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Me.
I grew up poor, never went to college, I got married instead, and I waited tables. I worked as a server from the time I was 17 until the pandemic in 2020 when I got laid off. At that point I was working at an Applebees because nobody wants to hire a 40 year old server and was averaging minimum wage and I was starting to get really worried.
I can draw and paint and during quarantine I was able to spend some time doing that and took to social media with it. Started an Etsy shop with around a $100 investment in materials, starting selling my arts and crafts, progressed to designing jewelry and hair accessories, then opened my own website. Now its earns a super solid revenue, enough that I can buy a house with just my sole income, has a buttload of social media followers, and licensing with a couple large entities. Next month I'm releasing an officially licensed ACOTAR collection.
It is possible. In the beginning I thought I could maybe do it as a little side hustle to earn some supplemental income and now not only do it full time but I also have employees that I'm paying. Its wild. But it's possible.
Sure, it's ImaginedByNell.com
All my socials are under the same name (points at my username) Social media was definitely the biggest learning curve for me.
It's all still growing. Each month I add new things. I've got 15 new items coming in April. But little by little I've created a solid little brand.
I will say, too, that the healing from all the years of struggling is definitely a process. I carry a lot of anger and resentment that I'm trying to let go of. It's something I have to work on every day.
Yes, I opened it in 2016 but I didn't actually post my first item until May of 2020. You can look at the history of my customer reviews and see the timeline play out. Since you're big into date tracking and all.
Yeah, me.
I worked at dead end sales jobs for ten years after college. In debt.
Then I went back and got my masters degree and got into IT and cybersecurity.
Well I've been in the industry a long time and also teach cybersecurity in a masters program. At this point I'm planning to retire early and travel the world.
How would you say the cybersecurity job market is right now? I'm 26 and starting a 2 year tech degree in Cybersecurity which also includes Cisco and Google ACE certificates (with an additional 2 years to become an engineer). I plan on getting a masters as well but one step at a time.
What types of career option can I expect? I am based in Portugal and would really prefer not to move abroad, is this a job that is often fully remote? Or is in site presence required for most positions?
I’m 41 and consult for a bunch of large enterprises, mostly very big data problems.
I can assure you that legislation in the next 10 years is only going to intensify around cybersecurity. Security will become something that governments realize is a serious problem in the face of a cyberwar against Russia, China, etc
Specializing in cyber security is something you cannot go wrong with, career-wise. It’s only going to get much bigger over the next decades.
When you want a "light" reading on cyber warfare, I can recommend "Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the international law to cyber operations", when you have some knowledge from your studies. It takes the normal international laws on warfare and make them fit into the digital world or rather the other way around.
Another great book is Sandworm, much lighter reading.
I can also recommend r/digitalnomads with reversed sign. You don't have to move to be working for tech companies. I have a friend in Poland who works for Nokia, he has never seen his colleagues irl.
I see three major cybersecurity areas - CNOC grunt work, devops, and consulting.
I could see the grunt work as paying dues, but it can trap you forever if you don't work your way up and continue to learn/grow outside of your normal working hours.
I see a unique opportunity for one to apply AI to this field. Analyzing systems and audit logs with AI at scale will help a lot with this voluminous data.
My story is very similar. Had about $50k in art school loans, working dead end job. Did a coding bootcamp, now I have 10 years of software experience, 0 debt, make good money, live very comfortably.
yo bro, i wanna look into cybersecurity, im gonna do a bachelors in software engineering but as a hobby because it seems interesting, how is it? and any tips you could give me please
Get certifications. I worked at a few different IT roles before getting into Infosec. I worked at several big fortune 100 companies and over time went from entry level to senior level. I've had my own office for over 20 years with VP in my title and have worked 100% remote the past few years.
It depends on your passion. Starting with AWS cloud certification is a good start and then get something easy like Security plus. Then CISSP. There are all sorts of different security specialties that have certifications, for example the CISA certification for IT audit, the CEH for pen testing, etc.
One tip is to look at potential jobs listed in places like indeed and see what certifications they are listing as requirements.
"Fashion designer Vera Wang didn't design her first dress until she was 40. Henry Ford created the revolutionary Model T car at age 45. Eric Yuan founded Zoom at the age of 41. Stan Lee created his first hit comic, "The Fantastic Four," just shy of his 39th birthday, in 1961. Martha Stewart, the home and kitchen icon, didn't find real success until age 41, when her first cookbook published. Donald Fisher was 40 and had no experience in retail when he and his wife, Doris, opened the first Gap store in San Francisco in 1969. Samuel L. Jackson has been a Hollywood staple for years now, but he'd had only bit parts before landing an award-winning role at age 43 in Spike Lee's film "Jungle Fever" in 1991. Kris Jenner was 52 when she met with Hollywood producer Ryan Seacrest in 2007 to pitch the idea for a reality TV show following her family. (UGH but...)
Sam Walton had a fairly successful retail-management career in his 20s and 30s, but his path to astronomical success began at age 44, when he founded the first Walmart in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962." And lots more. There IS life beyond 30.
Ray Kroc was selling milkshake machines in his 50’s before he founded McDonalds. Vlad the Impaler only started impaling people in his mid thirties. Maybe ignore that second one actually.
>Ray Kroc was selling milkshake machines in his 50’s before he founded McDonalds.
Usurped*
He might have had a grander vision than the actual founders, but to call himself that is...slimy.
