How Do You Feel When Someone Says "Go Get a Real Job"

[Hal9k]

Also, it sounds like your dad has no faith in you but when you start making more money than him, you'll soon discover a 360 degree change in his attitude.

Stick with it.

Wouldn't 360 be going all the way round to the same attitude? lol.

Great post, I also get the "real job" talk. Makes me want to turn communist. Money is all some people think about, but I suppose with good reason, since our society puts such a demand on the acquisition of it.

Then again, last summer I did have a "real job" as a data input person, typing in names and addresses 9-5. I used to come home absolutely drained from being mentally numbed.

However I value this experience as at the end of it being able to buy a new guitar from "hard earned" cash was great, and it certainly gave me insight in how a great many people live. Suddenly I understood the drinking culture a lot more--just something to do to break out of dead-end jobs.

[amaczka]

If getting "a real job" means sitting in a cubicle for 50 hours a week, count me out--

If getting "a real job" means having just 2 weeks of vacation IN A WHOLE YEAR, no thanks--

[sportslitter]

I am really glad for you man, I hope my time will come sooner or later. My girlfriend drives me nuts with this kind of remarks.. I can not show any results and so far she is right and it makes me very uncomfortable

Man... I am glad to hear I am not the only one !! I always here "you would choose your computer over me" lol

I am struggling right now. I make on average like $3-4 a day from adsense and then maybe another $2 from other ventures. All in All about $200 a month.

I am 23. Went to college on a scholarship. Got a degree in sports management. Got a job in the golf industry.. and now I want out! I hate working for the man. I hate having someone tell me what to do all day long. I hate busting my butt to make someone else richer. I sit in a cubicle all day just like in office space. It is an awful way to live your life.

I want to be out of the corporate business world in 3-4 years. If I work hard enough I can make my sites profitable enough to quit my job.

I have the support of my parents. My mom and sister are really interested in what I do. My dad owns his own business with 170+ employees so he understands my drive to succeed and build a business.

The girlfriend only understands when I get paid. But I get where she's coming from. No one is really holding me back but my friggin boss at work!

[ccRicers]

I have a steady on-campus job, but it doesn't pay much. It's definitely not suitable for paying bills AND buying a decent amount of luxuries. Ironic how working for tips at a restaurant can give you more per hour! A few co-workers have done web design for a couple clients on the side before coming here, and they hate their current job. So I'm in the same situation as many of you in this thread.

Again, people will care once you show results. Like they say, the proof is in the pudding.

[Karl]

I laugh, then ask them if they want to have a go at my job and see just how real it is, once I've given them a quick 5 minutes on what I do every day and how long, they usually go quiet and realise it's not such an easy job.

[beley]

I laugh, then ask them if they want to have a go at my job and see just how real it is, once I've given them a quick 5 minutes on what I do every day and how long, they usually go quiet and realise it's not such an easy job.

Yeah, a few of my friends used to make fun of me, saying I just sat around all day playing on the computer. I'd love for them to have a go at it and see how easy it really is!

[Archbob]

If sitting around on my computer and playing can buy me a Mansion, Limo, and have enough left over for me to build a Temple. Then I'm all for sitting around.

[The Mizan]

Hello Everyone

I get the remark a few times, mostly from my parents because 1. They think my web design business will fail and 2. They have no idea how the computer works or what the internet does. I was just wondering, how does it make you feel when someone tells you to "Go Get a Real Job"?

It makes me feel like working smarter and stronger, I try my best to ignore the fact that my own parents have no faith in me. What about you?

Awww man, that sucks.

[dsaccess]

my parents have an excessive amount of faith in me :P
my dad is always goin' on about how he wants to invest in my business, or buy me a server. I always decline though, I like to think, the less I spend the more I profit. Heck, for the first proper site I ever made I didn't even spend my own money on the domain! I found $10 in the gutter and used that, and I was freely hosted for a while :P

[Pavel_Nedved]

My parents were, to put it in nice terms, very sceptical of my decision to drop out of engineering to pursue my new business.

