Don't know what to do with my life..feel hopeless

I've been skimming this forum for a while and just recently joined (paid for the membership too). I've been into Ferraris since I was an early teen and I decided early on that I wanted to become a financially successful individual. My benchmark for indicating that I reached financial success....a Ferrari.
I'm currently a 4th year college pre-med student. I really don't know if I'm up to putting another 6-8 years of training before I'm somewhat financially stable. I tried hard in college to make money through the internet (adsense, blogs, cpa) but none of it worked out. I've always been into the stock market but never had the guts nor the guidance to try it out. Now life is at a standstill as I decide to apply to med school or not. What do I do? I'm not afraid of hard work, but rather the amount productivity from it. Can I make more money early on through different outlets? Where do I begin?

 

Personally speaking the life choices you make now should not be about chasing the quick buck, but more about where you want to be or see yourself in 10-15-20 years from now. Being happy then is far more important than a fat bank account & a Ferrari in the garage.

From my own experience making decisions based purely on their earning potential or financial benefit have been the wrong decisions, but maybe that is just me & that may be different for someone else. At 43 I don't so much regret the decisions I made at your age, but I would have certainly chosen differently and/or taken more into consideration if given the chance to do it again.

If you have the drive to succeed it won't really matter which career path you choose, but making your choices based on bad judgement or shortsightedness may make the road to success far longer & bumpier.

Good luck with your decision.

 

Short term financial gains often mean long term losses when you are talking about career choices.

My advise is to stop lusting after a Ferrari so much and set achievable goals so you can reach them and feel good about it. A Ferrari is just a car, there are plenty of other fun cars out there, like 124 FIATs ... or even Miatas.
Pete

 

Go on to med school, become an MD. You're one of the fortunate few...you'll never go wanting for work, and will have a good income and top of the heap status. What medicine means to you in terms of being of service, helping others, making a difference, etc., is something that's on a totally personal level...you alone can make the call on that.

If just plain making money and getting rich is where you want to be, medicine might not be the best course.

Believe me, there'll be a Ferrari out there. That and other material rewards are hard to envision as truly possible when young and working hard to get thru school...I've been there, different profession.

Didn't get my first Ferrari until age 53, but before age 50 I didn't want one badly enough to make it a real goal and go for it.

 

If I were you, I'd go to med school.
Choose a specialty within medicine that you find fulfilling and can allow you to make good money.
Perhaps plastic surgery?

I also hit a low point emotionally in college.
It was in my sophomore year of my 4 year degree (that was over 30 years ago).
I really questioned if I was going to get through the 4-year program and if it was worth it.
For me, my 4-year technical degree changed my life. Glad I stuck with it.

.

 

u can, or u cld hv yr candy ass burnt ... to crisp ...

sorry, but it's the harsh reality ...

going down the road of a professionally qualified person damn near GUARANTEES a comfortable living ...

 

Make sure you are passionate about medicine and not just going to med school for the financial security aspects or you will have one miserable life.

As others have said, stop thinking about money. The fact that you are preoccupied with your income shows a deper psychological issue at play. What do you think that may be ?

You should go post this in the Silver Subscribed section and you will get advice from a dozen MDs.

 

sounds like you need some thing to get you on track.
have you ever considered a career in the military?
great opportunity in the medical field.
twenty years, which now may sound like a long time but believe me it's not, and you're free to pursue any adventures with a great pension.
look ahead, in twenty years 458s will be great deals.

 

IMO, having a job you like a lot, or even love, is worth a lot more than having Ferraris in the garage. That being said, having a Ferrari in the garage makes a not so great job a lot easier to live with.

Point is, if there's something you know you love to do and could make a living at it (even if it doesn't pay great), go that route, you'll be happy. If you don't have something like that, go with what you're good at and can make a comfortable living.

 

You are in a difficult place, so your stress is understandable. You are sacrificing your time now for rewards in the distant future... and this is tough I know. "A stitch in time saves nine." Perhaps a short break is in order? Work a hotel desk in Europe for a few months to get you out of a rut? IDK

Just don't give up on your ultimate dream. The Ferrari will come eventually, even if it has to be on credit, but there is no going back to med school when you're 40.

Of course, if your dream isn't med school but instead is the paycheck, then you're in the wrong place. I changed course when the Dotcom revolution was making everyone millionaires... it burst, and now it's too late to go back to school. Pots of gold are always JUST beyond the rainbow & you'll grow tired of chasing them.

 

begin with finding someone to talk to
that's not a dig at you, nor sarcastic, if this is a first post in a public forum, then you need to meet with someone to directly speak and sort through with over you're worries and concerns
there are so many good resources, and all are in confidence
i would strongly recommend
good luck!

 

I've always done best doing something I'm passionate about. If you are passionate about med school, you will do great.

Life is not a sprint race. It's a marathon.

ALSO, remember this: A GOOD low mileage 360 coupe can be had for the same price as a lot of ordinary new cars.

I was at the Mini dealer the other day. They had a Mini coupe for $41,000. I'm thinking... for about 20 grand more you can have a freakin' 10k mile Ferrari!

