I know, another work post in this subreddit, but genuinely curious to hear people in their 30’s+ thoughts.
I’m in my 30’s now and just can’t seem to be bothered to care about my career anymore. I do the work, but I do the minimum required for me. I see work as a means to an end, to supply me with money for food, rent, and hobbies/vacations.
I used to see work as the be all end all passion in my 20’s, chasing promotions and climbing the ladder, jumping companies for more money/responsibilities, but after passing 6 figures last year I realized chasing more money is a fleeting happiness that leads to wanting more and more, and with inflation it’s almost like a raise means shit all anymore.
The goal post keeps changing, and a good salary goal 6 years ago is basically poverty wage in 2022 and it’s horribly depressing to keep grinding on the hamster wheel for peanuts. I just want to go camping, play with my cat, and hang out with my partner/friends.
Does anyone in their 30’s still find passion in the corporate grind/ladder climb?
27 comments
Something about finally hitting that 6 figures eh?
Can’t say I am not in the same boat, exactly same situation you described, I just don’t care, heh. There is always more work to make someone else more rich.
Absolutely! I love my job, workmates, and employer. Honestly I don’t know if I’ll ever truly retire; I’ll probably work at least 10 hrs/week just to keep my mind sharp and challenged.
My opinion is that, based on your post, it’s time to switch employers/industries or start your own business.
I went through two recession, now 3. I’m behind people who graduated college post corona. I still have student loan debt and am still renting from graduating college during the great recession. Mainly that I wasn’t able to get into a good job until recently and was at a poverty wage for a long time. Even at my “good job”, im still under six figures and I’m seeing young 20 somethings get hired right out of college at the same level that I had to grind to get to because I graduated during a recession and was locked out for so long.
So yes, I’m still grinding the corporate ladder, but its about not having to live in my car rather than trying to get like a million dollars and then retire early. Its just survival at this point.
I’m early 40’s and fought and grinded for 6 figures, but it doesn’t feel like I thought it would. I’m looking at a way to contribute as much as I can to retirement and keep pace until I’m 50. Then I want to step down into a roll with less stress that is just a paycheck and doesn’t come home with me or make me live in the office.
20s grind
30s sand
40s polish
50+ coast and enjoy
You need to find your level. Not on the org chart, on the effort scale.
It’s easier to grind hard towards a specific goal, but sometimes you just want to… live. Some people can’t really downshift and keep chasing advancement with both hands, at all hours. Not everyone is like that. I work at a corporate job, keep reasonable hours, do good work, and don’t stress about out-competing everyone at everything.
Im over six figures so I’m content where Im at. Id take a similar role in another org if I had to make that kind of choice. Never wanted to be a director, fine with doing my work, making good money and good work/life balance.
I hated working any and all of my previous jobs. I switched to the mental health field and I have satisfaction now. There’s something about contributing to other’s lives that feels so much more important than money or titles
20’s ground. Saved, was careful with money. Bought my house, and renovated it. Got married. Had my son.
30’s now. Settled in, and got a comfortable mortgage. Few debts but nothing major (store cards mainly).
Switched to WFH, 2 days are in the office. Work-life balance has never been better. Enjoy as much time as possible with my son (3 years old). Even sold my car as my commute is minimal.
No motivation to climb in my current job. Just working on hobbies and self-care that I didn’t do in my 20s.
for me , its not about grinding. it is just natural progression. if you are stagnant for a while in my field, you become obsolete and your future prospect goes down the drain.
so at 37. i am trying to make headway. I think i will continue to do so
I love my industry and career. I’m not sure I’m done grinding, but I’ve got 3 young kids who need my presence in a more direct way right now. Currently I’m 37.
I am in middle management, and I think I have potential to be more senior (but not executive), but I don’t feel like I can take on more responsibility than I already have.
I’m making about 160, so I’m sure if I was not as high I’d feel differently about my responsibilities.
42. Still grinding but I don’t actually care that much. I can separate myself from The Grind and Real Life.
Hit 6 figures many years ago and it wasn’t all that exciting.
I can go to an easier job but I still crave the responsibilities and wouldn’t do well being in a role where I’m actively managed.
Early 30s, hit 6 figures + last year. Not grinding nearly as much anymore. I still work hard, and am open to BIG pay raises, but an extra 10K a year isn’t going to impact my happiness all that much. I grinded hard in my 20s and first couple years of my 30s. Still grinding, but don’t have the same hunger that I used to have.
I hate grinding, but I LOVE progression, the important is to always progress, no need to aim for a promotion for next year, just make sure your work is making you learn something (on the job) that will help get that juicy raise for the next job hop and always make sure to only accept job where WFH or WLB is top priority #1
I was chasing it HARD in my 20s — youngest person at every level of my Fortune 500 company. Hit 6 figures 3 years out of school. But I have found the last 2 years I’ve slowed that significantly. Part of that is covid and remote work, part is marriage and kids.
Part is just general disillusionment — I already make significant money and execute my job really well, a role I have good autonomy in. The added stress and risk of being let go at the next level for a 20% raise may not actually be worth it. I’m still pushing for it, but it is no longer my singular focus. I’m not going to sacrifice every night and weekend and vacation time to get there. But some of that is also perspective. I have learned that some exec roles are about more than executing in your current role. Culturally, VPs I work with “want” you to spend time with family and take care of your mental health. Not that they want your work to sacrifice, but they want to know that you have figured out a balance. Being super energetic is important when young, but when managing the business, some more restraint is expected. I make far more than I spend (but a lot of that is just living reasonably — old car, for example, house well under budget, etc.). So I’m also not desperate to make a marginal dollar. I want it to happen, it will happen, but if it is next year or the year after, I’m not going to lose sleep over it.