I had the "you will fail" etc vibe coming from them... I just ignored it. Mostly because I knew in my mind that what I was doing was right for me. Failure never once crossed my mind, and has yet to. I'm now raking in more cash annually than my parents combined... and I've just turned 22.

Needless to say, they're now a bit more supportive of my business.


Pavel

[kungfukenny]

Hey there Shotbotkins I know exactly where you're coming from, I decided to try setting up as a website designer (turning a hobby into a job) when I was made redundant from my engineering job in 2001, I had my girlfriend on my back all the time with exactly the same attitude.

Funny thing is I sort of gave in, partly due to the dot com bubble bursting and went looking to go back into engineering, then this job came up which I thought I'd use as a stop gap working on an assembly line, I mentioned to the manager about the company website and said I could make some improvements, I'm now the IT Manager at the same company and I've learnt some really valuable skills and equally valuable contacts which I'm now looking to use to go back and have another crack at starting up as a website designer.

Oh and BenBen is so close to the truth when he said 'playing on the computer', I have to put up with that daily at work as nearly everyone is manual labour thats what they think I do, not working on critical business systems or producing ideas that generate online six figure turnover figures, no they think I'm playing solitare and surfing the net ...... if only

What I've probably said in a round about way is don't give up on your ambitions and dreams even if it means you have to 'sell out' to achieve them, you'll get there in the end, you'll gain valuable experience from the strangest of places and then you never know where that lucky break will turn up but don't sit there waiting for it, you've got to chase it ....... good luck

[shadowbox]

If getting "a real job" means having just 2 weeks of vacation IN A WHOLE YEAR, no thanks--

LOL - two weeks vacation, I wish. I've not had a proper holiday for 5 years. Working for yourself as a sole freelancer does that kind of thing! Each time I go and give blood, they ask me if I've been out of the country in the past 12 months, and I just let out a deep sigh and say 'nope'

I've finally bitten the bullet, postponed all new work and am buggering off for 4 weeks to OZ and New Zealand with my family - otherwise, I'll burn out completely. Luckily working my nuts off for the past few years means I've built up a lot of recurring income (ecommerce sites, hosting contracts, advertisers, etc), so these days I can work a lot less hours a week, and spend more time with my family. But to get to that stage, I've had to work 14 hour days, 7 days a week for the past 5 years.

My biggest gripe is when aquaintances say 'I'm lucky' - yeah, right. Mate, I've taken countless risks, worked 100 hour weeks and sweated blood to get where I am - luck has nothing to do with it.

[trade786]

World is so cruel my dear ! Everyone wants the result, either in home or in office. Even the nearest and the dearest also do not have faith unless you post the positive outcome.
This is so eternal, that you shouldn't lament over it.

On the other way around, you should be true to your mission with a transparent vision, coupled with sincere effort. Once a tangible result is posted, the opinions are bound to take a reverse swing.

Everyone of us either faced or facing or will be facing such situation.

[basix]

I have been involved in online stuff for the last 7 years, when I first realised I could actually make money online. It started from learning how to build websites, to learning how to program. I have also had family constantly saying how I wasted all my time on the computer.

The first year I did a real tax return, I had my accountant ask if it was really worth the hours I put in. I told him - yes, because I can see this getting so much bigger. Needless to say, the next year when I filed a tax return, he didn't insinuate I was wasting my time. When my partner lost his job and I found myself supporting a family of 4 kids, parents etc had a different attitude to what I did on the computer.

However - I realised my self-taught knowledge could benefit by some structured learning. I attended college, and am now attending university. Why? I was making an income quite alright on my own, but I realised that the income is not always guaranteed. Something will implode at some stage in the future, and I didn't want all of my eggs in the one basket so decided to get some real life paper qualifications which could help with offline work should the need arise. The education also helped me with an overall understanding of a lot of areas I previously had no clue about and didn't realise I had no clue about. However, it has helped fill in a lot of gaps which I suspect a lot of self-taught people have (without realising they have).

