Leveraging Your Career And Network For Personal And Professional Growth: The Personal Finance Fundamentals

This has to be one of the most common things people like to fight about when it comes to personal finance and self improvement. Pretty much everyone falls into the category of “my way is the best and only way” when it comes to entrepreneurship or working a more standard career. Instead of focusing on why you or I made the right decision for ourselves, let’s cut the crap and get straight to the heart of it. A good career has merits as well as issues, just like entrepreneurship. Neither will offer a lifestyle that everyone is happy with. Working a 9-to-5 may offer certain things that entrepreneurship doesn’t and vice versa.

Entrepreneurship Is A Great Wealth Builder

In theory, entrepreneurs get unlimited vacation and great pay, right? Like I said, in theory, but reality rarely works out that way. They can take as much vacation or work as little as they want, as long as they’re accomplishing everything they need to do for their business to stay afloat and provide them with the lifestyle they want. It is possible to have a light workload and make a ton of money as an entrepreneur, but that is usually after years of intense work. The stability of a 9-to-5 is sacrificed for more personal freedom and the opportunity to earn a lot more than you would be able to otherwise.

If you’re planning to become an entrepreneur, be prepared for late nights, a lot of stress, and more work than you thought you’d ever have to do. To be clear, I encourage entrepreneurship, but I want to emphasize that the stereotypes aren’t always true, and you should think carefully before making the leap to start your own business or turn your side hustle into a full-time endeavor. After all, the grass tends to seem greener until you make it to the other side.

The Pros Of Entrepreneurship

• When it comes to your take-home pay, the sky is the limit. While there are tons of jobs that pay well, there are many more that don’t. Meanwhile, if you’re good at building a business and put in the time and effort, making well into six figures is attainable. It’s even possible for you to make a lot more than that!
• It’s easier to make the most of each dollar. What do I mean by that? Well, there are more tax write-offs and ways to maximize your retirement savings when you own a business. If you own a business and you have no idea what I’m talking about, hire a tax consultant or financial advisor (that specializes in small businesses) and they’ll be able to help you save a lot more money.
• Almost unlimited vacation. Yes, I know I made fun of the idea earlier. However, just the fact that it is possible (after a lot of time and hard work) makes it enticing.
• You get to work on your goals every single day instead of the goals someone else wants you to help them achieve. All the work you do on a daily basis is directly helping you and your future, so you’ll get to appreciate the fruits of your labor. I don’t know about you, but I think that is a satisfying feeling.
• You are in charge. You make the rules and can decide to follow them or not. Of course, to be successful you still have to appeal to your customers, but you get to decide how everything gets done.

The Cons Of Entrepreneurship

• Your income is less stable. Most businesses have a decent amount of fluctuation when it comes to how much revenue they bring in. With that being said, if your business isn’t still raking in a lot of money during its lows, a 9-to-5 can provide a lot more stability for your household. Of course, if you have a career in a highly volatile field, you might suffer from the same issue.
• You’re ultimately on your own. You might have help from friends or family, but at the end of the day the success of your business is up to you. At a 9-to-5 you have a lot more help and support. As an entrepreneur you have to do it on your own or build a support system along the way.

How Do I Tell If Entrepreneurship Is Right For Me?

If you’re asking the question, I have a feeling you already know the answer. You’re probably just having a hard time admitting it one way or the other. A 9-to-5 offers a lot of stability, a normal life, and is the standard for most people. A lot of people will not like entrepreneurship.

If you want to be in charge, and love constantly striving to get and accomplish more, entrepreneurship may be up your alley. There is one major caveat I need to mention though. If you can’t handle the potential stress and instability that comes with entrepreneurship, don’t do it or at least make sure you do it in a way that mitigates those issues.

You Can Always Use A 9-To-5 To Become An Entrepreneur

….and that leads me to my next point. If you want to ease into entrepreneurship (as many others have done), you can always ease into it while still working a normal job. Start a business or lucrative project part-time, after your normal work hours, and let it start growing into something big enough to support you before you take the leap into doing it full time. This makes the transition process a lot more manageable.

Your Career Is Important

Yes, yes, it’s surprising, I’m aware. Most of you probably don’t think a 9-to-5 is a great way to build wealth, but the fact of the matter is that it’s amazing for that. With a 9-to-5 you can reliably make enough to pay your bills, get started investing, fund a hustle or side business, and potentially have some leftover “fun” money. In other words, a 9-to-5 can supply you with more than enough to get started so that you can ramp up your finances. It’s not glamorous, but it’s effective when you’re smart about your money and time.

