Need advice regarding career/finances

[SeductivePig]

I'll try to make this as short as possible:

Graduated with $165k of student loans 3 years ago
Got a good job (electrical engineer)
Just paid down $68k, so have $97k of debt left, at 8% interest
At the end of the year I'll have $10k savings, $7700 left on my car, and $15k owed on 0% interest credit cards

My job is high pay, excellent job security, low stress, 40 hrs/week.
However, I don't like what I do, work alone 95% of the time, and don't see myself in this field for very long. I want to switch out to something related to IT/business alignment, but not sure if I'm in a position to take a paycut and more risk. However, it would make me very happy to make the switch on a day to day basis.

If I stay with my company next year, I would pocket $40k after all expenses (not paying down my debt), and then I'd make a move at the end of the year.

If I move at the end of this year, I'd be moving with $10k in savinggs and would take a $30k paycut (making $90k now total comp).

Also when I say savings, I mean all my money is invested in low risk index funds. Would prefer having a security blanket like that even if it means losing 1-2% interest compared to my 8% student loans.

I'm also turning 27 this year so I'm thinking that while waiting until the end of next year would be nice, I would've making no career development and would be starting my real career near the age of marriage.. Any advice?

 

[jlee]

Can you refinance the student loans? 8% is costing you a LOT (~$600+/month).

I would focus on minimizing living expenses and paying off debt while you decide what "something related to" that you want to do for work.

Don't worry about "real career" and "age of marriage". Do you plan on getting married soon?

 

[maddogchen]

You should keep at EE until you pay off your student loans and get 1 year of emergency fund savings before deciding on another career path.

Maybe something business to add to your EE degree. I don't think you should do IT.

 

[SeductivePig]

Can you refinance the student loans? 8% is costing you a LOT (~$600+/month).

I would focus on minimizing living expenses and paying off debt while you decide what "something related to" that you want to do for work.

Don't worry about "real career" and "age of marriage". Do you plan on getting married soon?

Refinancing is possible if the balance is under $90k but the reward to risk ratio (save 2.5% interest but lose federal loan protection policy) isn't worth it.

I already minimized my expenses a lot, I live on what someone making $40k lives on probably.

Why not worry about the career now? Time is mich more valuable in your 20's for career development rather than 30's.. I know I will have to do grunt work for a bit before I get into the better paying areas of the field and I thought it was better to do that sooner than later. And no, not planning to marry for another 2-3 years, I'm single.

 

[edro]

If you want to get out more, look in to being an applications engineer or sales engineer.
Engineers can make very good technical sales people, if you have the personality and willingness to travel.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

What the fuck were you smoking when you took $165k in student loans? Seriously. Give me some.

You have ZERO flexibility to go back to school, try to jump around jobs, etc... NONE. Stick with your current job until you get shit paid off or you will be going downhill FUCKING FAST. It would be a straight drop if you were to not be getting paid.

Your only leverage at this point is to pay off those student loans ASAP unless you can refinance.

HOWEVER, you need to consider how long you have 0% on that credit card still. If that expires in 6 months and then shoots up to 15%, you need to pay off the credit card NOW. You shouldn't have credit card debt to begin with.

 

[SeductivePig]

You should keep at EE until you pay off your student loans and get 1 year of emergency fund savings before deciding on another career path.

Maybe something business to add to your EE degree. I don't think you should do IT.

I'd be 30 if I waited to clear my debt and have an emergency fund. Don't want to be making entry level salary and working 70 hours a week right after getting married..

 

[maddogchen]

I'd be 30 if I waited to clear my debt and have an emergency fund. Don't want to be making entry level salary and working 70 hours a week right after getting married..

I don't understand the I'm going to get married in 2-3 years thing. You're single...you might not find a girl to get married in 2-30 years....

Anyway. Money = freedom. Right now you're in debt so your freedom is very restricted. You have a good job, you earn a good salary, EE salaries from what I recall go up well with years experience. I say don't worry about the age thing, marriage thing and focus on accumulating money.

 

[SeductivePig]

What the fuck were you smoking when you took $165k in student loans? Seriously. Give me some.

You have ZERO flexibility to go back to school, try to jump around jobs, etc... NONE. Stick with your current job until you get shit paid off or you will be going downhill FUCKING FAST. It would be a straight drop if you were to not be getting paid.

Your only leverage at this point is to pay off those student loans ASAP unless you can refinance.

HOWEVER, you need to consider how long you have 0% on that credit card still. If that expires in 6 months and then shoots up to 15%, you need to pay off the credit card NOW. You shouldn't have credit card debt to begin with.

Look, the $165k is done, it was for a top 10 EE program, doesn't matter now. I cleared $68k in 3 years. Credit cards are the least of my worries, I can just balance transfer them to another 0% interest card until I'm comfortable paying them off.. And yes I know about the minor transfer fee, it would be an effective 1.7% apr. I value cash more than anything right now.

