revisiting the summer job dilemma...

[PITTM]

so i remember about 3 months ago when a kid asked us if not taking a summer job and playing poker instead was a realistic idea...i said it wasnt, and i also took a summer job working 40 hours a week painting and doing maintance for the college i go to. frankly, i am getting kind of sick of working 40 hours a week and then coming home and playing poker for 2 hours and making more money. I have little expenses, no rent and a full scholarship and about 2 grand. should i quit my full time job and take a part time job? or just quit the job altogether. getting up at 6am to do something i dont enjoy is really taking its toll on me.

rj

[BradleyT]

Poker will become a job also. I suggest you stick with what you're doing. Having work experience for a college/university is much more beneficial on your resume than "gambler". Long term I think the benefits of staying where you're at outweigh the benefits of changing.

And if you don't enjoy getting up at 6am to work a job you hate, welcome to the world, you've got 40 more years of that ahead of you.

[deacsoft]

If you do decide to go part time; please do yourself the favor of finding the part-time job before quitting your current job.

[RollaJ]

[ QUOTE ]
you've got 40 more years of that ahead of you.


[/ QUOTE ]

If:
a)you plan well
b)have a union job

[daryn]

quit your job, and play poker. you could probably make the same amount of money playing 1/3 of the hours, am i right?

do what you want to do. if you want to quit, quit. if you actually want to work 40 hours a week by all means, do it.

[teddyFBI]

My 2 cents: Fu*k the "work experience is valuable" argument. Experience is one thing; but -- and no offense, because we've all had shitty jobs -- painting maintenance isn't going to be worth squat on your resume. I never once got asked about my experience working in my university's cafeteria. Anyone who's seen a resume knows that a job like that's just filler.

I've gone through resumes before and I'd be waaaaaaaay more intrigued by someone who had the stones to try gambling for a living; even just for a summer. I used to play BJ and count cards for profit, and I LOVED talking about that in interviews; just as my interviewers loved hearing about it. Gambling is at its most base level intriguing to the human psyche, perhaps because it taps into the get-rich-quick mentality we're all endowed with.

But to get back to your question, I'd say you should not quit your job, but I say that because your risk of ruin is too great. You have $2,000. That's a tiny bankroll for someone who thinks they can ride out the inevitable downward swings. My first 48 hours playing online I turned $120 into $900, and was already calculating the hundreds of thousands of dollars I would be making that year /images/graemlins/crazy.gif Guess what: I lost $1,400 over the next 36 hours, playing the SAME way I was when I was winning (3/6 tables in case you were wondering). Everything may look rosy now, but don't for a second think you've got the game beat, because you can catch a frozen run of cards that lasts weeks and even months.

That being said; hey, if you've got a full ride, and that $2,000 is money you could actually lose and not care all too much about, I'd say think about it. Painting/Maintenance is a job that'll be waiting for you when you're 45, if you want it. Don't waste your college years (ESPECIALLY the summer) dragging your ass to a soul-sucking job -- that's what the rest of your life is for.

[Alobar]

I'm always amazed by the responses to a question like yours. Resume, blah blah blah, experience, blah blah blah. You people are sheep.

Anyway, you should know if you are capable of making enough at poker to have it be profitable enough. You've been around awhile and should have enough hand histories in your pokertracker to know your win rate. Trust me, if it is something you realistically can do, you're going to be sooo much happier not slaving away at a crap job 8 hours a day.

This quote from another reply pretty much sums it up
And if you don't enjoy getting up at 6am to work a job you hate, welcome to the world, you've got 40 more years of that ahead of you.
You to can be a narrow minded thinker who doesn't understand the value of life and the freedom you can achieve. You to can be just another mindless shlep without the balls to break the mold and do it differently. Or you can actually start enjoying your time on this planet and realize just because everyone else does it the same way, doesn't mean thats the only way it has to be done. You're going to be dead someday, how do you want to spend your time?