The Pros Of A 9-To-5 Job

• It’s stable! You know what you need to do on a daily basis, you know how much money you’re bringing home each month, and you can stick to routines if you want.
• You can learn a lot from coworkers and managers. Of course entrepreneurs are constantly learning a lot, but a traditional 9 to 5 experience can teach you a lot about a field. In fact, a 9-to-5 can teach faster than you can learn it on your own if you’re just starting out.
• There are clear-cut tracks to success. Most fields have metrics to tell you how successful you are, and you reap the benefits from being a high achiever. Entrepreneurship also benefits high achievers, but is a little less definite in how you measure it. In a way, you have to set your own bar.
• You get guaranteed benefits. No longer do you have to worry about health insurance, your 401(k), or vacation. For most jobs, it’s all included in your total compensation package!

The Cons Of A 9-To-5 Job

• You report to someone else. I’ve fortunately had some great bosses, but a lot of people don’t like the idea of working under someone. Additionally, they don’t like having to take a backseat on some of the big decisions.
• Your income is unfortunately limited. No matter what you do, there is a hard cap for your position.

Choosing A Career

These days there seem to be countless options when it comes to choosing a career. Obviously there are, and many of them offer a lucrative lifestyle! However, the best career won’t come down to just how much you can make off of it – even though that is a huge plus. That means the right career will come down to a mixture of features including things you must have, things you can’t have, and everything in between. Fortunately, I have a simple and effective process for you to follow in order to help you narrow down your options and find the right career for you and your goals.

Get Introspective

Clearly, in order to figure out what type of career is a good fit for you, you’ll need to know what you want out of your job and your personal priorities. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for this, but it helps if you take the time to get to know your wants and needs well. You could always take an online career or personality test, but I would only do that to help you brainstorm. In other words, take any results with a huge grain of salt.

Find where your interests and your talents overlap. Figure out what you want to learn. Set your personal and financial goals, so you know your absolute minimum requirements. When it comes to things like working remote, the number of hours you work per week, travel required, and anything like that, it’s best to make a list of your priorities. Carefully define your must-have items as well as your can’t-have (under any condition) items.

Create A List Of Jobs You’re Interested In

Now that you know what you want, need, and are interested in, it’s time to make a general list of careers or fields which you’d like to explore more. A good tactic for this is to base your initial search around your best or favorite skills and determine which in-demand industries they can be used in. For now, be pretty lenient about what careers you include in this list, as long as they meet your bare minimum requirements. After all, you might be surprised about them once you do more research! If you decide you don’t like one, you can always remove it in the next step.

Here Are Some Examples

Many people love careers in information technology. It offers great salaries, work-life balance, and it may require less schooling than other high-paying careers. Beyond that, it can also be mentally engaging since technology is always expanding and developing. However, that is a negative for many people. Not everyone wants to be forced to continuously learn about such a rapidly-changing industry.

Another good example is sales. You may not need a degree at all to get in. The pay starts off abysmally low, but since you work off of commissions, you can make outrageous amounts sometimes! The main negatives of this type of career are the long hours and the likelihood that you’ll face ethical dilemmas.

You Don’t Need A Degree To Be Successful, But It Does Help

For as long as most of us can remember, we were told that if we applied ourselves in school and went to college that we would be able to get a great job in a field that we love. While those with a bachelor’s degree do tend to out-earn those with just a high school diploma, that doesn’t make college a one-size-fits-all solution. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference in how much people genuinely enjoy their jobs between college graduates and high-school grads.

Before going to college, really ask yourself:

• Do I know what I want to do with my life?
• Do I need to go to college in order to get a job in the field I want?
• Would I rather use the money for a degree to start a business?
• Do I need a break from school to figure things out?

Research The Jobs And Narrow Them Down

Once you have you main list created, it’s time to do some research. At this stage you should do more research about the different professions you chose. Consider how feasible each one is for you. For example, if one job requires extensive education, and you hate schooling, it may not be the right choice for you. Alternatively, if don’t enjoy working with your hands you may start narrowing it down to only desk jobs.

The best criteria to narrow down the list at this point are your minimum requirements in a career as well as how interested you are in it. If a job doesn’t meet a minimum requirement, or it includes a deal-breaker, then drop it. If you realize you have no interest in the day-to-day functions of the job after some basic research, drop it from the list too. By the end of this you should only have one or two dozen options left in your list at most.