You can get a good 308 for about 30 grand. A good Mondial for low 20's. Low 20's --- the same price as a boring Nissan sedan.

So, keep your sights in the right direction. Don't buy something you can't afford. But, remember your dream comes in many levels. Owning a Ferrari doesn't mean you can't be satisfied unless it's an Enzo.

 

Your Honor...if you know where I can find a nice 10K mile 360 Modena for $60K, pass it on!

 

Absolutely agree. I have some friends from Med School who were in the profession or their chosen specialty for the wrong reasons. They ended up being miserable. I remember being where you are. My brother who is a year younger went to business school and was making a strong 6 figure income while I was still dissecting cadavers. You are fininshing undergrad and seeing folks getting out in the job market and making $$. The reward for medicine or any profession are longer term and in what you really want to do. As someone noted, a doc will always be in demand and will never starve. There will always be a Ferrari in you price range.

Hang in there. The very dim light at the end of the tunnel may not be a freight train.

Best,

Steve

 

Well, this is the most interesting first post I've read in the short time I've been on this site.

Could it be that you're just burned out with school right now?

It's natural to ask the big life questions from time to time, but if you're not passionate about being a doctor for reasons other than financial reward I would bet you will lack the stamina to make it past the finish line, much less sustain a practice. The great doctors that I know (several I know at Stanford come to mind) are motivated by 1) research 2) helping patients 3) financial reward, in that order. Notice a Ferrari isn't on that list, although for some I'm sure this is the case.

I've also been asking myself why I want a Ferrari now that I'm in the market. For me the answer is easy: 1) I love racing and cars and always have 2) So do my close friends and I will enjoy sharing it with them 3) I will have fun taking my 20 yr old nephew to track days and teaching him how to drive properly 4) I'll share it generously with local charities, schools,etc. 5) I feel like I've earned it after 15 years of hard work. To me that's the fun part. My own ego's accretion is very low on that list.

I think you need to examine the underlying reasons for your unhappiness before you go any further. Take a year off and go backpacking somewhere. At a minimum go get some professional help because it sounds like you could be suffering from depression.

To paraphrase Robin Williams, owning a Ferrari is God's way of telling you you have too much money. Get the basics down first before you start worrying about life's amusements.

Marc

 

If you're not sure you want to do Med School you will never finish it. And if you do finish, but don't like the sacrifices to your time you have to make (at least early on) as an MD you will hate being a physician.

20 years ago I was in your place, Sophomore biology pre-med at a good school and on-track to go to med school starting in 1994. But I hated it. I was looking at many more years of toil for a career I wasn't sure I wanted. So I switched majors and schools. I definitely regret decisions I have made since that time, but not that one.

You need to do some soul-searching.

 

Another case of people saying they want to work hard, are not lazy, yet want the shortest way possible to gain success. pick me please.

Anything good in life is worth waiting....the short cut to life does not exist ...many smart people before you tried it...and failed as well.

You seem to have a gift with school for pre med...and your title post is you feel hopeless ? Kids in Africa not able to get water today maybe feel hopeless ..... Your feeling, you need to talk to someone to get your priorities straight.

Judging by what you said, you can't be more than 25 yrs old...and you feel hopeless because you want a Ferrari ? Geez .... I guess my kids will want a Ferrari by 16 now, what a spoiled culture we have here.

 

I was waiting for a "tough love" response.

 

At 44 now, I'm getting sick of it personally, my kids are thinking along the same lines....they want what I worked my whole life for , now. They need to dig some ditches first to understand life doesn't work this way.

It takes dedication and a lifetime of hard work , some decent breaks , To accomplish any kind of success in life, regardless of field or profession. Everything takes work.

 

If you're wanting to teach your kids a lesson you can always take their laptop out back and plug it with your .45. If you do I just ask that you film it so it can be viewed on YouTube.

Seriously, I'm totally with you on that. I'm in my late-thirties and it's taken me 15+ years of hard graft to get me where I am today. Maybe a pittance compared to some here, but I wouldn't have it any other way. My payoff is coming and I will certainly savor it that much more.

 

+1
Best response here.

Go viist an impoverished area and see how hard people really have it. Be thankful for the opportunities you have, and make the most of them.

You can always take a year in between if you are burnt out. It will just push off the degree by one year though. You have to go through the slog, no matter what. Hunker down and do it.

 

+2. Owning a Ferrari is nice. But it cannot be the end goal.

So once you have it your life will be complete?

Believe me, it IS a nice-to-have. But it still is just a car. A special car, but you can't let it dictate what you will do with your life.

Go after the job for financial reasons....you will not find happiness.

 

Plus, once you have a Ferrari, you're probably going to want to buy a better one.
Unless you can afford a $30M Ferrari, there will always be a Ferrari that is "better" than the one you own
It will either be newer, faster, more vintage, more beautiful, sound better, or have a better racing pedigree than the one you own.

And then, you'll just end up wanting to own a collection of them.

So, there is no end to this quest to buy a Ferrari.
Take the time to enjoy the journey to get there as much as the end result when you do.
.

 

^ exactly. The cycle won't stop. Be it Ferraris, homes, watches, etc. Do what you love, hope that it brings financial success in some form, and don't just go after the $.