So these last few months i dipped my toes into the hobbying pool. Its something i plan on continuing to do. Ive read a lot on the boards and kind of got a picture that some of the hobbyists here are living a good life. They seem to be able to afford any quality and quantity of providers that they wish. So me being on the younger side and still have not had my permanent career established, have to wonder, what do they do? Currently my plan is to finish my computer science degree, that field is stable and provides at least a decent living. But no one aims for decent.  

That same sage advise was extended to me early in life and has served me well. If you aspire to be the best at what you do, you may not reach that pinnacle but you'll be very good at it and the rewards will be plentiful. If you do an adequate job, you'll achieve adequate results.

But that's me.

Here's what to do, in order of importance:  (It sounds easy, but it ain't)

My advice is to do what you love.  Or at least something that is interesting, challenging, and rewarding.  Life is too short to have a job that you aren't really into - even if it pays well.  With increased income often comes greater stress, sacrifice and responsibility.  Walking that line between being financially secure and having some free time (and good health) to enjoy it is a challenge.

...there's good money there. At your salary point, you should be able to squirrel away half your pay (it may take some willpower and creative thinking). Then decide: how early do I want to retire vs how much pussy do I want along the way

You can never earn a fortune with your own hands.  Instead you need to find a position where you obtain a very competent staff.  Once you do, just delegate the hell out of them.

It will leave you with lots of time and money for more important things.  (wink, wink)

And yes, this is much easier said than done, but what did you expect?

What i love? I guess i love to cook, thats one of my great passions. I use to love to draw and paint when i was younger, those amoung other things. But id never want to be a chef or artist as my profession. It may sound shallow but for my profession i want something that requires the least amount of work with the highest pay.

Many of the nice folks I know that have accomplished financial success have done so by themselves.  One of the fastest ways to financial ruin is to allow others to be in a position to fuck up "your" business.  That includes partners and investors.

Find something that you can't wait to be at....just get so excited to get up and get there.

Posted By: yellowfever1250

So these last few months i dipped my toes into the hobbying pool. Its something i plan on continuing to do. Ive read a lot on the boards and kind of got a picture that some of the hobbyists here are living a good life. They seem to be able to afford any quality and quantity of providers that they wish. So me being on the younger side and still have not had my permanent career established, have to wonder, what do they do? Currently my plan is to finish my computer science degree, that field is stable and provides at least a decent living. But no one aims for decent.  
   
 I dont except people to tell me what jobs they have on here, but id like suggestions. Hobbying requires time and money, something only good careers can afford. Im not going to straight up change my major because of what i read a TER board. But i am very open to suggestions and tips from the veterans since i am young and can afford to make changes.  
   
 So what are some ideal careers for the hobbyists where he can afford the time and money to his content?

You and fish have learned different things and taken different paths.  Each worked for you.  Neither is right or wrong for anyone else.
Here's what I know:
1) figure out what you love to do and do it.
2) get to the point where you can trust your gut and know the right path in any situation.  Then follow it.

I'm a oddball anyways, I work a day job repairing commercial kitchen equipment and refrigeration. Day job pays decent nothing to brag about (high 40's) but it's stable with killer bennies, but I run a side buisness as a licensed HVAC contractor so my hours can bounce with no rhyme or reason even if I just drop out for a couple hours during the evening for a "sales" call. Being a one man show and seeing the project through start to finish allows me to do a better job than a lot of the big companies around here, so I get a lot of referral buisness. If the day job didn't have such good benefits and retirement I'd just do my buisness full time. And a lot of folks will pay cash if you give them a deal, so that 250.00 cash service ticket is 125.00 when Miss Case asks for some grocery money. Works for me seems to be a shortage of qualified HVAC and refrigeraton folks these days no one wants to turn the wrenches anymore.

Find a job you like where.you can climb the corporate ladder and still enjoy the responsibilities that come with it.  I work in a hospital lab and enjoy it.  The work was challenging and rewarding.  However, the only way up is to move into management and I can't  be on the "bench" anymore once I'm in management.  The bench is where things happen.  They also don't pay managers much, so I'm staying where I am.  Been trying to find another career to freelance on the side.

First there was the PC boom, then the Internet boom then the dot.com boom... each of those boom created many filthy rich dudes, some deservedly so thanks to their talents but most simply due to their luck being in the right place at the right time, i.e. imagine you're #10 Apple employee even though you were just a janitor. All that stock options made you multi-millionaire when they went public.

