Post: #1

'Don't try to work hard in life until you're 35.'

It's 10 minutes but I think it's worth the watch. Although I don't agree with some points, I do agree with others and some of the points he makes are interesting.

Thoughts?

Post: #2

He makes a fantastic point. If you're going to be a corporate wage slave your whole life, you can get through a lot of the shit stuff without trying and then basically start working at 35, making real money at 40. This is what average people do, and average people get average results.

Where are all the young rich people coming from? Entrepreneurship. Make your own future, don't rely on a big corporation to decide your fate.

Post: #3

To each his own, in my observations couples that have children in their 20s generally have healthier children. This makes sense as the sperm and eggs are younger and healthier.

I am a long-time follower of Captain Capitalism and he makes his arguments solely from an economic perspective. If you believe there are more important things in life than money however, having children at an earlier age (late 20s, generally) can be one of the most fulfilling things one ever does, even making one a better man. That said, he is right about the FUBAR future of the country and how bringing children into it could be a disservice.

Ultimately, it is unwise to make a generalization about an issue like this. There are so many variables involved and it truly does vary on a case-by-case basis. I am highly suspicious about this anti-parenthood trend among the millennial generation. I am unsure if it derives from selfishness, fatalism, having grown up without real fathers, media ridiculing the idea, or a sense of helplessness about the future, but it seems to me to be a natural ally of feminism, which has suspicious origins to say the least.

Post: #4

Having children is normal.

Post: #5

This is ridiculous advice.

The reason you make more money after 35 is because of the experience you gained working in your field of choice up until that age. He is basically telling you to start at the bottom rung at 35+.

I also believe you will have a harder time getting hired starting a career at a later age. You will be bypassed by younger grads, especially if you have been out of school for a decade without working in said field. Employers will think you're a slacker in a big way.

If the field you want to work in is hard to get a job, forget it if you're an older person. You should be looking at higher demand fields anyway.

Post: #6

I completely disagree with almost everything he said aside from starting a side business, especially the notion you shouldn't try until you're 35. That bit, which seemed to be his main point, is completely ludicrous. Nothing could be more damaging to a career than following this advice.

When you're 22 and fresh out of college you probably won't be given any real responsibility, true. That's because you haven't had the time or the chance to demonstrate a track record of success at that point. However, what you do have going for you is youth, potential, and the simple fact that your lack of achievement at that point is a function of you just recently becoming an adult. If you try to "start out" at 35 you will lack the youth and the potential of a 22 yrld, and you will have shown that in 15 years of being an adult you have managed to accomplish absolutely nothing. Good luck wid that.

As an aside, there is a desperate glut of PHD out there. Not a smart move, either.

Post: #7

His two good points:

1. Start a business
2. Join the military

Go against his main thesis of not trying until you're 35. If you're in the military or running even a minimally successful business, you're trying.

Also, as for the guy who's 30 getting the job over the 22 year old fresh graduate? Believe me, the guy who's 30 is getting the job because he's tried the last 8 years, and if you're 30 and don't have a solid record of trying, you're you might as well be 12, let alone 22.

Overall, this is really bad advice. You try when you're young because that's when you develop habits and contacts that will last you for the rest of your life. When 30 rolls around, the guy who spent 8 years managing a McDonald's is going to get the job over the ski bum. Because he's never let his guard down, and he has always been pushing. So maybe you can't get a job in your field. Neither can 10,000 other people. What's going to make the difference down the line is who kept trying and who gave up.

I know this sounds like great advice when you're young. But if you do it you better be prepared to grab your bootstraps at 35 and figure shit out all on your own, because if you've fucked around you're not going to get any decent job whatsoever, and then you'll be living IN A BUS DOWN BY THE RIVER.

Do something, anything. Don't piss away your younger years not trying.

Post: #8

This approach to life could work for a specific type of person. If you come from a wealthy family, get a monthly allowance or some kind of financial support from them and at the same time lack the technical skills to get a STEM degree or the work ethic to start your own business and make it successful, maybe becoming a ski bum is a good idea. Or maybe you can teach English in Thailand and bang hundreds of chicks, whatever floats your boat, then come back to the real world. For many of us, this was never a realistic option.

For example, in the IT field, being 35 is being too old these days. By that age, you are supposed to have a solid resume with a good education and years of progressive work experience. Hell, you'll probably report to younger people if you are not in management by the time you reach that age.

Also, he keeps telling that young people are not taken seriously, like you have to have grey hair like Mitt Romney to be given real responsibility regardless of how much you work and how good you are. You know, there is no perfect age to work in the corporate environment. Fucking corporate swine will always find a way to make you feel inferior (and pay you less). You spend years worried that you are too young, and then suddenly, boom! You realize you you're too old and haven't made enough progress. Either way you're fucked, but if you don't play their game and have nothing else going for you, you're fucked even more.