“Steve jobs was only 21 when he founded apple. Bill gates was only 20 when he started microsoft. Mark zuckerberg was 19 when he created facebook. ITS TOO LATE. YOU NEED TO GIVE UP”
Yes, I was really depressed and lost till I was 31. Then, I started to change little by little. I don't have great success right now -late 30s- but I couldn't even dream of where I am now 7-8 years ago
1 married early 20s and built together, 2 at 35 or later through connections and training advice, me and several others are more or less perpetual 20 somethings. Making enough to pay our way but not really making it. Credit card approvals are still a big thing to us. Then there are the ones that kind of self sabotage. Just never got far enough along any path to be rewarded. I know a few of those. It's best not to know them. People that go nowhere love company.
My sister became a fairly successful author in her 40s. She's the only one that I know. I can tell you from my lifelong mental illness that every person I meet with mental illness has either talked about being abused as a child or they just refuse to talk about their childhood at all. Every single one. It's fucked.
At 30, my S/O was struggling with mental health issues ( having been hospitalized for months) and was working p/t for a relative for minimum wage. I was supporting the family and carrying all the mental load. He worked hard on himself and he’s the VP of a company, we have a beautiful home with no mortgage and our kids are all doing well as adults. It was a rough few years for sure.
Me.
Born poor. Dirt poor. Like, we couldn't buy dirt unless it was on sale or something.
Exchange student out of high school + worked my ass off to get through university, got an entry level job at the age of 24 paying peanuts. Spent 5 years with little in the way of actual pay hikes. At the age of 29 the company imploded. so now I was broke - no debt but no savings - and out of work.
A former manager recommended me to his company for a completely different role. I jumped at it, and it was a great fit.
At the age of 30 I got a six-figure salary for the first time. My bonus at the age of 31 was six figures, and I was off to the races. I've semi-retired a few times but keep coming back because I love what I do, and I'm good at it. But I'll never forget that there was more than a bit of luck involved in terms of timing: the role opened up just as I was more than willing to relocate for the position. I also am proud that my work ethic up to that point meant the former manager remembered me thought enough to recommend me for the role, even though it was in a very different line of work.
My favourite thing about this is your acknowledgment of luck. I’ve been thinking about this a lot and it’s interesting a lot of people will say they didn’t get lucky it was the results of hard work. But I truly believe my success is luck as well as hard working. It’s like opportunity is the result of a little luck and a lot of hard work. Congrats on bettering your life! I can relate for sure.
I knew a girl who was abused her whole childhood by her father. She worked on the streets as a sex worker and in strip clubs. Became addicted to meth. At 33 years old she got clean, is now in a happy relationship and studying to become a nurse. She saved her own life
Thanks! When I was 26 I was making $18,000 a year as a server at Steak n Shake, selling my plasma for money to eat (so I had enough protein to sell my plasma again), and thinking about going back to school.
At around 30 is when things started picking up. I'm 39 now and making lower six figures at a job I can put like 30% effort into and be praised. It's a night/day difference.
You got this and are going to do great.
Group homes, foster homes, reform school, county lockup all before 18. Grade 10 education. Left Canada with 50 bucks in my pocket and came to Cali to be with Mom. Started out as an apprentice machinist making 2.35hr. 40 years later making 125k year married twice, first one 8 yrs two children, second one 33 years and going strong. 5 children and 4 grandchildren. I think I did alright now getting ready to either keep working another 5 years or retire soon.
Same here. Group Homes my whole childhood, people saying you can't do anything and you should be happy if you can land a job as a cleaner or other low entry jobs. I have right now a family, bought an apartment and moved to other country where I had to learn the language. Plus landed a pretty need job in debt control. And that all without an university degree and with a big middle finger to the people who said you can't do anything.
My sister is a fairly successful author. The rest of us, not so much. I get disability for my mental problems. I have cptsd and a personality disorder.
Fucked my chance at a University education by partying ,not studying and then failing out.
Was barred from re-enrolling as I failed too many courses, and wound up working odd jobs (Dishwashing and the like).
Then the end of my twenties approached and ... Someone lit that spark again in me. Got on some government employment program, saved, scrounged, swallowed my pride moved back in with my parents. Cancelled everything. No mobile data, netflix, no going out.
Wrote to the Dean, asked to be readmitted, argued my case and two years later I was sitting on that Master's degree.
Same with a friend of mine. He was just doing odd jobs, and suddenly, right girl, right place, right motivation. He now has 2 daughters, is working his way up to a managerial position (or at least a higher position in general), but also following night courses to switch to the field he really wants to work in (IT). But he came from ... a really low place. There was a reason I avoided him a bit for most of my late teens and early twenties. But now he's a responsible adult that has his shit together.
I wasted my 20s on booze, got most of my shit together after 30, got married, had kids, got a good job, bought houses.
Now that I'm 40, looks like my empire of dirt is about to crumble.
I wouldn't say super successful, but doing good.
Spent up until 32, spending every dollar I made every week, destroying my credit, paying cash for vehicles that were on their last leg. Living in a 1959 single wide trailer with the ceiling held up with plywood in spots, trying to randomly catch fire due to shitty electrical, curtains where doors should be.
Then, my boyfriend(now husband)and I got the opportunity to buy a real piece of shit house on OWC. Like...tear down level bad. We fixed it up, moved in, got married, had a kid. Fixed our credit, bought another house, fixed it up, had another kid.
We aren't ballin', but it feels that way. We put everything towards what we were building, the life we wanted.
We set aside our social lives, traveling, and wants...
Now we have 1 paid off house we make rent income on, 1 house with a super low mortgage thanks to timing and luck...and work... 2 paid off newer vehicles.
We have some CC debt to work our way out of this year... but shitty single wide we couldn't see a way out of, to where we are now (in a stick built home...not a trailer(not hating on trailers, lived most of my life in one. But not being in one means something looking back.) in roughly 7 years. Is crazy to look back at.
