Married to work?

You sound incredibly mature for an 18 year old, but at the age of 18, You don't know what you want yet. I went to school right after high school but I wish I had travelled and tried different things before settling on a career.

Dentist is a tough one. Big money, my uncle was a dentist and had the yacht, full vacation lifestyle. I couldn't do it.

 

The way I picture dentistry is probably different than most people just cause I’ve grown up in a small town. My dad’s office only has 2 operation chairs and 2 employees (not including my mom who does the financial side of it) and he sticks to the basic procedures and leaves the stressful stuff to the specialists like oral surgeons. This is how I picture myself doing it (for now at least) because it seems to be the best way to find that balance and keep the stress lower than many other dentists. For example, we’ve had multiple other dentists start up a business here and fail because they just try to be too big and do too much and eventually get burned out of it.

 

And a lot of people say I’m very mature but I look at it more like I have a normal maturity but many other people my age (like many of my friends) just don’t think things through like I do. Such as drugs, alcohol, partying, etc. I’m not someone who will hate you for being into it, but I just strongly believe that the negative effects would definitely outweigh the positive effects for me. I’ve grown up finding other things to occupy my time and bring me joy (such as my truck and browsing/researching new mods even if I know I would never follow through with buying the things)

 

55 hours a week is part time.

 

Welder for GE. Mandatory OT since last August. And I came from the pipe welding field where ot ain't no thang .

 

I know lots of guys who can work with their hands, but that doesn't mean they can make a living doing it.

Laying tile is a physically demanding occupation, correct?

Are you prepared to work hurt, work sick, work on projects that go badly and still must be finished?

Are you prepared to deal with / work along side knuckleheads in all shapes and sizes on a recurring basis?

Like you witnessed with your grandfather, trades will most likely not make you rich, but you will also never starve.

My advice is stay with the current occupation, but definitely scale back on the work hours, if you can.

 

Just stay away from women who demand more more more, I need MORE! You'll do fine in life.

 

Money can be made, time cannot.

 

Usually you working so many hours is your fault. You may think you are amazing at your job, but you are failing at managing your time and utilizing your fellow co workers.

Learn to manage your time, don't ever check work outside of work unless absolutely necessary.

Work IT when the weather sucks and take off early when the weather is good.

 

add to this, despite what you think stuff can and will get done without you. Its only the expense of your time with family that you are losing.

 

wow

 

Also in IT for 37 years. I was making killer money but decided one day to quit the private sector and cut salary in half to work for the government. I have a saying “you can eat well or sleep well”. I sleep well and have never regretted it. I’m about to retire with a 70% defined benefit. It’s not for everyone but I value time over money.

 

This x10000

My cousin is almost the same way as you, he is 23, just graduated with his bachelors in business management, when in college he worked a full time sales job, within 2 months he became the top salesman and stayed there until he quit to become a mechanic, now he is a mechanic for a Cat dealer, he is the youngest technician (in field repairs) and has clients that request him as their Tech, he doesn't have the experience of the older techs but he does his best and is always learning.
However, he is not afraid to tell his boss that he won't work OT or he is taking a Friday off so he can spend time with his family or his fiancé, if he didn't know how to tell his boss no his relationships would be non-existent, I believe that he learned to operate the way he does because his dad is a workaholic, he'll go weeks of working 7 days a week from 07:00-17:00 or later to this day (He's in his mid 50's now) and while he has kept pretty good relationships with his wife and kids I think if he hadn't worked so much he wouldn't have some of the issues (particularly with his kids) that he has now.

 

I know a guy that's wife is going to keep him grinding away on the plantation until he croaks. He's nearly 60 and still lives paycheck to paycheck because his stay at home wife won't stop spending money.

I've also seen the flip side of the coin.

 

Except trades are always in demand and do pay very well depending on how far you want to take your career

Pipe welder. Pipe fitter. Son of a master plumber.

 

Got my associates in applied science for welding, did fairly well in my welding class and I really enjoyed the final semester (pipe welding) but I walked away from that to go for a job in law enforcement makin 34K/year.

Welding is an awesome gig and one of my classmates is on the road welding making $100+/hr, his wife has a mobile job so as long as she has internet she can travel with him.

 

The trades are in a state these days. It's not enough to get people into the trades, but the quality of work sometimes can be so awful. In the last week I've wanted to choke a few electricians that seem to think they can put splices in stuff that should have a junction box. It's not just the guys on the tools, but project managers always looking and pushing for ways to cut corners and quality.

I've learned enough being in the trades that if I was having a house built I'd be watching like a fucking hawk. I'd be that guy they'd hate

 

I have thought about making a drastic change in my own life similar to this before. But for me, it would have been an an attempt to sidestep confrontation.

Sounds like you have an idea of what your plan "B" is (laying tile).
Before you retreat to your plan "B", the courageous thing to do would be to address your current work/ life balance situation with yourself, then your employer.

Before you go bust your back laying tile try these two things:

1. Set your desired work/ life boundaries with your current job in your own mind.
2. Once you've sorted out what those boundaries look like, talk with your employer about them (where you are with your current work/ life balance and where you want to be).

Get a feel for if they would be willing to renegotiate with their rockstar employee about the situation. You can facilitate a shift toward a sustainable circumstance for yourself.
Approach your employer with a circumstance where everyone wins:

• You get a job where you have a clearly defined work/ life balance that suits you & your wife
• Your employer keeps a proven asset to the company

Best case - everyone wins.
Worst case - employ plan B

But either way, you can move forward with the confidence about how you handled what was within your control.

 

I just switched jobs a year ago... at 29 years old I had been a tool maker/die repair guy for 5 years and was good at it. I was lucky enough to be an apprentice to a guy that was really smart!! But I hated going to work bc if the people I worked for!! Always in a bad mood and afraid of getting in trouble for something stupid!! So I up and left and bought a motorcycle shop and me and another guy who was a Honda trained master tech for 45 years work on motorcycles and I sale parts at a local shop!! It’s aweseone paperwork sucks a little but I enjoy my time there and at home more now that I like my job!! Remember...... it’s a job!!!! Your family is a career!!! 2 millionaires killed them selves this week!!!!

 

"No one on their death bed ever said, "Gee, I wish I'd spent more time at the office"": Lee Iacoca

He also said "The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works is the family."

True words that need to be taken to heart by many.

While a good income is certainly nice, it doesn't replace time with family.

I can't count how much $$$ I've wasted on cars, boats, motorcycles, etc., but I do know that no matter how much I loved them not a one of them ever loved me back (though I do sometimes believe that my highly modified Rx-7 turbo actively hated me)

It's all too easy to get caught up in the desire to fill your life with Stuff.

Stuff doesn't make you happy. Stuff is just that, stuff.

Like mentioned above 2 millionaires committed suicide this week and how many other wealthy celebrities have done the same or made a serious try at it?

Obviously more money isn't the answer to happiness.

Like mentioned earlier, talk with your current employer about making a change in your schedule.

Valuable and productive employees are a rare commodity and your employer will certainly want to keep you if possible.

You might be surprised at how flexible your employer can be.