Not to be pithy about it, but I think there's some truth to this idea: if you think you'll just work really hard for a bit and then quit to live a life of leisure, you probably won't get rich in the first place. Work itself has to interest you; it can't just be a means to an end.
If you become an investment banker at age 23 and work non-stop for 12 years, you may be rich by the time you get to 35. You will probably be overweight and alcoholic by the time you're 35, too. And no amount of money will ever bring your youth back. Let alone your health...
OK, assuming that you do get rich, you probably will never be able to quit. You'll be addicted to the money and status. You probably will have a trophy wife who you rarely see but who spends piles of money on clothes and shoes. Your peers will be buying bigger houses and more expensive cars. You are rich, but in your milieu there are many people infinitely richer than you are. You are jealous. Your money and status become less of a prize and more of an entitlement. You want more because you "deserve" more. You want to keep up with the Joneses. You want to show the lads you're a player.
I know investment bankers who look like junkies due to lack of sleep. Some snort cocaine. They put in 90-100 hours per week. They don't have time for girlfriends, so they spend money on high-level escorts. They say they'll quit by the time they're 35 or so, and move to Costa Rica, or to the South of France. Some say they want to become wine-makers. Others want to open their own gourmet restaurant. Some desperately want to move to private equity or a hedge fund. They will never quit. A fat paycheck is a golden cage.
Ha, I just turned 24 and I work on Wall Street. I know more than enough about that lifestyle. You're right, it's definitely a golden cage.
I didn't say I approved of the sentiments in my comment above. It's not a statement of moral correctness. It just seems to be how things work out on practice.
This is the first chance I've had to be able to talk to someone that works in the wall street environment....I've been following the "alternative" economics blogosphere for many years now (globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com, market-ticker.denninger.net, etc)
I'm not sure in what capacity you work, but do you see totally corrupt (opinions may vary on what is corrupt I suppose) things happening on a daily basis?
To be honest, from what I read, it seems like a den of thieves....any chance you could spread some light on this issue?
I agree with your first comment. If you absolutely despise your work, that will show and hinder your career prospects. No one likes to work with a bitter passive-aggressive.
In case you didn't notice, I was referring to Wall Street and corporate America in general, which is what the article is all about. There's an enormous cultural difference between Wall Street and the Silicon Valley.