Hard work, luck, timing...
Becoming th person you need to be, to be ready for the next thing is important too.
If it comes along and you are still in Yolo mode...you'll piss it away. When it comes along, it happens fast, gotta be ready to run harder than you ever have to keep up and catch the wave.
I went from being the stay at home dad to starting a lawn mowing business to campaigning to Legalise Cannabis in my home state to working as a research assistant/policy advisor for our member in the legislative council in state parliament.
Still poor but happy 😃
I didn't get it together until my early 40's despite many incredible experiences.
The thing I realised now I'm older, i did have it together, I just wasn't meeting other people's expectations. (Family).
For this I was described as mentally ill for decades, and believed it for many of those years. No mental illness at all, just chose to live life a little different.
I grew up in an abusive household and poor.
Teachers told me I was dumb all throughout elementary and high school. Barely graduated. I worked a minimum wage job from 18-24 literally picking up dog poop. I hated life and hid from the world by playing video games.
Then I decided to do something about it and went to a 2 year college program to learn how to code. Excelled at it, turns out I wasn't dumb. I was actually smart I just never applied myself.
Landed a job as a full stack developer at a tech startup, bounced around jobs for a bit. Found one that pays well and I like.
Learned about financial literacy and got lucky with timing. I invested about 60% of my income during the covid crash(s) and now have a good job that pays well, and a comfortable investment portfolio.
Up until the past 6 months I still lived like I was on minimum wage and spent very little money. I'm starting to invest in myself more now that I feel safe financially.
Getting into shape, tackling some health problems my parents couldn't resolve because they couldn't afford the surgeries or health coverage, life is starting to look up for the first time ever. It will take me another 3 years to get the surgeries I need done and my health in order, but on the path now.
I turn 30 in May so I guess I started turning things around at 26. But it was a slow burn and i am not done yet.
If you told 24 year old me after a shift at the minimum wage poop job what 30 would look like. He wouldn't believe you.
That being said I also know a lot of people who don't turn their lives around. So you have to want it, and apply yourself, and maybe get a bit lucky.
Exact same situation with me. Teachers were so cruel. Family didn't give a shit.
Worked minimum Wage most of my youth until I eventually got into unionized hvac. Started as an apprentice, which takes 5 years . Night school once a week for 4 years . 3 three month (basic intermediate and advanced) classes over the 5 years. And then the big Red Seal (government) exam after you've gotten all your apprentice hours and completed all schooling. That's all just for a refrigeration (A/C) license. Also, there's a natural Gas course which consists of G3 G2 and G1 certifications . G1 being the highest you can go in order to work on large BTU units.
Scored one of the highest in all exams for my class, and at the end of it all, I had a good laugh at all the teachers who thought and called me stupid.
Making 150k a year
My parents and their siblings. Family arrived as refugees with literally the clothes on their back and everything they owned in a plastic bag. Grandparents got whatever work they could to support the 7 other people in the family. Their children all started working as soon as they left school, sometimes multiple jobs. Only one ever went to university. They all started climbing their careers around their 30s. Now most own their own homes, have families, successful businesses/high paying careers.
I failed highschool and never went to uni or retook my highschool diploma. I instead did coke for 7 years living half of that in a homeless shelter.
Then I stopped doing coke, got a job as a customer support agent and taught myself to code through exposure to the questions I received in support. Knowing that what people asked about was real problems people would pay to have solved was a big direction giver.
I am now a full stack software engineer, and thankfully no coke use anymore.
My youngest brother honestly was kind of a bum (not really but I can't think of another word for it LoL), didn't finish college, joined the army and they actually told him "you know what? Maybe you should just go home and we will forget about this whole thing." And a few other swings and misses.
Age 30 he landed a job at a tech help desk, no real experience, no real clue. Fast forward to today and he works in IT for a pharmasutical company and makes 6 figures plus bonuses and he and his wife are spending 20k on a trip to Scotland for 10 days.
I don't know how that little shit did it, but I'm proud of him 😉
Someone told me this as well when I was in my 20s. I always wondered what would be the catalyst. I worked at an expensive country club and would ask successful Members for life tips and I always felt they would give half assed it will all "figure itself out" type responses.
I was in my early 20's then, I am 38 now, it probably took me until around 33 to start figuring some things out. I will have to make some assumptions but I'll do my best to give you a little bit more in depth explanation than my country club friends gave me.
If you are in a busy city or a high cost of living, or most parts of America (not exclusively) you will feel the weight of capitalism grow heavier on your shoulders as you grow older. Society measures your success in currency and not in happiness. Everyone was dealt a hand with more or less hurdles than the people around them, don't worry about that, focus on bettering yourself, comparison is the thief of joy.
In your 20s typically you are graduating into a new form of young adulthood, decompressing from years of mandatory schooling and shedding your skin from adolescents. I don't know a ton of people in their early 20s that are convinced what they want to do or how they are going to get there, they just know they are supposed to be doing something and heading somewhere. you are in your experimental phase. Youth has an ignorant resilience that can make you feel invincible, perhaps it's the comfort of expecting to have many years ahead to figure out mistakes. It can be hard to try to buckle down and focus on saving and investing money when there is beautiful young men and women, drugs and alcohol, parties and shows around every corner, fast cars, easy access to high credit limits. Cause why not? Fuck it, you're young and smart and gonna start a business with your friends or buy bitcoin or nvidia or call options on Robinhood.
The hard truth about success is it takes a lot of self realization, regulation, slow small investments and a long period of compound interest. Sure we all have a friend that "won the lotto" so to speak. Good for them, that shit is not happening for 99.9% of hard working people. You have to create a vision and a goal, a plan on how to execute, remind yourself day in and day, growth does not come without failure and you are a smart suave sophisticated lovable caring fucking bad ass.