I am currently about 12 months away from an IT degree, and have been offered so much work offline that it's ridiculous. This work has mainly come through the college and university I have attended. Some of the work I have accepted, because I feel it is wise to get experience somewhere else other than online work. The part time offline work I am currently doing pays well because I have the qualifications to back my abilities up (well, so far 2 diplomas and recommendations from uni lecturers). I know I have also experienced weeks where I have been glad of the offline work, because there was a slump in online income. Each allows me to have time to do the other, so to speak - so offline and online work goes together real well.

By having the knowledge to start with and then proceeding with a formal education I was able to enhance my knowledge. Whereas before I was able to perform a wide range of tasks online, I now have the confidence that I can take an offline job and be able to cope with a wide range of tasks in a bricks and mortar environment (networking, project management, dba etc).

Even though you may be earning a good income now, if something changes in the future - what do you have to fall back on? Models may earn good money, but there's a day when they give that up and need something else to fall back on. There's no guarantee of the ability to earn a living online forever. Spread your choices. I may be wrong, but it seems the wise thing to do.

[MTV]

Yeah, we all understand this kind of situation. It happened to me when I first started it and 'til now noone understand how and where I have money. Whoever asks me am I working? I just answered them NO I'M NOT WORKING because I know for sure that they don't even have any clue if I give them a truth answer. It hurts your feeling really bad but keep up the hard work and you'll be paid off like everyone els. You have online friends to motivate ya so keep your own faith.

[Perfectionist121]

Even though you may be earning a good income now, if something changes in the future - what do you have to fall back on? Models may earn good money, but there's a day when they give that up and need something else to fall back on. There's no guarantee of the ability to earn a living online forever. Spread your choices. I may be wrong, but it seems the wise thing to do.

I will agree with basix here, and this is one of the points that I have been trying to get across. Even I, very recently, have decided to persue an additional B.A. degree in Art Education because, especially when you are working for yourself, work in web design will not always be steady, so a "Plan B" should assure that I always have SOME way to pay the bills. My view on the industry, (based, in part, on what I've read in these forums, so PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong), is that the industry will never die...as long as the Internet is around, people will ALWAYS need web sites. However, they may not need them week-by-week, or month-by-month, so those times will be "slow" for designers, but we still need to eat, so that's when a secondary job is necessary. You may NEVER use your backup, (and you're lucky if you don't have to), but I, personally, would rather have one than overestimate the performance of the industry, and then not have anywhere to go, or have to settle for a paper-pushing job, if things go south.

[Karl]

Yep, that's why I stayed at Uni even though I wanted to give it up, when we setup KDA, so that I have something to fall back on.

[WebTraffic2GO]

Before I begin, this thread is very inspirational and makes me want to continue even more.

Here's my story:

I became interested in the Internet when I was around 11/12. After about a year of mucking about making designs for game fan sites etc. I learnt about the web hosting business. It interested me straight away to be honest only because of the prospect of lots of $$$, I was very young and didn't really know what I was doing. However I convinced my parents to buy me a reseller account for a year. I worked hard and even though I was so young, I had a few customers but eventually because of my age the business slipped away.

My parents were skeptical then, and they still are now. They don't really understand what I do or what I want to do with my life. I just started a website and in it's first week with AdSense it's made me $12.56, I told my mother the other day that my site had made me around $3 when she was on about me getting a 'real job'. Her reaction wasn't one of support or praise that I had actually managed to make some money myself.

I guess my parents just see this as a hobby, and just think that I'm playing on the computer. For example my mother asked me to start cleaning up the house etc. while she's in work...I don't want to say something along the lines of "you know that I'm working don't you" because I think she'll bite my head off and I'll end up feeling guilty - but it really gets to me.

I'm not just 'playing' on the computer, most of the time (if not all) I'm working. My site was put online on the 1st of August and since that day I have been working all day and all night and most of the time into the early hours of morning working on it doing various things.