Good Questions To Ask Yourself

I’ve touched on some of these points, but here are several good questions to make sure you ask yourself as you keep narrowing the list down:

• Is there anyone I can go to for more information on this field? If not, is there a reliable source online?
• How much would I actually enjoy most of the work that goes with this profession (not just the highlights)?
• Would I be good enough at it to be competitive with my peers?
• How much education does it require? In other words, how long would it take before I can start it and how much money would that cost upfront?
• What is the average salary for it? What are the salaries on the lower and higher end?
• Do I have to live in certain places in order to do this type of job? If so, it that something I’m okay with? Assuming I’m okay with it, can I afford the cost of living in that place, given the salary?
• Does this career have the long-term stability I’m looking for?

Keep Narrowing It Down

I’m glad you’ve thought long and hard about your potential options, and asked yourself some hard questions! Hopefully, most of the jobs left probably meet your minimum requirements. All that’s left for you to make the list shorter is to prioritize your wants in a career. Once you do that, it becomes a lot easier to figure out which jobs will be more enjoyable for you in the long run.

Remember, salary is only one component. There are a lot of factors at play when it comes to what you do with your life day-in and day-out. If you pick a job you hate, just because it pays slightly more, you’ll probably end up regretting it.

Do In-Depth Research – Volunteer, Intern, Or Talk With Professionals

You should only have a handful of options left from your original list. It’s great if you have a clear winner at this point, but in all likelihood it’s probably still a bit of a toss-up between a couple. At this stage, the best way to actually figure out what you like is to start getting some experience with it.

If possible, get as much first-hand experience as you can. When you have an opportunity to volunteer, intern, or job shadow – take it and learn as much as you can. If you find out you hate the idea of a job after that, it’s perfectly okay! If you can’t get first-hand experience, try to reach out to some professionals in that industry or go to a networking event for that field and try to learn more from them about the details of the job.

Make Your Choice

Finally, you should be ready to make your final choice. Make it based on what you think will satisfy you the most over a long period of time (given your already defined priorities and must-haves). Now you can begin working towards getting into the field and establishing yourself. Of course, tons of people change their careers multiples times throughout their life. You’re never completely “locked in” and you always have the option to change tracks and move to a different field. Even if you started working towards a certain field, if you realize you can’t do it long-term then don’t force yourself!

Create Specific Career Goals

Since you’ve already done some serious research for the career you’re interested in, you should know what you need in order to get into it. Take the time to create some short-term and long-term goals that will get you to where you want to be. An example of a short-term goal may be something like finishing your class (with a good grade), getting a certification, or learning a new skill. A long-term goal would be more along the lines of starting and finishing a degree or getting a certain promotion. Goals can be fluid, so be sure to change or update them as you need to.

It’s Not Locked In Until It’s Locked In

By setting your goals, it’s easier to come up with a plan to help you achieve them. It’s important to figure out what you want and to go for it. However, it’s also important to take opportunities as they present themselves – and risks, if you’re open to that. Don’t become so rigid with your goals and preset plan that you miss out on good opportunities that anyone else would take in a heartbeat. Follow your goals and desired career path, but just make sure you take the time to consider anything that comes your way as well (it may even help you achieve long-term goals faster)!

The 5 Main Stages Of Professional Growth And Development

I think most of us, at one point or another, have fantasized about how our career will progress. Maybe you have some 300-point plan to get you to where you want to be, or perhaps you just have a general idea of where you want to end up. Whatever you currently think, and wherever you currently are, there are some universal stages of your career that you’ll experience. Knowing what they are, recognizing them, and seeing the benefits of each can help you further your career and your professional development. Of course, developing additional skills to further your career won’t hurt either!

1. Exploration, Investigation, And Basic Development

The first stage is basically the exploratory phase. You’ll also do some investigation when it comes to your options and abilities, as well as some basic development. Let’s break it down.

Explore

You’ll explore your career options. What I mean by this is pretty simple – we’re at the starting point of your career here, after all. This is where you’ll be considering completely different careers and weighing the pros and cons as well as whether you’re suited for them and the lifestyle they’ll require. Maybe you’re interested in a career in HR as well as a career in electrical engineering. This is the point where you’ll figure out what the options are, what sounds interesting to you, and how you can try them out or learn more about them.

Investigate

When you find a career, or set of careers, that you’re interested in, you’ll need to do a deep dive. How far this goes is up to you, but this is where you’ll ultimately decide what you want to do and begin pursuing it. Be careful in your decision-making process, but don’t take years to decide. In my opinion, it’s better to start learning the ins and outs of a trade to only decide partially through that you want to do something else.

At the very least you’ll have learned some skills, know more about yourself, and finally find yourself on the right track. Detours are part of life, don’t be so afraid of them that you’re too petrified to do anything. I’d rather take the dive and learn something than get paralyzed by indecisiveness!