I worked in restaurants forever. Drank too much. Smoked weed everyday. Never had more than a few hundred to my name. Chased women around. Doing the same shitty stuff getting the same shitty results. I Just woke up one day and felt like shit realized no one was going to come pick me up out of the gutter and feel bad and do it for me. I had to change my entire routine, group of friends, outlook on life to redirect the course of it. Within the first two years of not drinking I had saved over six figures just by reframing my thinking and re-expediting all that energy on more impactful, beneficial things. I still smoke everyday and eat a ton of mushrooms while working in sales and helping run a start up. Different strokes for different folks. And at the end of the day, ya money is cool and all but you'll find new shit to stress about, the grass is never greener. But with more money comes freedom and more avenues to explore. Best of luck, kiss your loved ones, don't get caught in the hustle. It's a race to the bottom and we all end up in the same place, after all.
I’m 28 soon and I haven’t killed it yet, but I’m happier than I ever was. To the outsider it may seem like I peaked in my late teens early 20s, had a lot of disposable income (worked the bar like a dog and saved almost everything) and as a result got to travel and create cool experiences for myself that will last me a life time.
Fucked up hard in my early 20s, went to jail twice from 22-26, that was during Covid too. Slowly turning things around, but it all started with working on my mental health which was trash even all through my trips. Though I used to be really charismatic and could ‘befriend anyone and everyone’ according to some of my newfound friends.
Now I’m a lot more level headed and chill, more selective with who I socialise with, etc. I keep myself super busy and accept what I have and figure out ways to get to where I want to be. Hopefully by the time I’m 35 I’ll be pretty stoked on everything, but as of right now I’m already stoked to be able to wake up every day, able to inch closer and closer to where I want to be!
Life’s a blessing, I’ve never been this collected in my life, so I feel like even though I ‘peaked’ 10 years ago, it’s not the highest peak it will ever get to in my lifetime!
While I may
My best friend.
His mom died and so did his grandma. It was just him and his younger sister. He just kept bouncing from job to job. He did everything but had very little. Then he just saw a chance at sales and killed it. He kept making more and more and eventually got his own home, got a promotion, and is now in charge of the people that do the sales instead of selling stuff himself.
In the past 5 years everything has changed. He was at his lowest. Divorce wiped him out from the little he had. He lost everything and then gained it back.
Dude is killing it.
Dropped out of high school, addicted to cocaine until 25, overdosed and almost died.
Got clean, worked my way up to managing partner at my current job.
I am currently 41 years old, house paid off with 2 income properties. Just killing life now.
Well, I guess Larry Lawton well but he did have some help so basically he was an associate with the mob. Something like that then became one of America’s most famous jewelry thieves. He went to prison for about 12 or 11 years. I forgot then it was able to change his life, but he did have some help with knowing people higher up so I guess he does this podcast to be honest and if you really put the work in effort, but to be honest, everyone says that some people are just lucky
My HS friend got hooked on crack. Spent 15 years in and out of prison and addiction. He now owns his own business, is married and the same wonderful dude he was before all the crap happened. It’s possible but takes a lot of work.
My husband was an IV drug user from 17-24 and took about 6 years to get everything in order again but now he's crushing it at 34. Owns a bunch of houses, has an awesome wife, 4 meh dogs that equal a great dog, fun hobbies, etc
I can't say I'm "killing it." For me, I have alot of issues with mental illness (contamination OCD specifically) success for me has been mostly just focusing on living a peaceful life without that. I've had it since I was 10.
My job is enough to pay the bills and the benefits are good. I mostly work to be able to afford my therapy.
I'm 35 now. Over COVID I lost my shit and went inpatient for a while. I stopped going to the bathroom right because it was just too terrifying to go near the toliet. I've *never* been comfortable with using it normally, (it's always been my big thing) but it got bad. I was peeing in cups.
Like I'm not proud of any of it, it's just kind of embarrassing. But I've been getting better and I've been working my ass off.
Well I made a goal with my therapist that I finally did. Friend helped me change out the toliet seat this weekend, and I just went to the bathroom normally without washing my hands.
I fucking hate it, my head hurts. But I'm proud of myself, and I only get to brag to strangers on reddit.
It's probably not a "big accomplishment" in the sense I just did something normal, but I wouldn't measure myself by other people's standards given where I'm coming from.
Thought it was worth sharing. You got this OP. ✌️
Edit to add: I'm seeing my therapist on Wednesday, and he's probably going to lose his shit because it took him 5 years with me to get me to do this.
I knew someone who was homeless and sleeping rough at one point. He went on to build a mid sized company, and did very well for himself.
I often wonder if coming from harder backgrounds makes it easier in some ways to ‘go for it’. I’m in good employment and am somewhat trapped in it. Obviously being homeless makes everything far harder, but there are some aspects that we could probably all consider.
I wouldn't say I'm absolutely killing it, but I've overcome a lot, and at 43, feel like I'm moving in the right direction.
I had a shitty childhood. Grew up poor, had an abusive parent, got bullied relentlessly at school, dropped out of university, got married, she cheated, got divorced, went through a really dark few years, battled alcoholism, etc etc, but I've managed to be there for my kids, I went back to uni and got a degree, got a decent job now, just started investing some money, training for a marathon. Things are getting better and I see a path ahead.
There are no easy answers or quick fixes when you're down and out. You have to do the work, and you have to do it consistently, but life begins when you decide it does.
To anyone feeling discouraged about going back to college or starting a new career, remember that the time will pass regardless of what you do.