[cardcounter0]

I think all posters should be required to post their age before answering.

Age: 45

Go to the richest neighborhood you can find. Knock on the door of the biggest nicest house with the 8 car garage. Ask the occupant how many years he spent getting up at 6 AM and going to work.

Then go to the most run down ghetto neighboorhood you can find. Knock on the door of the most run down building on the block, the one with the boarded up windows and the junk car on blocks in front, ask the occupant how many years he spent sleeping all day, and playing poker all night.

[PITTM]

i dont plan on just playing poker. i enjoy playing and i dont want to lose that. i am just considering transitioning from full time to part time to be able to play poker a little more and have a little more free time. i still do see life as a place for having fun and i am not having fun working 40 hours now, hence my contemplating changing things. i dont wanna grind and play poker all day. i am satisfied with like 60-100 dollars a work day to live on. there is no way i am putting all of my 2k on the line. i have about 500 in party that i use for poker purposes. my main point was really just that i was making more money than i need and i was unhappy, i think that subtracting some money and adding some free time is the best idea here. quitting my job wont result in anything too bad. i just want to be able to enjoy life more i suppose.

rj

[PITTM]

age: 21.

i think youre missing the point. i am not planning on wasting my life away playing poker. i go to college full time during the school year. i am pretty exhauseted from going to school full time and working full time for the past 3 years. i need a break. i think i am going to go from full time+poker to part time+poker. i am not gonna go start smoking crack in some back room and join a gang or something.

rj

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
I think all posters should be required to post their age before answering.

Age: 45

Go to the richest neighborhood you can find. Knock on the door of the biggest nicest house with the 8 car garage. Ask the occupant how many years he spent getting up at 6 AM and going to work.

Then go to the most run down ghetto neighboorhood you can find. Knock on the door of the most run down building on the block, the one with the boarded up windows and the junk car on blocks in front, ask the occupant how many years he spent sleeping all day, and playing poker all night.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sad that you obviously judge the value of someones life based on their material possesions. Thats why every rich person in the world is happy and every poor person leads a miserable shitty little life.....45 and you still havent figured out what life is all about?

[daryn]

age: doesn't matter


i'm not saying give up work forever, but spending your summer playing poker instead of spending your summer painting is not enough to swing you into a crackhouse in my opinion.

i just graduated from college and i'm playing poker now for money. i hardly even play anymore, but i'm making enough to get by, and to travel around the world, and basically just to do whatever i want, relax, and have fun.

maybe i'll just do this for the summer, maybe for the next year. it's not a lifelong deal, it's just working out for now. nice to be young.

[daryn]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In risposta di:</font><hr />
45 and you still havent figured out what life is all about?

[/ QUOTE ]

awesome


seriously though, some people really do see lots of material possessions and nice house blah blah blah as true happiness. to them i say, hey go for it. just do what you think will make you happy.

[cardcounter0]

You didn't post your age.

[PITTM]

yes i did, now respond to mine please.

rj

[BradleyT]

At least with this [censored] job on his resume employers will know he was able to get in to work at 7am and do the daily grind. That looks much better than a college graduate who has never worked a day in his life.

[cardcounter0]

You also failed to post your age.

I knew everything, absolutely everyting, at 18.
I still knew most everything at 19.
I knew what life was about and what true happiness was at 21

Every year since then, it seems I get dumber and dumber.

[PITTM]

ive worked said job for 3 years of getting up at 6am, that doesnt disappear if i stop doing it.

rj

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
You didn't post your age.

[/ QUOTE ]

my age doesn't matter. Buddha was 18 when he became enlightened, many people die at 90 and still havent figured anything out.

I'm neither enlightened nor 90, but that still can't be used as an argument against what I believe to be true

[cardcounter0]

Naw, I would rather see someone who "needs a break" and the "grind is really getting to him" over a measly summer job.

Then I know he wouldn't be cut out for the high paid - high stress kind of work I do -- instead of having to find out the hard way.