Continue To Develop

At this point, you’ll have picked a career to start working towards. You’ll need to figure out what you need to do in order to break into it and get started. For example, if you want to be an engineer or lawyer, you’ll find that you need to go to college. However, if you want to become a plumber or work with your hands, you may end up going to a trade school instead. These days there are still many ways to make money without a degree.

Don’t get caught up in what people say you should do. Instead, focus on the best way to actually develop and learn the skills you need so that you can market yourself properly during the interview process and actually land your first job.

2. Solidification

Second up is the solidification phase. Per the name, this is about finally breaking into your career and solidifying yourself as a professional. Think of this as the period, after something like college or trade school, where you’re in the first few years of your profession. This is where you see some of the work from the first stage start paying off, and actually get real-world experience that takes your skills up a notch.

Your Entry Level Job

During this process, you’ll need to land your first job (in the industry). Perhaps you’ll have to do an internship to get in, but I’m referring to your first permanent role – which leads to a lot of the training you’ll receive. There will be training on the job, continued training and studying you may have to do, and knowledge gained from raw experience. Enjoy this part. You’ll get your hands in a lot of things, learn about them, but you won’t have too much responsibility. That means you can focus on learning and getting better, without all the extra headache. Make this time count.

Basic Experience And Competency

By the end of the solidification stage, you should be competent at your job. I’m not saying that you have to be the best, but you need to be able to perform it by yourself. The better you are by the end of this, the better your career will go. Work hard, learn as much as possible, and become as amazing as you can.

3. Advancement And Job Opportunities

The third stage is all about advancing your career. This may be where you see a lot of turbulence. You may change positions, get large raises, see promotions, and so on. This is another major crossroad, which you likely won’t have seen since the first stage. The second stage sometimes has major choices, but it is mostly straightforward. However, this third stage is where you start seeing a lot of options. What you choose will vary wildly based on circumstance, your interests, and even your desire to start a family.

It’s okay to choose an abnormal route, or one that leaves you with less money. Not everything is black and white, so be sure you consider your options carefully. Do what will make you the happiest and most secure with your decision in the long run. Try not to live a life of regret. Blindly following passion isn’t good, but neither is ignoring your mental and emotional needs.

Staying Where You’re At

The first option, which is one many people like, is to stay in the same type of role. Now, this may seem bad or lazy at first, but it doesn’t have to be. This can come with a minor promotion, but it’s basically leaning into your seniority for the role. You will have moderate pay raises with this route, and you’ll likely get a few extra responsibilities that come with experience.

The good part about this is that it is usually far less demanding than many of your other options. You can still have good pay, but it won’t compete with the positions for those who were more ambitious. At the same time, you’ll have a much lighter workload and a better work-life balance. If you have a family and need to slow down, this can be enticing. You may need to do it, if only for a little bit, but make sure you don’t get lazy and let yourself coast too much.

Promotions

The other option is that you can work your way up through promotions within your job role. For example, if you are an engineer, perhaps you’ll become a senior engineer or technical architect. There are many different names for this type of thing. The crux of it is simple – you’re going up the ladder as far as possible in non-management roles for your career. This will result in much more pay than if you had been stagnant and decided to coast, but it may also require far more hours and immense responsibility. It comes with its perks, but it has downsides too.

The Management Track

The last option I see people go for is the management track. Instead of staying in the role they were in, they start climbing up the management ladder instead. Usually this presents itself as an opportunity to manage a team doing the type of work you’re accustomed to. Many people try to go this route only to find they don’t like the headache and bureaucracy that comes with it. Do yourself a favor – if you decide to go the management route, make sure you have realistic expectations and know what you’re getting yourself into.

4. Finalization And Stability

Stage four is where you really get to see the fruits of your labor. You’ll finally be where you want and achieve some level of stability. You may have a lot of work on your plate, but at the very least you should know what to expect at this point. This is where your salary will peak. Enjoy it!

Coasting

Coasting can be a danger in this stage as well as the last. It isn’t always bad, and depending on where you’re at in life you may need to take a bit of a relaxed approach with work.

However, if you’re coasting for a long time, or you’re putting off work because you hate it, reevaluate and try to change things up. It’s never too late for a career change or shift – many people do it multiple times throughout their career. You can completely change industries, or change to a job with many overlapping skills.

5. Decline & Retirement

The final stage is decline and retirement. You may’ve gotten too comfortable in the last stage, or you may not be up to date anymore. It could be your age and the desire to not have so much on your plate. Whatever the case, this is usually when you slow down and enter retirement.