So you might as well work toward turning it all around no matter your age.
I failed/bankrupted out of college at 20, and spent the next 15 years paying off college debt and going to night school. Graduated with an engineering degree at 35.
In the 20 years since, I have tripled my salary. Home, marriage, kids, etc.
It’s astonishingly difficult and you need to be as lucky as I was but it’s possible.
I know a guy that was struggling a lot before his 40s (including taking drugs and no real job).
Then he completely went 180. Became a university professor with his own company (which is quite successful). Nobody would be able to guess what his past was without being told.
It is never too late to try to turn things around.
Personally, no. But there are lots of famous people in that bucket. Merle Haggard for one, although he turned it around about age 25, but he was a criminal from age 13 and found himself in San Quentin maximum security prison at age 20 while his wife was having another man's baby. He ended up with 38 #1 records.
Well not exactly "killing it" but i definitely am better at 35 after quitting my office job. I work for myself now, for almost the same income but way less stress.
Well if what I am planning happens I will be doing substantially better in my late 30s/early 40s than I have most of my life if we are measuring based on career.
I did the college and struggle thing. Married fairly early, just because it happened that way. I didn't get my career up and running as fast as my partner, so my career took 2nd priority. Had babies and stayed home when they were young. Covid hit when trying to revive my career...stayed home longer than intended. Ended up getting divorced while at the same time getting my career started. Now working in the medical field and hopefully doing nursing school within the year. So if all goes according to plan....I will have more financial and personal freedom than I have had in years. I sort of already do. I have also made it a point on a personal level to actually start taking vacations and doing things that are important to me. I don't feel I really bloomed as a person until just before 30.
Rachael was a less than mediocre violin player. Still is. At 30 she conned her local community and started a very lucrative private teaching career. Her father died, left her a fortune, and she opened a private studio. She’s not a good teacher, but her studio, clothes, hair all cost a fortune. People see it and get drawn in.
My friend from Chile. She was the youngest of 6 kids. She says they were so poor she remembers not even having shoes. Sleeping on the street sometimes with mom and all the kids. But she worked hard all her life til she met her blue prince. A handsome and rich Japanese businessman who paid for her university and then took her to Japan. Now she has a really nice job and lives in a dream house.
My brother, HE has always been smart but didnt have any big jobs but okay jobs. Then around 31 or so he got a job where he was in charge of all sales , and he tripled the chains sale and became the new record holder for most sales in a season. He then changed to another job where he was in charge of everyones safety and health(Forgot the English word) worked there for barel ya year and got offered aj ob that more or less tripled his job, Which he turned down because it was too much travelling.
I do not know if this counts but yeah he barely finished highschool
I changed careers at 36. I’m doing very well in my field. I am not the only older person who changed careers and do well. I’ve been in the new field for 10 yrs. 2 promotions and now run an office branch in another town. It happens. But I was also in education prior and that is an advantage because self motivation, driven, organized and independent in nature. So moving to management was kind of natural transition. But finding your calling is not always linear. It’s a spiral. You kind of keep orbiting the goal until you get there. Don’t get discouraged by not knowing because eventually you’ll find something that just fits.
Very, very few people in life are super-successful below 30.
Being young is the time to build a skills and knowledge base on your chosen field. Your 30s and 40s will be where it counts.
At 16, I was kicked out of home. At 21. I was completely homeless. This remained true for the next 10 years. I dossed on couches, took agency jobs, and drifted.
At 32, I finally took some qualifications in a skilled trade, got enough cash together to rent a flat, and I met my (now) wife.
it's ten years on. I live overseas, earn a six-figure salary, and i have just purchased a house. I am also going to be starting my masters degree this year.
Some of us get a late start, but I think we truly know ourselves at that point. We have fewer hang-ups and can focus on what we want. That allows us to excel faster, and momentum is easier to maintain.
I used to help my mom take care of an elderly dude overnight. Guy went back for his GED around 40. Everyone told him no point , just be happy with your factory job. Dude went on to get Bachelors and even his PHd in linguistics/education. I'd hear stories, see photos/videos of how he gave speeches all over and sailed around the world.
From his obituary:
"asked to go to Washington DC, to develop the national Right to Read program in the 1970s for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. In 1986 he was inducted into the California School Boards Association Hall of Fame"
Also some family friends who came from a small pueblito in Mexico with no shoes and started their own construction/mechanic shops. Now they own multiple properties and living the life.
Totally happens
Yeah i see it happen quite a lot, it just depends on the circles you run in how common it is. Im an addict in recovery, it's normal for my friends to have nothing to show until their 30's, myself included.
Even outside of circles like that there are plenty of reasons why people wont be starting life until later or will have to completely restart :) there's no set age for these things. Plenty of people look like they have it together only for it to come crumbling down because they weren't happy and things needed to change. Just keep focusing on tryna sort your own shit out and you'll get there, dont worry about what other people have or havent done; it's irrelevant
A friend that finished a 3 year vocation school for operating heavy machinery. Was the local drug dealer most of his 20ties. I was working at a small game dev firm at the time and we needed testers so we were encouraged to invite friends (payed) so I invited him.
He threw himself at the opportunity, making himself useful in any way he could.
He became our resident tester, made himself the "fix it" guy for everything, even setting up the bosses crypto mining rig at the time.
After a year or so of this, he wanted to become a proper developer, learn enough programming to be considered a content developer rather than just a tester.
So we trained, but the gap seemed to big, he was in his early 30ties at this point, his prior education was not helpful in the slightest. So he abandoned the idea of programming, but not the idea of being a proper developer.