[daryn]

i know i failed to post my age. i didn't post it because it truly doesn't matter.


like he said, he has done it for 3 years, not like taking some time off erases that.

i have worked full time jobs before, in high school, early in college. that work is not erased from my past. just because i want to take the summer or even a year or two off after college to travel the world doesn't make me a bad guy. if it makes me less desirable to a certain company, then shoot, why would i want to work there anyway if the boss is that dumb?

[cardcounter0]

Your summer job shows that you are able to get up and do something every day. Quiting and taking a year off looks bad. The more menial and stupid the actual job you are doing looks even better. Think you aren't going to have some shite, stupid, boring, tedious assignments out in the real world? What are you going to do? Quit and go have fun?

Your summer job is just as meaningless as your college degree. Truthfully, all your degree represents is the fact that you were able to commit and follow thru with something for 4 years. It shows in that four years you were able to show up to things on time, complete projects when due, and put up with a lot of crap. Boring, tedious, stupid, crap.
And you didn't quit.

Everything you will need to know and actually use in your career, you will learn on the job after you get out of college.

That's the truth.

[cardcounter0]

You didn't post your age.

Therefore:

Learn the hard way.

[daryn]

what do you mean, honestly?

[PITTM]

i am not quitting and taking time off. i am going to work less hours. jesus christ, you would think i am just gonna lay around and do nothing all day. i want to have more free time, is that so crazy? i guess the only way i can become rich and sucessful is by working 40 hours all the time in your book. that wouldnt make me happy, so i dont wanna do it.

rj

[daryn]

man, just do what you want. old people /images/graemlins/grin.gif like cardcounter will have you believe that you have to work a crappy boring job for 60 hours a week for 40 years just to have a nice life. i can only guess that he must be bitter having clearly made the wrong choices in his own life. last i heard a lot of people work in a field they enjoy, and do not dread going into work.

not me though, i hate work /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[BradleyT]

Go ahead and quit then.

And I'll see you living in a van down by the river!

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
i am not quitting and taking time off. i am going to work less hours. jesus christ, you would think i am just gonna lay around and do nothing all day. i want to have more free time, is that so crazy? i guess the only way i can become rich and sucessful is by working 40 hours all the time in your book. that wouldnt make me happy, so i dont wanna do it.

rj

[/ QUOTE ]

It sounds like you already know what it is that you want to do. So I think you should do it.

[J.R.]

"And if you don't enjoy getting up at 6am to work a job you hate, welcome to the world, you've got 40 more years of that ahead of you."

I usually get up around 8:00, don't hate my job, don't work long hours, should retire after far less than 40 years and make a decent living. BTW, my employers have no clue what I did in college and respect and were impressed by the fact I took a year off after college to be ski bum/waiter. To each his own.

Smile, it feels good.

[cardcounter0]

No one cares about your summer job. Work more hours or work less, it doesn't matter. Now for some real advice ...

Actually, you should read "The Millionaire Next Door" or something. I think 60 hrs a week is probably the minimum. 40 hours a week makes you a middle class rat-trap hump.

The secret? It shouldn't be work. You should be creative enough or reward yourself well enough, that you are perfectly willing to work 60-70 hrs. a week -- because it's not work, it's fun!

That is what you should be doing on your job. Watching, observing, learning from the average work-every-day Hump. Learn how they think and act, then you can make money off them down the road. (Sounds like learning your opponent in poker, doesn't it?)

The only people I know who haven't work lots of hours every week for many years are silver-spoon-in-the mouth trust fund babies. Are you one of those? Almost all the ones I have know or met seemed to be very unhappy individuals.

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
"And if you don't enjoy getting up at 6am to work a job you hate, welcome to the world, you've got 40 more years of that ahead of you."

I usually get up around 8:00, don't hate my job, don't work long hours, should retire after far less than 40 years and make a decent living. BTW, my employers have no clue what I did in college and respect and were impressed by the fact I took a year off after college to be ski bum/waiter. To each his own.