I actually have a lot of flexibility which is why I'm considering these options.. I'm not some idiot trying to get a $40k job with this kind of debt.

And I'm not talking about stereotypical IT either, think along the lines of management consulting.. Akin to that field.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Look, the $165k is done, it was for a top 10 EE program, doesn't matter now. I cleared $68k in 3 years. Credit cards are the least of my worries, I can just balance transfer them to another 0% interest card until I'm comfortable paying them off.. And yes I know about the minor transfer fee, it would be an effective 1.7% apr. I value cash more than anything right now.

I actually have a lot of flexibility which is why I'm considering these options.. I'm not some idiot trying to get a $40k job with this kind of debt.

And I'm not talking about stereotypical IT either, think along the lines of management consulting.. Akin to that field.

Then why are you asking for advice if you have flexibility? Go out into the world and apply for jobs you aren't even qualified for then. Go go!

From the looks of it, you don't have 6 months of living expenses saved if something did happen. Does that sound like flexibility? You still have plenty to learn in life...

 

[xeemzor]

Look, the $165k is done, it was for a top 10 EE program, doesn't matter now. I cleared $68k in 3 years. Credit cards are the least of my worries, I can just balance transfer them to another 0% interest card until I'm comfortable paying them off.. And yes I know about the minor transfer fee, it would be an effective 1.7% apr. I value cash more than anything right now.

I actually have a lot of flexibility which is why I'm considering these options.. I'm not some idiot trying to get a $40k job with this kind of debt.

And I'm not talking about stereotypical IT either, think along the lines of management consulting.. Akin to that field.

Have you looked into what you want to do in IT consulting? There are millions of different areas from implementation work, analytics, data architecture, system integration, etc.

Do you have the background where someone would take you seriously? Keep in mind that programming and engineering work != consulting credibility. At my company it takes a good 3 years before you have enough knowledge to hold your own in front of a client. Until you reach that point you are going to make grunt pay and do grunt work.

 

[SeductivePig]

Have you looked into what you want to do in IT consulting? There are millions of different areas from implementation work, analytics, data architecture, system integration, etc.

Do you have the background where someone would take you seriously? Keep in mind that programming and engineering work != consulting credibility. At my company it takes a good 3 years before you have enough knowledge to hold your own in front of a client. Until you reach that point you are going to make grunt pay and do grunt work.

Right now I am thinking systems integration at a firm like Accenture.. I need to brush up on basic skills and would be using a close friend as a reference. I am not expecting a client facing role from day 1.

Also I would like to mention that my job right now IS consulting.. i have been in a client facing role for 2 years now at a major oil company.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Refinancing is possible if the balance is under $90k but the reward to risk ratio (save 2.5% interest but lose federal loan protection policy) isn't worth it.

If the difference is only 2.5% interest I agree. If you could reduce the interest rate to 4% or less I would jump on it and apply the savings to the payment. Rationale - you have an EE - unless you have some suspect work history or are tied to a very specific geogrpahical area you are highly employable.

I already minimized my expenses a lot, I live on what someone making $40k lives on probably.

This is very good. I would be throwing money at the student debt like water on a fire until it is a more manageable number.

One option to consider - work at current job for 2 years. Take the 30k extra you have each year and pay down student debt to ~30k. Refinance the remainder at lower interest rate to reset payment based on new principal balance (of 30k vs 90k). Then reallocate extra income to savings (pay the minimums on the student loan for a while) to build up a reserve. You would be better positioned for a move at that time, and it would only take you a few years.

Why not worry about the career now? Time is mich more valuable in your 20's for career development rather than 30's.. I know I will have to do grunt work for a bit before I get into the better paying areas of the field and I thought it was better to do that sooner than later. And no, not planning to marry for another 2-3 years, I'm single.

The main reason you should avoid changing careers now is that taking a pay cut will hurt your ability to repay your student debt. It will drag out the payments longer and cost you more in interest as a result. Not that money is everything, but if you are going to switch jobs, try to lateral into something related to EE and which will provide you with a comparable income.

Also - be wary of moving into IT. There are a LOT more folks qualified to work in IT than there are electrical engineers. You risk exposing yourself to far more competition by making that move, with no apparent benefit. Also, it is doubtful that moving to IT will remedy your dissatisfaction with your current job, which seems to stem mostly from the fact that you work in a cube alone all day. Last I checked, that is what the majority of IT folks do on a day to day basis. Just for less money.

One field you may wish to consider looking into is intellectual property. Requires an expensive law degree and its not as easy to get into as it once was, but if you can get a law firm to foot the bill for law school you can do quite well. Not exactly easy work though, and you might not like the drawbacks that come with being in the service industry.

Good luck.