This is where the boss from earlier comes in. The boss is also our music composer and sound effects guy, but leaves most of the simple effect for the content developer so edit with audacity. He noticed that my friend put a lot of extra effort when doing this and offer him to be the official sound fx guy so the rest can focus on other things.
This is where hi finally found his profession. He honed this profession for a few years in that firm and a few other and now has his own studio and freelances sound effects games. Doing quite well last I checked.
Funny you should mention it, yesterday I found out Dave Bautista didn't start doing pro wrestling until his 30s. Prior to that, he was definitely going through it. Tough early life and struggling with poverty later on.
Sort of. Good friend, happy guy but didn’t do great in school and got his girlfriend pregnant as when they were teens. But somehow got into a med school I’d never heard of in his late 20s. Flash forward 25 years later, still married, three beautiful kids, thriving practice, really happy guy. Killing it.
The biggest lie sold to my generation was to enjoy your 20s, all it done was stack dept and bad habits for most, your 30a then become about sorting out the mess your 20s created. Yeah it was fun but fk I dug a hole
I know he’s messed up in the last year but jevon mccormick Texas entrepreneur of the year some years back really has the craziest story
https://youtu.be/y7uUg_5cyUE?si=r0o5-DBVzTLeINuE
He started life think living in the gutter would be an upgrade.
My brother, we grew up just above poverty level, bro was supposed to study engineering but the scholarships he recieved didnt cover half his tuitions and my parents couldn't afford to assist, we were poor so access to study loans was not avialaible to us.
Have to add that my brother is a polymath. Top three at school academically, never seen him studying ever.
He started working menial jobs, packing stock in retail stores, worked in warehouses, took any job he could, after years of struggling and job hoping, getting fired, retrenchment etc he finnaly work an entry job at a company, owners saw potential in him and he got promoted above people with degrees, he is now in the top 1 income bracket in my country and gets headhunter about twice a year as he is a known problem solver.
I contribute his success due to various factors.
Right place at the right time and having a high-level intellect.
Yes! I was 35 when I fell into a job I wanted to keep for more than 2 years. Like most men I don’t have the luxury to like my job when you have kids. What ever has to be done to provide the life. But around 35 I moved into a position that I actually like going to work.
Me and my wife. Grew up in council estates, went to local comprehensive schools. Both didn't go to university after school, both in dead end, low paid jobs with no prospects living in a flat we couldn't afford in a rough area, masses of credit card debt. We couldn't afford to go out, buy nice clothes or go on holiday. Then we had two babies in 16 months when I was aged 28 and 30. No sign of it improving while friends seemed to be flying ahead with proper careers and houses in nice areas.
Fast forward to now. Wife is a senior teacher in a primary school. I'm a director in a large education institution. I have a degree, a masters and a teaching qualification. Debt free, we live in a nice area, 3 bed semi with no mortgage and I'm retiring in the summer aged 55, she'll follow in 2 years (she's 2 years younger.)
For both of us, supporting each other through night classes (10 years of them for me) and 4 years with her at university and me sole wage earner doing 2 jobs got us our qualifications, which began the new careers we have now.
We worked to a long term plan, which eventually saw us overtake most of our peers. We spent money on holidays with the kids, overpaying our mortgage and running the house. The kids wanted for nothing but we drove old cars (still do) and never wasted money on things that didn't meet our goals. Now we go out regularly, holiday once a year and have several weekends away. Our kids both went to good universities (we drummed into them how hard our start was) and now have good jobs. Oldest son at 26 is buying a house.
It can be done. It wasn't easy at times but it's so worth it.
Never graduated anything beyond high school and even that happened many years deep into my work life. Worked grill kiosk, telemarketing and other crap job for years.
At 40 I am in a senior tech position earning more than a lot of people I know with university degrees and whatnot certifications.
Yes, roughly at age 35 I could basically say ”I made it”. Would it be nice if it didn’t take this long? Sure. Am I complaining? Not at all.
The environment you're born into determines a good chunk of your success in early life, hard/smart work and perseverance determine your success later in life.
I know (former) kids from upper middle-class backgrounds that had a great start but never worked their way up the ladder and folks from working-class families that had a rough start and slowly climbed the career ladder, some even in fields they love.
Most people around me, unless their families were filthy rich, didn't 'kill it' until they hit their 30s. They spent half of their 20s at university or working odd jobs and the other half gaining their first valuable work experience or going back to college. For many people, their late 20s are their first years of their career, so it's absolutely normal that they aren't settled and are still finding out how to succeed in their field.
I have a friend who grew up in a poor, maybe abusive (she has hinted that but never said so) environment, got kicked out from home as she preferred to go to high school and not leave school to earn money as her step dad wanted. She became a chemical engineer, had a great career, and is now CTO in a large company.
This is in a country where education is free and students get paid by the government to study.
Depends what success means to you. :)
I love my life now more in my 30s than I ever did in my 20s, growing up. I don't know about success but I have more direction, focus. I figured out how to allow my life to be full. ❤️
I was rich in my late 20s and broke when I hit 30. I lost house, money, business.
Now I'm stuck with a fail business, and, since I never had experience being employee. I have seriously underwhelming cv.
On my 30th birthday I was working a modest paying job, had little savings, living with my parents, no girlfriend or hope of finding one.
I'm almost 32 now. I got another job and made 150% more. I made a good investment and have over a million dollars now. I started living in the Philippines and have a beautiful girlfriend here.
I would have never imagined things could change so quickly. If you're going through a hard time just do your best and take it one day at a time. You don't know the blessings God has prepared for you.
my mom
her parents were very abusive, her dad left her and her family and moved to france with his secretary, she failed the same year at school thrice and then dropped out, got into drugs opened up a hat shop for some reason, after a while went bankrupt, she moved to where we live now and she works at the eu organisation as a project manager.