Smile, it feels good.

[/ QUOTE ]

good for you man!

[B00T]

age 24:

Screw the summer job. I majored in economics. If you can earn $100 in 5hrs playing poker instead of $100 painting for 8hrs, do the work in 5hrs. The opportunity cost of having something to put on your resume is NOTHING.

Hell, you have worked at your job for what 2 weeks already? Are you able to answer questions about what you did on a daily basis? I am assuming the answer is yes. Just put you worked for the entire summer! No interviewer or recruiter is going to verify your employment when it matters. Do you think in 4 years, after college and are in the interviewing stages, the interviewer is even going to mention your summer job 4 years ago? I know this from experience. Just BS your resume saying you worked all summer and play poker and maximize the amount of spending money you are going to need for beer and condoms in college.

I am now in the workforce, and making close to what I make at my 8:30-5:30 job as I make playing poker for 4 hours a nite. Yea, at this stage of life, I complete my brainless work in hopes of moving up in a great company. I'd make more money if I stayed home everyday, but that will hopefully change in a year or two. For a non-career job such as the one you have, screw it and play poker for now.

[Frozen]

Age: 29

I used to sit on the comfortable side of the job interview desk. I did some hiring for a major daytrading firm, and I can tell you that in my field, (+EV)gambling experience is one of the first things I'd ask about, and strongly desire in an applicant.

I realize that a bubble-era securities trading firm isn't exactly a typical job interview experience. Just adding my two cents. What type of position will you be seeking after graduation?

[jasonHoldEm]

Age: 26
Years Pro: 1
Regrets: 0

[RollaJ]

[ QUOTE ]
Age: 26
Years Pro: 1
Regrets: 0

[/ QUOTE ]

Did you move back home or did you move out since then?

[Ulysses]

[ QUOTE ]
i am just considering transitioning from full time to part time to be able to play poker a little more and have a little more free time.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
my main point was really just that i was making more money than i need and i was unhappy, i think that subtracting some money and adding some free time is the best idea here.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't see the point of your post. It barely sounds like you have a decision at all. If it turns out you're wrong about your poker skills and blow through your bankroll or don't make it enough money, start working some more hours again at a real job.

Sounds like this is obvious and there isn't any real decision to be made here.

[jasonHoldEm]

[ QUOTE ]
Did you move back home or did you move out since then?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm on my own now, though I did live at home for awhile.

J

[Ulysses]

Age: 32
Companies started: 3
Years worked for a boss: 1.5

I firmly believe that if you're hard-working, motivated, and smart, there are a ton of ways to both make money and have an enjoyable life that don't involve a traditional 9-to-5 job. Many of these paths do indeed involve many much longer than 40-hour weeks, but not all. And how much you work is often a function of how much money you want to make and how fast.

[Alobar]

your pic scares me....is that like a gimp outfit or some retarded pro wrestler? heh

[cardcounter0]

If you were older and little bit more worldly, you would recognize a Mexican Wrestler when you see one.
/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Homer]

Do what is best for you. What we or anyone else thinks is irrelevant.

-- Homer

[deacsoft]

Everyone clearly thinks you're an ass. You should just stop posting you mindless insignificant crap. 2+2 was a much better place before 5-10-04. You do nothing here but offer worthless opinions and cause trouble. Every time you post it turns into some big arguement where you continue to argue your completely worthless points. Please, do yourself and all of us here a favor and just leave. I'm sure you've learned nothing from your time here, and have managed only to polish your selfimage.

[cardcounter0]

Where have you been lately "O Monitor Of The Boards"?

Isn't there a hallway or a school crosswalk somewhere that is being neglected?

[daryn]

wow, is this a serious post? i don't think cardcounter should leave. i just disagree with him.