What you don't want to end up is walking around applying to fast food jobs or some shit like that at age 35. Have fun, but also have a strategy and think about the future.

Post: #9

I agree with what he said about a side business, about the boomer generation squatting way past their prime, and about the lack of responsibility you're going to get before 35.

That being said, I went to a slightly above average school, got a slightly above average GPA, look and speak slightly above average, etc etc. I got a job right out of college with no connections or hookups applying the old fashioned way for $60k in a medium size city with a business major (I make ~70k 2 years out of school now). I have friends who are average or below average and they started at $35-50k right out of college, and most are making closer to the higher end of that spectrum now.

My point is, those average salaries kind of suck, but it's a perfectly fine starting off point, and at age 22 you get ~13 years of experience in "low-rung" positions at worst, and you'll probably move up to at least lower or middle management by the time you're 35 if you're decently competent. Yes, I hate being a wage slave, but to forgo 13 years of a bi-monthly paycheck would be dumb. Slave away until you get your business up and running and hit the FU button on your boss' face when you've got a solid side hustle.

Post: #10

I would strongly not recommend this.

By the time you start heading into your late thirties, you have less energy and time goes by quicker. Like that Pink Floyd lyric, it really does seem as if you're running to catch up with the sun "but it's sinking -- and racing around to come up behind you again."

Some people will develop health issues around then -- or have to deal with a spouse who does (which was my story). And that can take massive time, energy, and money. If you haven't prepared for life, this is when you lose the proverbial house and go bankrupt. You know how you hear stories like that? Well, this is how it happens.

35 should be a time when you're starting to finish things or amp things up, not begin them. There's the career path you started at 22, your investments, and your house payments. If you work smart and buy inexpensive property early, you can pay it off by 40 or so then not have to even worry much about working after that.

Another problem is that it's degrading to be 35 and competing in the workplace with chipper little 22-year-old college grads. This has a dispiriting effect. Even as someone who was ahead of the game at 35, I found the next generation of college grads intimidating because they were more up on technology. This is no longer like the old days, where older men can assume they'll rule the roost at work. Things change too quickly now.

And so, in conclusion, I disagree with this. I think it's a good way to end up having to move back with mom and dad when you're 40 and something unexpected happens you didn't prepare for.

And I'll throw in that I also did another thing he's said never to do: I majored in the liberal arts (gasp!). I never wanted for work. If a job didn't pay well, I supplemented it with freelance. Since it was all fun work (not like number crunching drudgery) it never felt like I was working too hard even when I was.

Post: #11

Interesting video, but there are some good points thrown into there. If I were to go back and redo it...

1) get a degree
2) enlist in the military
3) weigh your options after your terms of service

Having military on your resume is a huge boost, but going into the military without a 4-year degree imposes a glass ceiling.

I got my degree in something useful and have been working in corporate oil & gas ever since. It's a good gig, but I am a little more limited than the 3-step process I listed above.

Post: #12

This is pure Westcoast clickbait, too bad he isn't around anymore to refute it.

Post: #13

^ WestCoast is gone?

Post: #14

Don't try is poor advice, but people do switch career fields in their 30s and 40s all the time. There, they generally end up starting closer to the bottom due to lack of experience in the particular career field but employers also tend to find older people more trustworthy and a safer bet.

I've known a few people who in their 30s went at got IT certifications and changed fields. It's not uncommon.

If 22 year olds were that much more in demand, a record number of college grads wouldn't be living at home or working at Starbucks.

Post: #15

Captain Capitalism says that basically nobody will take you seriously until your 30s anyway. That doesn't mean "do no work" (if anything, work harder and smarter) but it does mean that your authority or whatever will be handicapped by the crushing seniority that everyone else will have. The country is aging anyway, pretty soon "won't be taken seriously at 30" will be "won't be taken seriously at 40".

Post: #16

In summary, there are a number of different life strategies that could work out.

Just be sure that you spend the first ten years of your career doing stupid work for stupid money for stupid experience. Instead do whatever it takes to make those years count, whether by gaining valuable experience that practically guarantees big earning later, starting your own business, or choosing a path less travelled of your own devising.

Post: #17

(06-03-2014 08:57 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  



'Don't try to work hard in life until you're 35.'

It's 10 minutes but I think it's worth the watch. Although I don't agree with some points, I do agree with others and some of the points he makes are interesting.

Thoughts?

That's Aaron, he is also a writer on RoK and is a member here on the forums!

Post: #18

(06-03-2014 10:09 PM)LeBeau Wrote:  This is pure Westcoast clickbait, too bad he isn't around anymore to refute it.

I will answer for WestCoast, I know what he would say..

Something like this..