My friends get to me as well, for example tonight I was out (I havn't been out in 2 weeks because I've been working) and one friend commented that he heard I had made £3/$5 and then he laughed along with the others. He did however comment that it was more than he's made. I think someone already said in this thread, that people don't really understand it and they expect to see you making money straight away, they don't understand that it takes a lot of time, effort and sometimes money before you start seeing any sort of return, and I think that's what gets me the most.

I've just finished school and I've said that I'm not going to college because I want to concentrate on the job I want to do. All my family and friends keep telling me I should go, my argument is that if this next year doesn't work out for me then I can go to college next year without a problem. Their argument is that I'll be missing out on the best time of my life and I won't meet any new people.

Right now im 60/40. But if I do choose not to go and the year does go well for me
, then I could be having the time of my life when their still stuck in college and later on stuck in jobs that they'll probably hate doing without time for anythin else.

I'm going to keep at it whatever happens, and that's what I suggest anyone do - is to keep working at their dream and to not get deterred by friends or family, no matter how hard they push you.

[Galo]

I always tell them to just stfu and let me do my work... ppl and their computers,...

[madcap]

Yeah, I totally feel your pain man. I get the most hassle from my dad. He just has no concept of how someone can do anything but "play around" with a computer.

[molona]

I've just finished school and I've said that I'm not going to college because I want to concentrate on the job I want to do.

Would you allow me a suggestion here? University (or College) is an experience that it broadens your mind, and that's something you should consider. I don't mean that you have to do it right now. Maybe, you would like your online business to pay for it, so give to yourself 1-2 years to make it work, have a steady income (maybe from affiliate programs) and some customers that will keep you busy, but not that busy that you cannot attend college.

Going to University is like when you travel around the world... if you don't do it, you just go for what you know, and that's a limit you put to yourself, you don't know what you are missing.

Going to University will improve your business too, as you will gain knowledge in other areas that you wouldn't look into if you were not "forced" to do it.

Also, being a University/College student is far different from being a High School student (by far, much more enjoyable, even if you have to study hard). And it is practical to have some kind of degree.

Just think about it.

[dojo]

I also get this "real job" thing when I work on my sites. I don't work as a full time designer yet but I did earn some money this way. Instead of telling me: "stop playing with the PC and do something "REal", my folks have started to understand this is something "real". Of course I needed to show them some of my revenue

Stick to it. Don't let school from the equation at all, but also develop your skills and manage your projects. You still need education (formal one), but don't expect school to teach you this. And don't give up

[Pillman]

The internet is 99 percent garbage anyway. Full of scams, fraud, ripoffs, snake oil, etc. if you want to try to make a living internet dumpster diving be my guest. One less person to worry about taking my stable well paying job position.

Also, making money online is like swimming upstream casue the interent was never intended to be monetized to being with. Isn't that what the 2000 intenret bubble taught us? The interent was mainly intended as a research and communication tool. Thats it. If you wan to sell your crap online prepare for crappy returns. Also, people online are more fikle than ever. they want options, choices, comparison, and that nonsense. Too many competitors tryin to sell the same **** as you for a lower price.

For more money is made selling stuff OFFLINE. Less competiton and smaller barrier to entry. I don't way to pay fag-oogle my hard earned money for fraud clicks..nooo waaaay.

[sportslitter]

I spent 4 years in college to earn my B.S. and it has done nothing for me. I wouldn't call it a waste because I did have the best time of my life. Met my girlfriend of 2.5 years in college. Went to every Gator game and had a blast!

Some of you act like getting a degree is the most important thing in the world. I'm at a 40/hr week job right now that has nothing to do with my degree. I think trade schools are much better than getting a degree at a University, unless you want to be a doctor or engineer.

[tke71709]

Less competiton and smaller barrier to entry.

Less competition? Maybe

Smaller barriers to entry? No, unless you think carrying inventory and renting a store is a smaller barrier to entry than a $10/mth hosting account.