 

[xeemzor]

Right now I am thinking systems integration at a firm like Accenture.. I need to brush up on basic skills and would be using a close friend as a reference. I am not expecting a client facing role from day 1.

How much do you know about SI? Have you read any books on kimball database design? Do you know what a project life-cycle looks like? It's totally different work than what you have been doing up to this point. Honestly, it's not highly respected and you might find it boring.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

I'd be 30 if I waited to clear my debt and have an emergency fund. Don't want to be making entry level salary and working 70 hours a week right after getting married..

Why do you think you will be making entry level salary at age 30? BY that time you will have accumulated much more experience in your current field. That will presumably open up other well paying options that you could pursue.

 

[maddogchen]

Hahah Accenture, what a crappy company.

All their grunts are in bangalore somewhere. Would you like to join them in bangalore?

 

[xeemzor]

Hahah Accenture, what a crappy company.

All their grunts are in bangalore somewhere. Would you like to join them in bangalore?

At least they have better weather there than in the midwest...

 

[Vdubchaos]

Stay the course and pay down your debt ASAP. Also minimize your expenses/spending.

When you are done paying your debt, you will be in much better position to change careers (especially if it's less money).

As far as "I don't like what I do". I'll be honest with you, you will NEVER like what you do, no matter what you do.

Job is called a JOB for a reason. No one on this planet wakes up on Monday morning and is excited about going to work.

Work = you do bunch of stuff you don't want to do and get paid.

Pay off your debt! Start off with CC and then school loans.
Save 1 year of spendings as emergency fund.
Do whatever you want.....but I doubt you will find a job that you will "love".

Time on your current job is your friend IMO.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Hahah Accenture, what a crappy company.

All their grunts are in bangalore somewhere. Would you like to join them in bangalore?

Agreed - I hate to enlighten him as someone else in the IT consulting world... but if OP went to Accenture (or the equivalent) it would be a HUGE backstep to what progress has been made.

 

[Drako]

Agreed - I hate to enlighten him as someone else in the IT consulting world... but if OP went to Accenture (or the equivalent) it would be a HUGE backstep to what progress has been made.

Yep, I'm not sure why anyone would go from an Engineering job, to an IT job, even if was a management IT job.

Stay the course, pay off the high interest debt, then make the possibly regrettable career move.

 

[mvbighead]

Stay the course and pay down your debt ASAP. Also minimize your expenses/spending.

When you are done paying your debt, you will be in much better position to change careers (especially if it's less money).

As far as "I don't like what I do". I'll be honest with you, you will NEVER like what you do, no matter what you do.

Job is called a JOB for a reason. No one on this planet wakes up on Monday morning and is excited about going to work.

Work = you do bunch of stuff you don't want to do and get paid.

Pay off your debt! Start off with CC and then school loans.
Save 1 year of spendings as emergency fund.
Do whatever you want.....but I doubt you will find a job that you will "love".

Time on your current job is your friend IMO.

I disagree with the not liking your job bit.

There are days I look forward to getting back in and doing certain things.

I would have to agree that there are points with everyone's job that you simply are not going to like, but one can really enjoy what they do.

That being said, if I had 150K+ in student loan debt, plus other debts, and NONE of that was related to a house, I would stick with the highest paying whatever it is job until I could get rid of ALL of it.

I realize that for the OP it is what it is now, but there is no chance I would ever get involved in that shit. And if you need to go to a top 10 whatever college for your profession, be 100% certain about what you want to do, and DEFINITELY consider a lesser college for core classes to minimize debt.

 

[jlee]

I'd be 30 if I waited to clear my debt and have an emergency fund. Don't want to be making entry level salary and working 70 hours a week right after getting married..

YOU ARE SINGLE RIGHT NOW. Don't plan your life assuming you'll be married in 3 years.

 

[dullard]

It is called work. It isn't called happy joy uber fun time. People generally don't find their jobs to be the best part of their day. I say suck it up for 2 more years. Your outrageous student loan debt will be almost gone. Then rethink the carreer when you can actually move jobs without such a burden hanging over you. You'll then have the chance to focus on what you want and not focus on the debt.

 

[Ken g6]

What you want to do sounds like what my boss does. Actually, you sound a lot like my boss, risk-taking attitude and all. (Except that he's much older than you.) My boss runs his own consulting company, and I work for him doing consulting work.

Hahah Accenture, what a crappy company.

All their grunts are in bangalore somewhere. Would you like to join them in bangalore?

Not all of them. Sometimes they will subcontract out work to other little companies. The firm looking for contractors gets the brand name (Accenture), but at an independent contractor price (plus a little to Accenture). I've gotten work that way sometimes.

 

[SeductivePig]

Let's say 3 years from now when I'm 30 with all my debt paid off, and nearly married, I want to switch careers.

Wouldn't it suck starting from the bottom again? My entire vision is to get AWAY from engineering, not learn more about it and move into a role that goes more deeply into it.