etc. I live by the river so everyday is a vacation--even if I LIVE IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!!

what you are asking is really "how much money do you make" So how much do you want to make? That s the question you need to ask yourself. Its not what we do, it what we make that intrigue's others to ask "what do yo do" you have to decide whats important and how much BS will you be able to put up with to make the money you need to have the lifestyle you want. Just remember, is the juice worth the squeeze!