Where are you at where do you want to be?!

GAngel

Current: IT Strategic Consultant
Future: Dr Strategic Consultant
Old: Retired and selling company for $50 million or stay at home dad living off the wifes money...whichever comes first

forkvoid

To everyone with the goal of retiring with loads of money as the end-game... is that really a goal, or more just the means to a goal, perhaps one that hasn't been specified in your mind yet?

Paul Boz

forkvoid wrote: »

To everyone with the goal of retiring with loads of money as the end-game... is that really a goal, or more just the means to a goal, perhaps one that hasn't been specified in your mind yet?

Retiring is for quitters.

Bl8ckr0uter

FadeToBright wrote: »

Let me change me current goal to: To work with Paul and Dynamik

I second this.

forkvoid

Paul Boz wrote: »

Retiring is for quitters.

If by retirement you mean sitting around doing nothing all day, I completely agree.

If everyone longing for retirement means "doing the things I'd rather be doing", more power to them... but they didn't actually specify what those things are, which are the true goal, not "retire".

I intend to do what I enjoy doing until I'm dead. I think everyone would agree. If everyone kept that attitude, there wouldn't be any retirement, as no one would want to quit. Retirement is for people who stick it out for decades doing what they hate, only to quit and go do what they should have been doing all those years to begin with.

GAngel

Paul Boz wrote: »

Retiring is for quitters.

Sign me up.

uhtrinity

forkvoid wrote: »

To everyone with the goal of retiring with loads of money as the end-game... is that really a goal, or more just the means to a goal, perhaps one that hasn't been specified in your mind yet?

Happiness in the job means more to me than big bucks or else I wouldn't be working in education.

dynamik

Paul Boz wrote: »

Goal - Start a InfoSec consulting firm with Dynamik

We've actually built out the plans, we just need an LLC and insurance.

Oh god, this is still on? I thought I dodged that bullet when you got a new job

Slowhand

dynamik wrote: »

Oh god, this is still on? I thought I dodged that bullet when you got a new job

If I had a nickel for every time I've said that to someone. . .

mikedisd2

Right now I'm quasi-burned out with constantly learning the products and frazzling my eyes looking at a monitor all day. I think I just want a holiday and hope my mood changes before I'm totally sick of IT.

tearofs

Where are you at?
work

where do you want to be?
home

Michael.J.Palmer

Current: Lead Technician at a local PC Repair Shop in my hometown. I basically perform all break/fix scenarios for both desktop and laptops on a daily basis as well as fix corrupt OS issues, perform virus removal, and just about anything else you could think of. I start a new job in a couple of weeks at one of the largest diesel engine manufactures in the country providing Windows 7/Office 2007 support to their engineers within the plan.

Where I want to be: My eventual goal is to get into something where I can be an Enterprise Administrator for a large company. I'm still leaning towards jumping into Sharepoint Administration and maybe look into persuing a MCA and MCM before too long. Another possibility is Exchange Admin or maybe even SQL, this is still all up in the air. I just want to get into something dealing with servers and make a crap load of money while doing it, .

GT-Rob

I have enough hobbies to keep me more than busy enough that I could retire tomorrow, and be just fine (except be broke in a few months).

stuh84

Now? Network Engineer, a lot of installs for new customers (managed networks), a lot of configuration, a lot of Linux, but not a lot of money.

Soon? Hopefully higher up where I am, network/customer implementation (probably equivalent to senior engineer in other places)

The future? Network Architect, I want to be involved at all stages, from design down to implementation.

My goal is to work in a true service provider environment, where I am has traits of it, but isn't completely what I want to work with. Also, second choice to an SP would be in a data centre design/implementation role. I'd like to play with virtualization, storage, as well as networking, but for the moment I think networking will keep me busy.

rwmidl

Current - work as Sys Admin for a contractor.

Near future - I'm interested in finding a gig where I could work over seas for a period of time (maybe Afghanistan, Iraq, etc).

Long term - ?