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
If you were older and little bit more worldly, you would recognize a Mexican Wrestler when you see one.
/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

ugh, heh, yet another reason for me to be thankfull.....It scares me to think what that guy looks like from the kneck down /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[cardcounter0]

Actually it is. Another youngster who knows everything.
/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[daryn]

how young could he/she be? i believe he/she has a phd in psychology. anyways, you seem to be very age-ist.

[cardcounter0]

Actually, it is pretty clever. All Mexican Wrestlers are masked. That way if El Diablo shows up drunk, or is really hurt previously, a stand-in can always put on his mask "and the show goes on". Events are never canceled because of the Star not showing up. Also, El Diablo can wrestle in multiple small towns at the same time. Save expenses of travel, more events, and more money for the promoter.

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
Actually, it is pretty clever. All Mexican Wrestlers are masked. That way if El Diablo shows up drunk, or is really hurt previously, a stand-in can always put on his mask "and the show goes on". Events are never canceled because of the Star not showing up. Also, El Diablo can wrestle in multiple small towns at the same time. Save expenses of travel, more events, and more money for the promoter.

[/ QUOTE ]

hmmmm, sounds alot like Santa Clause

[deacsoft]

Although we learn just as much from those who are wrong as we do those who are correct; I find him to be no more than a disruption of the peace and tranquility here at 2+2. [overstatement]

Have you ever read a post of his you did agree with?
Have you ever read a post of his where he has stated in some way that the information/opinion he posted may be/is incorrect?

I do not wish the man ill, but I certainly could do without him and his "I'm always right no matter what you say" attitude. I believe he should let those of us who don't already know everything and are not always right learn in peace, and he can join a debate team somewhere.

But, of course, I may be wrong.

[cardcounter0]

Never heard of him. What organization does he wrestle with?

[daryn]

it just seems like we're talking about an opinionated thing, where there is no right and wrong. i may have never agreed with any of his posts, but why should he leave?

disruption is good for discussion.

[cardcounter0]

I may be wrong, but I really don't give a F*ck about your opinion.

Hint: Since you can't figure it out, if you see my name attached to a post --- DON'T READ IT FOOL!

[deacsoft]

Point taken.

[cardcounter0]

Very good. I think you have a grasp of how learning takes place. Or should we all sit and listen to deacsoft tell us his opinion of how we should all think the world should be?

[deacsoft]

You surely don't act you age. I bet you're either single or are in an abusive relationship (where you are the abuser).

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
You surely don't act you age. I bet you're either single or are in an abusive relationship (where you are the abuser).

[/ QUOTE ]

Wheres my dinner bitch?!?!

[nolanfan34]

[ QUOTE ]
i am pretty exhauseted from going to school full time and working full time for the past 3 years. i need a break. i think i am going to go from full time+poker to part time+poker.

[/ QUOTE ]

My age: 28

PITTM, you've already answered your own question. As someone who has worked in the "real world" for a few years, yet can still remember college (barely), I'd say you're making a good decision. No one has ever looked back at their summers in college and thought "boy, I really wish I had worked more". You have the rest of your life to work, have some fun in the summer, play some poker, and work some part-time job that will guarantee you a steady, albeit small, income. Sounds like that's your plan.

I think people have to remember this isn't a "should I turn pro and leave college" thread. You're only talking about a couple of months here, for cripes sake.

As for what you do AFTER college, that's another story. But it's your life, not ours, so go live it.

[cardcounter0]

You seem to have issues. Maybe you should seek the help of a professional.

[deacsoft]

I am a professional.

Am I right about the single or abuser thing? I would go further to say that you wouldn't admit it anyway so never mind. Good luck cardcounter0. I hope everything works out for you.

[kdog]

[ QUOTE ]
getting up at 6am to do something i dont enjoy is really taking its toll on me.



[/ QUOTE ]

Welcome to the real world.

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
getting up at 6am to do something i dont enjoy is really taking its toll on me.



[/ QUOTE ]

Welcome to the real world.

[/ QUOTE ]

as opposed to what? the imaginary world?