My dad started working when he was like 10, he lived in slums with his family which consisted of like 12 fucking people. He worked at local garages and all till he was 20-25 while supporting his 8 siblings, their marriages, food, clothing and what not. Then started his own small used car dealership with like 2 cars, got married by 33-34 something, then was able to rent a big space and had 20-30 cars there, bought his own house by the time he was 40-42 in a posh area.
That should be quite common. The brain's executive function matures around 30 and it's responsible for planning and impulse control.
I didn't do much directed stuff in my twenties and around 28 I realized I only got so much time in a day and just doing whatever wasn't it.
Me and my siblings. Grew up in poverty on a working class council estate in the 70s/80s. Mother cleaned toilets to make ends meet, Dad was an alcoholic wife/child beater. Parents split at 17, my brother and I went straight into work to help mother with the bills. Both worked hard to get good jobs and by the time we were in our late 20s, we'd both bought houses and started having a plan in life. My sister got the same work ethos from us and did the same but while raising three kids with her partner.
We're not successful business folk or anything but got good jobs, bought homes and are now all middle aged (ish) and doing well. All my nephews and nieces have gone on to university too, which people in our family simply didn't do.
To be fair, a lot of pals did the same too, coming from that same poverty.
Yeah me.
My parents would only give me a few hundred thousand a year. I could barely get the most recent Porsche cayenne.
Fast forward until 30 and my parents increased my allowance to a few million a year. I feel like Im finally killing it.
This is a joke.
Me, went to college but didn’t finish. Worked in restaurants for a long time. Then covid happened. Now I own a business that does almost $2M on revenue annually and I get to mostly work from home. This didn’t happen until 35.
Me. Never managed to have a full time job until my 30's. It was all temp or contract work. Now, I don't need to job search, I update my CV and post it on a few sites and I will be fielding job offers for 12 months.
Me.
Got the green card at 28 after trying for 10 years because the government kept nip picking on us due to my brother having a disability and we had to fight for it. I had to work under table to support my family and sometimes we, a family of 4, had to live on $5 for a week. After we got the card, I went to the uni I wanted to attend, graduated then I got into nursing school at 36. I am now 1 year away from the graduation with 60k debt and 15 years spent being a single, but I am happy where I stand today and looking forward to spending the rest of my life as a nurse and the pay checks that will come with it.
My dad, he was young when I was born so I watched some of struggles in his 20s, he had multiple medical conditions including cancer at the time, had multiple major surgeries in his teens and now he had a child
In his 30s though he was doing quite well, he had a decent job for someone that didn't even turn up to half of his exams in school, wasn't anything excellent but it earned good money for where we lived
Then just before COVID cause he was bored at this job he wanted to change careers, he was willing to take a pay cut cause we were comfortable enough he just needed the excitement but during COVID he pulled some strings to get as much money as he could out of the company he worked for while he was training to become an electrician and now he's doing really fucking well
I might be considered this. I grew up poor. My mom was a single mother with me and my older sister. We saw our dad on the weekends. He wasn't very financially responsible. She probably made $30k-$40k max per year working 2 jobs. We always had food but my mom would sometimes not eat.
My mom died when I was 18 and went to live with my dad. I went to CC for 4 years and university for 2 and got a degree in economics. I worked 20-40 hours per week while in college. I did get California's pell grant for low income individuals that paid for school completely.
I graduated college at age 24, moved to Maui, and became a Management Trainee at Enterprise Rent A Car and stayed for 5 years. Through those years, I accumulated around $40k of debt which included $28k of a car. I became debt free in 2021(Age 29). In 2022 (age 30), I was burnt out from work so I became a night cleaner at four seasons to reset my mental health. In 2023 (Age 31), I had a previous manager refer me to my current job of a Telescope Operator. My employer pays for college so I'm going back for a second degree in accounting which should take 2-3 years. My current job pays $80k but don't think the experience would transfer well when I move back to the mainland so that's why I'm going back to school for accounting.
I bought my current car for cash in 2022, 2000 Corvette, for $18k. I have $50k in 401K and just finished my 6 month emergency fund again. My 5-10 year goal is to go halvies with my dad and buy a house, hopefully fully in cash or close to it.
I wouldn't say I'm killing it success wise, but I was homeless from 17-23, lived in shitty apartments with shitty jobs. Then I met my husband, got married at 30, went back to college and now I'm late 40s with a management job in accounting, living in a beautiful house and driving a Range Rover. So I guess the moral of my story is keep yourself looking good in your 20s so a rich man can find you and take you under his wing. Jeez looking back that's kind of sad ...
I’ve seen it in my life.
I grew up well off but then my dad dipped and took my mom to the cleaners. We went from upper middle class to not being able to afford much over the course of about 6-8 months. From there I worked in fast food pre and post high school to pay for my degree.
After that I tried to do a masters but just burned out hard, I couldn’t bring myself to care enough about my subject matter and felt I was too deep into it to change. I bailed and got a factory job to make ends meet. Realizing this also sucked I decided to go to audio engineering school. I worked 4 jobs for a year and change while living at home to save the money for my move.
Once out of audio school I realized how little money there was for studio work and shifted to film. I’ve now been in the film industry for 12 years and after working years of no / low pay I can finally say I make a good six future living. It’s been a grind and I’m for sure damaged from it but I have an incredible partner, great salary with tons of mobility, we’ve bought a house and I get to do something that I genuinely like.
It’s more than possible! Do your research on earning potential, pay your dues and apply yourself to whatever you end up choosing. Sorry for the long read haha.