Have you thought about writing cookbooks or selling recipes online?

Generally men who hobby at a certain level are doing pretty well for themselves.  Theyre also usually in the 50-60 age range, so it makes sense that they'd be at the peak of their careers, unlike a younger guy who is still trying to make his way.

Caterer/Private Chef and loving life! Traded my white collar for chef whites and have never looked back. A lot of chicks dig a man who is a beast in the kitchen, but I make sure not to mix business with pleasure. It's been tempting, but I prefer NSA while I'm still a fairly young dude.

I'd add-- try not to make mistakes.

It's a dream for most of us.

I'm a piano player in a bordello.  The chef just quit so you can apply for that job and you can also paint portraits of the ladies to hang above the fireplace, in the foyer and along the staircase.  You do NOT want to be the mop-up guy.

They are two different things. Always live on a budget so you are saving every month. When you savings gets to a certain level you can invest in various investment vehicles. Some guys have been good stock traders and that is how they fund the hobby.

...to get a good job, saved my money and invested it wisely (no stocks).  I retired at 38 and today my investments make me more money every year than the year before.

Theres good money in mercenary work. You get to travel to foreign countries meet exotic people and kill them

I got pretty high up but never wanted to run the whole show.  I just trusted my gut, figured out what I was good at and worked hard.  Had a great ride.

I would think being a successful chef is a lot of work. Perhaps if someone has a passion for food, and the desire to cook they might enjoy it. I've considered the profession myself, although I don't want to pay tuition for culinary college as I don't want to accumulate any additional debt.

("Is there nothing they don't know?", quoth Homer Simpson.)

In opening a store, you'll find yourself working around the clock. Payroll is often your biggest expense, so until you're making real profits, then you (the boss/owner) are working all the hours - you are tied to the shop! Then, when you can afford employees, you have to double check everything to make sure there are no slip ups and you're not getting ripped off.

Don't waste your money on stupid shit and squirrel away every spare dime in a broad stock market index fund (no individual stocks). Figure out a comfortable yearly budget (include play money along with living expenses). When you have 25x that yearly budget in your investment account, you're retired! Yes, it's boring, but it's the least aggravating path to the chill life. Ladies, this advice applies to you too. You're welcome!

Be a hooker. Duh.  

If you had to do it all over again, would you choose the same subject?

Obviously, this needs to be tailored to each person's particular situation, but there's a million lifestyle blogs out there with advice on how to cut your expenses. Check 'em out and put all of the advice to work.The other key action that a lot of people don't take advantage of is proper investing (and not touching that money for 10-30 years). It's hard to get on the savings boat when you're young, but realize that the older you get, the less you want to work.

Engineering field makes the most out of college but plateaus with too much work, but still very valuable as you can move onto other fields with this skill set.

Posted By: yellowfever1250

So these last few months i dipped my toes into the hobbying pool. Its something i plan on continuing to do. Ive read a lot on the boards and kind of got a picture that some of the hobbyists here are living a good life. They seem to be able to afford any quality and quantity of providers that they wish. So me being on the younger side and still have not had my permanent career established, have to wonder, what do they do? Currently my plan is to finish my computer science degree, that field is stable and provides at least a decent living. But no one aims for decent.  
   
 I dont except people to tell me what jobs they have on here, but id like suggestions. Hobbying requires time and money, something only good careers can afford. Im not going to straight up change my major because of what i read a TER board. But i am very open to suggestions and tips from the veterans since i am young and can afford to make changes.  
   
 So what are some ideal careers for the hobbyists where he can afford the time and money to his content?

Yeah, but beats blue collar work where there is danger involved like my current gig plus working 16 -24 hrs OT a week for somebody else.  At least it would be for ME.

The items at the market are pricey... and every woman I ever met wants to dine at nice places.

You're welcome. Yeah computer and technology was my passion too and I made a good living and accumulated decent saving as well. Unfortunately I was not one of the lucky ones who made it big through stock options. The few small private companies I worked for went bust. The reality is that for every Apple, Google, Facebook etc... success stories there are ten, hundred of failed ventures where the employees' stock options went up in smoke.

Ebay sales for me.Have done pretty well in the last year close to 60k.

I chose CS because i have gotten the do what you love speech a lot. And to be honest theres nothing i have a passion for in life that i would like to make a career so therefore i wanted something stable and guaranteed for at least a decent living.