Claymoore

Now: Managing Consultant for one of the top MS partners in the world

Near-Term: Move into more of a national solutions lead role as opposed to the local delivery role I have now. Specifically I would like to work towards maturing our Exchange solutions, but being more involed in pre-sales and design instead of delivery is the idea.

Long-Term: Something not IT-related. I am working on side projects that may someday allow me financial independence and, most importantly, more free time. The kind of time that would allow me to sail and dive throughout the Caribbean with the family - on my own boat of course. I really like the open top deck on the Sunreef, but the Gunboats are nice and are built more for performance.

Paul Boz

dynamik wrote: »

Oh god, this is still on? I thought I dodged that bullet when you got a new job

Yeah I don't travel now so I could literally pentest 24/7. If MS is going to have a party barge (he calls it a yacht) I want an aircraft carrier.

GAngel

forkvoid wrote: »

To everyone with the goal of retiring with loads of money as the end-game... is that really a goal, or more just the means to a goal, perhaps one that hasn't been specified in your mind yet?

Yes why wouldn't it be it would let me provide for my future family the way I want without having to work 12 hr days. I made plenty of money in my early 20's and spent the last 7 years doing everything I could possibly think of to spend it twice. Now I'm just looking to do a few more degrees because I like learning and then I plan to work hard put away X amount (based on inflation) over 5 years and retire on interest middle class no pretensions, no bills, no commitments.

forkvoid

GAngel wrote: »

it would let me provide for my future family the way I want without having to work 12 hr days. ... Now I'm just looking to do a few more degrees because I like learning and then I plan to work hard put away X amount (based on inflation) over 5 years and retire on interest middle class no pretensions, no bills, no commitments.

You just answered my question.

My point is that "retire" isn't really a goal. What would you do in retirement? Stare at a wall for 12 hours a day, then sleep another 12? That's a goal. What you said is a goal. "Retire" isn't a goal--what you're retiring *for* is usually the goal.

msteinhilber

forkvoid wrote: »

You just answered my question.

My point is that "retire" isn't really a goal. What would you do in retirement? Stare at a wall for 12 hours a day, then sleep another 12? That's a goal. What you said is a goal. "Retire" isn't a goal--what you're retiring *for* is usually the goal.

A goal is what people invest their efforts in an attempt to achieve. People work hard to pay debt to eliminate payments to be able to have fewer obligations post retirement. People invest money to have income available to them post retirement. Retirement is certainly a goal.

earweed

Retiring with the income/savings to do stuff you put off while working is definitely a goal. Just to "retire" is not much of a goal. Most people who retire have plans of what to do afterward.

forkvoid

msteinhilber wrote: »

A goal is what people invest their efforts in an attempt to achieve. People work hard to pay debt to eliminate payments to be able to have fewer obligations post retirement. People invest money to have income available to them post retirement. Retirement is certainly a goal.

I think you're not looking far enough ahead... why have the money available in retirement? If you're going to sit on your porch all day, you don't really need much. However, if you have plans for that stockpile of money, then it becomes more clear that simply retirement was not the goal after all. If you are going to spend all your days fishing, then your goal wasn't to retire, it was to have the freedom to spend all day fishing. Retirement isn't a goal--it's a milestone.

ssampier

Good question.

Currently unemployed, living off savings. Unemployment is a drag, but has been given me the freedom to really hit the certs hard. I know if I put my best foot forward I can achieve what I want.

1. Get a system admin job for a medium sized company.

Not there yet. I had some good interviews, but the stars haven't aligned yet.

2. Obtain my MCSA.

Completed today, yes!

3. MCSE: Security

Hope to finish this by December.

4. CCNA: Security

Hope to finish this by June.

I am really interested in security careers. I have worked with both Pix and Juniper firewalls. So I will probably work on certs relating to those; need more IDS/IDP experience, though.

I have also considered going back to school to earn my Masters degree in IS; need more business "prep" prerequisite classes, though. I can probably take a few classes online in Spring.