The biggest investment of your life: Your Time !!

As a twenty something barely a few years out of school, I often talk to friends about career choices.  What could I possibly be doing right now that would lead to better long term gain? 

From a purely financial rewards perspective, I’ve looked at the everyday salary surveys and then there’s the wallstreet salary survey.  Besides running your own show (owning a flourishing business), there’s not many job that come close to that type of pay.  As a software developer, I luckily got my first job out of school in the finance industry.  Now at my second job at an investment firm, I am slowly moving over to the “business side.”  The financial rewards will come at some point, but most importantly, I am enjoying my work a lot more now.  Rather than being a worker drone, I feel I am learning a lot and going somewhere. 

Even so, every now and then, I wonder about the “what if’s”.  What if I spend the 11 hours at work somewhere else instead?  Maybe I can be a great real estate broker, I can meet a lot of people, make a lot of connections. And when a hot deal comes up, I can snatch it and flip it for godly profits.  What if this.. and what if that?

 

At the end of the day, the “what if” scenario always comes down to deciding how I want to spend (and invest!) the most valuable asset I have, which is my time.  I think of my current job right now as an investment in my future.  I am learning new skills and knowledge that will help me become a trader someday.  But at the same time, what I do give back to the company is my current skillset, computer programming.  It is as close to a win-win situation as possible. 

Time is your biggest asset (unless you have already made it and are enjoying your retirement), so look at your career wisely.  Are you investing in your future with your current work?  Or are you simply applying your current skills, but not learning.

Here’s a book Nobodies to Somebodies : How 100 Great Careers Got Their Start I am reading now.  Like the title says, it’s about how the Nobodies of yesterday became the Somebodies of today.  It answered a lot of my own doubt about career choice.  You might find it helpful too!