I’ve discussed retirement extensively many times. It honestly looks different for everyone. If you’re the type who wants to kick back and basically take a permanent vacation, do it – but be aware that you may find yourself bored if you have nothing to do. An increasingly common thing I find retirees doing is leaving their old career and pursuing an endeavor that’s more philanthropic. It keeps them sharp, and gives them a continued purpose in their life.

Finding A Job

If you’re looking for a job, ZipRecruiter is a useful job board! Not only is it free, but the setup is quick and easy. In fact, you could probably finish your first application within minutes, even if you don’t have an account yet. On top of that, ZipRecruiter offers tons of solid features for anyone looking for a new job. You can remove posts from your view that you’re not interested in, you can save job postings so you can review them later, and you can even message potential employers through ZipRecruiter’s message center.

As a job seeker, regardless of all the benefits of ZipRecruiter, I recommend using as many of the different major sites as possible. Yes, ZipRecruiter is one of the biggest and best, but it always helps to use competitors as a job seeker too – you don’t want to miss anything. Some of the best places to check, in addition to ZipRecruiter, include Glassdoor, Indeed, Monster, and LinkedIn. Remember, the leg work done now to find a good job will help you achieve a high income.

The Cost Of Living Matters

The cost of living is basically how much it costs to live in a specific area, especially relative to other locations or the national average. For example, large cities in California and New York are generally incredibly expensive, particularly because housing is in high demand (and consequently outrageously expensive) and usually groceries have a higher average price.

A medium-sized city on the east coast might be about average (compared to the whole nation) in terms of the cost of living. However, a rural town in the Midwest would probably cost next to nothing compared to something like New York City.

This is important because it directly impacts how effective each dollar you spend is. If it is twice as expensive to live in city A, but you can make almost the same salary in the cheaper city, B, then why wouldn’t you live in the cheaper location? Out of a purely financial motive, city B in that example would be the obvious choice for you to move to. Of course, choosing where you live has to do with a lot more than just the cost of living. However, it’s still useful to know when weighing your options and is definitely the deciding factor for many people.

Making A Move For Your Career

Most of this is really important for career opportunities or relocation for major life events. At some point, when you get a job offer somewhere else, even if it seems great, remember to do your research. If I had just blindly taken the higher offer, I probably would’ve actually had a much smaller disposable income! If you need to, don’t be afraid to negotiate for relocation assistance.

Make The Right Decision For You – Focus On Your Goals

At the end of the day, you need to do what is best for you and your career. However, remember to focus on all of your long-term goals, and try to make the decision that best suits that. In life, you can have almost anything if you’re willing to make sacrifices, but nobody can have everything.

Networking

In your career, knowing how to network can be just as important as your skills. Despite the widespread access to job boards, and a seemingly overwhelming lack of skilled labor, the one thing that sets you apart is usually your network. People want to give jobs and opportunities to people they know and who they’ve connected with personally. So, no matter what your career is, it’ll be important to make great contacts along the way. I know networking and going to professional events can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be.

The Value

I do want to stress the sheer value of networking. You’ll hear about and have opportunities that you wouldn’t get otherwise. Let’s take a common example. A job needs to be filled, and the hiring manager has narrowed it down to two candidates. We’ll say Joe is an okay candidate, but not spectacular. Meanwhile, Bob seems to be much more experienced and knows everything the role requires. Frequently, if the manager (or someone on his team) knows Joe and his personality, Joe will get the job even if Bob is more qualified.

People tend to err on giving breaks to people they know. More than that, if they know you’ll be pleasant to work with, that is a huge boon. Many candidates who are good on paper are not hired because they seem like they’ll be a problem to work alongside.

What To Do

• Use word of mouth to your advantage.
• Make it a give and take scenario – don’t expect to receive favors with giving something first.
• Practice your elevator speech in case there is a time crunch.
• Listen to everyone else in the room and learn what you can.
• Don’t underestimate the power of social media these days.
• Make an excuse to follow up with people after events and meetings.
• Show gratitude when you can.
• Respect others if you want to be respected.
• Speak on what you know, and be willing to fall silent if you’re not knowledgeable on a given subject.
• Be punctual. Showing up late won’t do you any favors.
• Use business cards.
• Don’t be afraid to be genuine.
• Handle rejection with dignity and class.
• Keep persevering!

Conclusion

Hopefully understanding the stages of your career will help you make future decisions. If you have any thoughts of your own, or tips on career progression, let us know in the comments. For more content like this, and a free budgeting template and financial goals worksheet, be sure to sign up for the Bitter to Richer newsletter!