I have a friend who received a doctorate last year with multiple jobs offered to him upon his graduation (All six figures). He not only turned them all down...he flew overseas to become a chef stating that "Life is not about money its about doing what makes you feel your best". I've always admired him as a person, but I felt like he should have at least worked 2-3 years to kill his loans off first. He asked me again this year if I felt like he did the right thing...I didn't have a definite answer for him, but inside I know he did the right thing. Its just hard to consume because he did somewhat waste 7 years of his life (sorta). BTW: My friend is white (religious) and his family is not really well off. I'm sure any typical Asian parent would slap him silly. Me being me I evaluated myself and really thought about what he did. Am I capable of doing something like that? Yes...but I don't think I'll ever have the guts to do so. Living in urban settings have turned me in to a money driven typical American that constantly craves for luxuries, security, and retirement. What would you do.
sometimes i wonder is choosing my job (for money) and giving up the stuf that i liked was a good idea... cus at the end of the day you dont want to be stuck there 9-5 doing something you dont like its hard...
Well if hes overseas it means he dont have to pay back his loans right I guess he has to follow hes heart, but for me id take the better paid job
I think he should do work he was originally trained in, what he graduated from university to do. Then, once he has worked his way up the ranks, saved up enough money - follow his passion to cook. And perhaps even do both, like work part-time one job and part-time cooking/managing a restaurant. Actually, that's my goal. ^.^
He's actually worked in a kitchen for about 6 years while in college. And yes he still has to pay his loans....
If my kids prefer not to go to Uni, then it's ok. The next option I recommend is to get a skill, like being a good chef. Apart from creating good and tasty food, there's a job for a chef anywhere he goes as good food makes good business. If someone loves what he/she does, then how many zeros after the $$$ sign is no problem as long as the basic necessities are taken care.
Chefs get under paid and have to work long hours,at night, work very hard,e.g cutting vegetables,food preperation ,service and have no social life but if u have a passion for cooking go for it.Also u have to be an aprentice for 4 years with low pay.
If he can work up to owning a decent restaurant, he could easily make 6 digits. If he can franchise it, he'll get to 7 digits =P But then again, it's really not about the money. Why waste time doing something you don't like? He's probably listened to his parents about school all his life. He probably felt that it would be a waste to not finish his phd. And now he's realized that if he continues this trend, his life will amount to chasing things he didn't want, but didn't want to waste
what a waste! if u spent all the time getting a phD and not use it, wouldn't it be a waste to society? yeah so his passion is cooking, but he can always do it part time, or make enough money to build his own commercial/gourmet kitchen in his own house and he can have wicked ass dinner parties
So why did he waste his time getting a doctorate if his heart was set on cooking? It's his own fault for not thinking ahead. But to answer your question, I agree that he did the right thing to do what he wants to do, but he'll also have to suck it up and deal with his finances...
if being a chef is what he really wanted then he should've started earlier... my fd wanted to b a chef too... n as soon as he finished 10th grade his mum told him not to waste anymore time at school and go n get a chef job... what a cool mum... n she's asian too...
I wouldn't give up the money. Yeah, maybe it's because I'm Asian or maybe because I live in America. But hey, if it makes him feel good and all that good stuff, that's PRICELESS. It's like being a heart surgeon or something. Sure it's good money, but I wouldn't be happy doing that because of the lack of free time.
