Why Work?

After submitting my resume for a job at KPMG, I was invited for an interview. However, a few days after the interview, KPMG rejected me, so I am feeling pretty down, especially since I thought I did well during that interview.

I hope I do get a full-time job this year because it is essential for my plan to become a millionaire. If I don't get one I will have to take drastic measures such as working at McDonald's. I am also thinking about working as one of those people who walk around stuffing junk mail into people's letterboxes. My dad laughed when I told him this. He said I didn't go to university for six years to be a burger flipper.

Sometimes I wish I were a burger flipper. I've realized based on calculations that it's not really the pay that matters but the number of hours you do per week. It's the quantity of the labor that matters. Furthermore, the fact that I've been in university for so long means I have wasted so much time. I know of a kid who dropped out of my high school, became a plumber, and now owns two houses and a brand new car. His net worth is probably $200,000 or so. He probably doesn't have the prestige but at least he has the security. I think that is the main problem. I honestly believe my parents pushed me into university so they can tell their friends about me. I get depressed when I think about this.

I work part-time at the moment, which is how I am able to get at least a positive net worth so far. This part-time work however is mere administration, clerical, or data entry work. It pays little and it's a night job. Most people might think I hate this job but I don't think it's that bad. It's pretty easy and the people with whom I work are very friendly. Even though I try to be modest and I always put myself down, everyone at my work knows I have two Bachelors degrees from an elite university and because of that they expect me to get a high-paying job after graduation, so I must admit there is quite a lot of peer pressure for me to perform. Of course, the fact that I work there instead of doing an internship at an investment bank probably suggests to everyone that there is something wrong with me. I know a friend who took a year off from university to work at UBS. After graduation he got a job at Macquarie Bank as an investment banker. His starting salary is $84,000. However, I also know another person who studied civil engineering. During university he worked at Safeway. He managed to get a job after graduation.

At my work, many people ask me about university. They ask, "How's university?" Since I hate university so much now, I try not to talk too much about it. Some students talk about university all the time. I get the feeling that university nowadays just doesn't matter because just about everyone goes to university. If you meet someone below 20, chances are he or she will have a degree.

With all the stress of job hunting getting to me, I decided seek the advice of the Divine Oracle, also known as Google. I asked, "Why Work?" and She replied with the site WhyWork.Org. It's a nice site, and I had a good read. The site encourages people to stop working. I must admit that if I had the choice between working or not working I'd rather not work. I also hate studying. I used to love going to university but now I really hate it. There is a way out. I can work intensely for a year or two and then put all my money into stocks or a savings account and then live off the interest. Some people say this is impossible because I would have to save too much. However, they don't realize how cheap living can be. I am confident I can get rent for a unit in a country town for less than $100 a week. I am confident I can eat for $3 a day. That's $6,295 per year in living expenses. Assume your savings account gives you 5 per cent. Then I need $125,900. I already have $21,000, so I just need to find $104,900. Of course, then there is the problem of inflation, not just the threat of food prices going up but the threat of rent going up as well, so I think I will need a little more than $125,900 to cover the inflation, maybe $150,000. With a normal wage of $20 an hour and working 80 hours a week I'd have to work for about 2 years. It's doable. I'll be able to retire at 26!

Hopefully I'll find a full-time job and hopefully I'll love it because I don't want to have to think about early, early retirement.

If I do retire by 26, I am sure many people would look down upon me. Of course, I will be living in a unit by myself in a country town, so I will be isolated from everyone and therefore nobody will even be able to see me. If they can't see me how can they look down upon me? Some people might call me lazy, but I don't really see what is wrong or evil about laziness. We all try to economize. We don't walk but drive to work. We buy food from the supermarket instead of growing our own food (most of us, at least). What's wrong with laziness? Why do more work than necessary?