That being said, it is wild to see new undergrad CS majors at top schools getting offers for 150k+
Being that 6-figures still leaves some gaps in my budget, I’ve continued to climb ever after accomplishing that income. I’m over 200k now and things are starting to get comfortable, so now checking for jobs that I’d enjoy a bit more.
I’m lucky but I’m more intellectually and professionally engaged in my career than ever.
The switch came when I started to see the puzzle or game of my job and tried to be better at being more strategic, more connected to my companies own goals, more curious about how macro factors influenced my business.
Those things are stimulants to me. The joy comes from building things that grow. If you’re not getting the joy maybe you need to have an alternative path that gives you more ownership over that growth.
After getting laid off twice in the past 3 years, one from a company I put in 12 years at and moved across the country for, I’m not playing that game no more.
It might be a combination of being in your 30s and that amount of disposable income at the end of the month.
I used to wonder in my 20s why there were so many slackers at work, most older than me. Then I realized they weren’t slacking, work just wasn’t the most important thing for them. Let’s be real, unless you have dependent to take care of, most people post graduation don’t have much to do with their lives, and the social pressure is all about where you work, your title, etc. Thus in the 20s, most folks are impressionable and dedicate their lives to work. Maybe a boyfriend/girlfriend, but not much else going on so it’s easy to focus on work.
Then comes the 30s. A night out is a lot more painful, food is not digested the same, working out is more painful or leaves you sorer, maybe a fiancé/wife/kids at that stage, etc. You’re more mature, you know yourself better, less impressed by this or that because you’ve seen a lot of the corporate BS and understand that life doesn’t owe you anything, and not everyone deserves what they get, good or bad. You might even decide to take care of yourself a bit more, physically and mentally. Work is not what it used to be then. You realize some friendships have come and gone, and they are the true source of your happiness, not a spreadsheet/PowerPoint/piece of code. More, you can even start to wonder about what is life in general. Are we just all meant to be born, have some form of education, and for decades spent most of our time working? Ridiculous when you think of it.
So yeah, at some point it feels unhealthy to unplug, care less about being the top performer or whatnot, because work was never meant to be the center of life, but a way to get a little bit more freedom; yes, freedom. As we elected money as a mean to increase freedom, the more lonely one has, the more choices one has. If you got to a point at which the options/choices you have make you happy, there might not be a need for more money, thus more work.
The world being what it is, being prudent always helps, we never know. I’d advise on savings or making sure a drastic event don’t leave you and your loved ones struggling to feed and entertain yourself.
Hope this helps 🤗
I never had the delusion that work was more than a means to an end. But in my 20s I put in hard work because I knew that’s what I needed to do to achieve my goals. Now I get paid because I have valuable expertise – not because I’m willing to work harder than my peers. Figure out a way to get to that level (harder than it sounds, I acknowledge) and then you can coast while still climbing the ladder. Good luck.
Interesting in that I didn’t bother to really start “grinding” until I hit my mid/late 40s. Prior to that, I’d prioritized fun jobs over “prestige” jobs. But in the past…oh, maybe 5-6 years I’ve had to spend more time doing corporatey things than I would have in the past….
…On the plus side, retirement isn’t just around the corner but it’s close enough that what once seemed so very nebulous is starting to look real.
I was a graphic designer for about 15 years and got burnt out on it. Now I just run this rv park. Most of my day is sitting on Reddit waiting for the phone to ring or one of the 2 people to check in for the day. I can’t imagine going back to deadlines. That was originally supposed to be the case but my stomach sinks in dread whenever I think of it
I swam uphill in my 20s and got absolutely nowhere. I quit that job and started a new career in my 30s, and cruise controlled into the six figures with little effort doing the same basic thing. Turned out that shit management was just holding me back the whole time.
Turned 40 this year and I’m basically just coasting. I make good money, I love what I do, and I genuinely don’t put a lick of effort into getting promoted or moving up. I can retire at this position in a few years happily. Since I quit chasing promotions, I’ve been promoted twice. Go figure.
I’m 39 and I love my job. I want my team to succeed so I’m already doing the work of the next level. I’m chasing the promotion so my employer recognizes and compensates me for the work I’m already doing.
Late 30s, made VP and earn mid six figures now.
I still chase responsibilities and promotions, but that’s now secondary to other priorities.
I will never work out of an office again unless it’s for a ludicrous amount of money (I demanded double my current salary from the last recruiter who wanted me to fill an in-office leadership role).
There are only about 10-15 states in the US I will ever agree to live in, and to get me to leave Appalachia again will also require a ludicrous amount of money.
Etc, etc.
There’s no longer any passion in it – but it’s still a focus. It’s just a focus that has limits and guardrails now.
With my last job change I hit a salary that I’m pretty comfortable coasting on for years. I don’t really feel that drive to grind my way up anymore, especially not for more stress and responsibilities.
Nope, fuck that. I make a good living and I don’t work after I am off. I spent enough time working 14-16 hours and never being respected or appreciated. I now work 4/10s, have every federal, and state holiday off to spend with my daughter. Will I ever make 6-figures? I don’t know and I don’t care. My focus is so much more different now. It helps that we paid off all the debt we had in 2020 so I don’t give two shits about a title or making a ton of money anymore. I’m going to die at some point and don’t care about climbing the ladder anymore. Maybe unpopular, but I now have time to fish, hunt, backpack, camp, play with my daughter, go on trips and do other things that matter more than money.