Everyone tells me something different.
I should go into printing / I shouldn’t go into printing.
Help build up the family business / But I’m not getting an equity stake (a real sore point I might add)
It’s the most challenging thing I’ve ever done / You’ll hate it and you won’t be able to do it for the rest of your life
And worst of all, after essentially paying off my debts, I’m going back into debt to do a training program. I’m putting in a lot of investment for no equity.
But what do I do?
A good friend suggests that I teach. But I’m awkward in front of people. And much of my knowledge of economics has faded. Don’t even begin to ask me about math. Granted, these are all things that I could easily relearn. But it still makes me nervous.
Regardless, I have just a little less than a year before I can either begin the training program or begin a career teaching (i.e. the Fall of 2010.) What do I do until then? My family suggests I work with the person who runs my brother’s press to learn how it works. Of course I’m doing this for no pay, and I’m liquidating my 401(k) just to survive. The more I work with the press, the less appealing it is. On the other hand, the graphics end of the business does appeal. In fact it really fascinates me.
But a family business is not like a law firm that charges $185/hour for my time. Given how small the margins are, I’m amazed that the business survives at all, even with the high volume that we already have. They can’t pay me to sit around working on graphics all day. I will have to run the presses. And I am not mechanically inclined. The family keeps pushing me down this path. But I’m not convinced it’s the right one.
At the same time, I don’t have time to seek out other employment. My family monopolizes my time for the most part. And what little time I have left, I have to have a break. I’m not one of those people that can just keep going and going and going.
So I don’t know what to do. I’ll never be a corporate executive. I’ll never be a lawyer or an investment banker. I’ll never have a big house. For reasons I won’t discuss at the moment, I’ll never have a significant other. I’m considering moving to Panama for my retirement because it’s very inexpensive. I’d move there now if I could get a job there. Maybe I should look into it.
I’m just disappointed that I have all this education and nothing to show for it.
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