"I don't care how this man chooses to live his life. If he wants to be poor, that is his right. I don't want to be poor, I would rather be rich. I work my ass off every day so that when I am 35, I will have to option to retire if I want to."

Something like that.

Okay, now, I will answer as myself:

"Don't try" sounds like dangerous advice to me.

I feel it would be better to try and create the life that you want.

You will make mistakes but trying is usually better than not trying.

I admit, I did not watch the video.

What does he recommend doing from 18-34???

Edit: I just watched the video. His advice seems very cynical and fearful to me.

I think it would be better to start building your financial future while at the same time having fun.

Post: #19

After watching, it seems his "Don't Try Until You're 35" point is mostly to capture an audience...which appeared to work, even to get on rvf. For instance, he contradicts that by saying he'd join the military if he had it to do over...contradicting the title.

I liked the video. I liked his points.

Post: #20

There's 2 problems:

1) Families aren't involved in helping their children with their careers. There isn't the smart, successful retired uncle placing the larger family into jobs. There's no family reputation to protect anymore. Atomization is so complete most people don't even know who lives next door, much less their family.

2) Technology pace of change. Even when you have the smart successful uncle, he worked at AOL, myspace, or other now obsolete company. His advice is likewise obsolete.

"Waiting for the baby boom to die" is not a career strategy. Nor is extending childhood later and later in life before someone rates an "adult".

In the 1700s there was a period in european courts when everyone worshiped being old, and young men would powder their hair gray or white to advance. If youth is really holding you back, $5 of hair dye and a bit of subterfuge would be a smarter solution.

Post: #21

Disclaimer: I didn't watch the video, but I did skim his book, so, I'm familiar with his argument.

I think he's a smart guy and I respect him, but I don't particularly care for his "brand" if that makes any sense.

Even though I agree with his views on modern economics and agree that a more free, less intrusion from the Central Bank and Fed Gov't would be better, that doesn't mean all hope is lost.

Quite the contrary! As Americans we haven't lost the ability to trade our Federal Reserve Notes for Gold and Silver and to store those metals privately. He acts like theres no point to make more money because it doesn't have any value behind it, and although that maybe true in the near future, and a certainty in the long run, in the here and now, it is still possible to trade our paper for real resources of value. So making money, even if you have a negative long term view of the dollars value, can still be extremely beneficial to an individuals financial situation. All you have to do is use your paper, get silver, and voila, you have escaped the inflation tax.

Also, like other posters have said, the experience is important too. At the end of the day, I enjoy making money. Yes, I like hiking, reading, women, playing sports, and doing other things besides making money, but the financial success is also enjoyable.

Post: #22

What does he exactly suggest? Having fun, going with a motorcycle to distant countries, join the army and build a side business.

He has some good points but I don't want to be a ski bum or a snowboard bum. I work quite hard now but I also want to take a year off to chill and everything. Especially everyone who I see that want to 'climb the corporate ladder' should be touched by this but maybe a lot of us think a bit differently here?

Post: #23

I wish this guy would just shut up so I can read his books that I bought before I make the conclusion that he gives awful advice.

Rush Limbaugh was a teenager working in radio before he graduated high school. Almost anyone famous has a similar story. Ive seen older guys start from 0 in corporate American and do OK, but not on the track to reach senior exec or C-level.

Young age does leave the opportunity to take longer breaks from working to try new things. Take months or years off between high school-college, college-working, or skipping semesters.

Starting businesses was his best advice.

Post: #24

(06-04-2014 01:48 PM)Giovonny Wrote:  

(06-03-2014 10:09 PM)LeBeau Wrote:  This is pure Westcoast clickbait, too bad he isn't around anymore to refute it.

I will answer for WestCoast, I know what he would say..

Something like this..

"I don't care how this man chooses to live his life. If he wants to be poor, that is his right. I don't want to be poor, I would rather be rich. I work my ass off every day so that when I am 35, I will have to option to retire if I want to."

Something like that.

Okay, now, I will answer as myself:

"Don't try" sounds like dangerous advice to me.

I feel it would be better to try and create the life that you want.

You will make mistakes but trying is usually better than not trying.

I admit, I did not watch the video.

What does he recommend doing from 18-34???

Edit: I just watched the video. His advice seems very cynical and fearful to me.

I think it would be better to start building your financial future while at the same time having fun.

These are my thoughts on the subject.

Create the life you want, but don't wear yourself out. Put in the work, but enjoy the process. Always take some time to reflect on where the work is getting you so far and the experiences you've had.

Post: #25

His video lacks coherence but he makes good points about the economy, the boomes not retiring, the genxs not going up and we the genys not going anywhere in the current corporate environment. His points about starting a business are solid. Joining the military if you live in usa is also valid.

About not trying until you are 35, if taken literally it is very bad advice.