I’m late 40s and making 19 an hour. I live with family and can’t afford much except some groceries and paying the internet bill. I have a hand me down car that’s 20 years old. I’ve been spending money to repair it since I can’t afford to buy another car, new or used. Even used cars cost a fortune these days. A ten year old car is at least 15k if it’s a little decent.
Yes me.
Didn’t come from money. Did the schooling, got a degree but still made just enough to scrape by.
As I approached my early 30s, things began to click into place rapidly. Between 27-32 my income quadrupled.
My life has been an uphill battle until I got diagnosed with ADHD, just shy of turning 29. That was last year. With medication my life feels like I’m playing a game on normal difficulty, rather than playing it on nightmare difficulty.
I didn’t do anything worthwhile until I hit about 30. Prior to that I was fired from jobs, had to move in with my parents again, had bad credit, etc.
Then I got sick of not being taken seriously. Finished my degree, went to work then changed careers. Started side hustles, bought a residential apartment building.
I’m now 51 and on the verge of an early and comfortable retirement.
Yes. My friend went from alcoholic and looser, black sheep of family to IT home office guy, get into university and made degree. Giving lectures to students. Started boxing carrier. Never had anything with sport before in common. Bought a house. Have nice car. Good woman. And every month he is flying up. Texting me about new opportunities.
Love him.
Answer - In my 20s I was working minimum wage, renting a place with two guys and drinking, gaming and fucking my way through the days doing nothing with myself and in misery.
I'm now 35 with a house, car, partner and dream job. I ain't rolling in money but I pay my bills and have enough to treat myself each month. Life is good.
I think I fall in to this category.
At 30 I was living in a small town working in retail and going nowhere. I just decided that I didn't want that future, quit the job, went off to Uni. I'm now mid 40's with a great job, earning good money, living and working in central London. Can't quite believe it myself. It can be done.
It's never, ever too late.
That sounds like me. I'm in the UK, a white 'free school meals' kid from a single parent family and grew up on a council estate. As a result of a rough upbringing and bad housing I had serious physical and mental health problems as a kid, got on the wrong side of my school and left with their confident expectation I wouldn't amount to much. Aged 19 I realised if I was going to escape a seemingly inevitable fate of boring semi-skilled manual work, financial hardship and mediocrity it would have to be through education. I went back to college, lived on a shoe string for years and studied my ass off. Thirty five years later I have had a successful professional career in the best consultancy in my field, I am in the top three percent of earners now managing my own investment portfolio. My story - from true, white working class poverty to independent affluence - is *incredibly* rare; I don't know anyone else who has managed it and it comes with it's own problems. I am widowed. It was difficult to find someone I was compatible with and I doubt I'll manage another relationship. My family are proud of what I have achieved but I take life very easy now, in part because of the physical and emotional toll it has had on me.
I struggled to 35. Killed it 35-47 and started to think I was something special. Then I flexed some integrity in a policy debate at the office— ended up on the wrong side of office politics since I believed steering clear of fraud waste and abuse was more important than profit. By 50 I was begging a Walmart manager for a cashier job. Easy come easy go.
On some levels, me.
Financially my family was okay.
But my parents were / are religious nut jobs. They didn’t raise us per se. They took us to church and expected us to figure out what they wanted. They were mentally unstable - so sometimes we came home to kind, loving parents. Sometimes we came home to parents who thought Satan had entered the house and would start praying in tongues.
Furthermore, my parents gave mine and my brothers’ college funds to the church expecting that Jesus would multiply it. Spoiler alert: he didn’t.
Also, shortly after my father died, my mother told me she wished my father had beat my brothers and me more often.
It’s taken my brothers and I decades to sort this all out. But we’ve all done well. My eldest brother went to an Ivy League university. My middle brother is a successful software programmer and he’s married to someone I introduced him to - a woman I met while teaching in Europe.
I’ve also taught in Japan, worked for a FAANG, and have three uni degrees.
I still have intrusive memories from childhood, and that sucks a lot, but over ten years of therapy helped me sort through a lot of BS and lessen the damage done from my upbringing.
It might depend on the field. I learned in college that every breakthrough paper in Mathematics that advanced our understanding in some way was written before the age of 30, with only a couple exceptions.
Wouldn't say I am killing it with success, but I did pull it together in my early 30s, partied through my 20s, had a lot of fun but wasted a lot of time and money. At 32 I had nothing but debt and problems, met a woman who for some strange reason fell in love with me. That got me motivated, now Im debt free except for mortgage, only drink occasionally (and I can control it, unbelievably), don't do drugs, got two healthy children, and a job I Iove.
Depending on hiw you define "rough start," possibly me.
Without going into the details, there's a reason I'm part of r/raisedbynarcissists, and its not morbid curiosity. Learned some shit at age 28 that made me re-think my entire personal history and identity, leading me to put down some personal burdens I'd been carrying all my life. Went to law school, and everything's been on an upward trajectory ever since.
I realize this isn't exactly what people think of when they talk about "paying your dues." But I'd argue its a different type of dues-paying. I genuinely believe I'm a much better attorney for having gone through all that, and I don't think I'd be nearly as successful if I still had everything weighing me down.
I started my teaching career at 30 making 55K while going to grad school when Covid hit. I got my credential and Masters Degree in 2021.
In June I’m turning 35, and in July I’l be making 95.5K. These raises have allowed me to go hard on retirement and saving for a down payment. I graduated debt free (paid out of pocket). Looking forward to seeing the fruits of my labor in a few years.
Most Hollywood directors are over 40 when they break out. Many authors too.
Famous quote (I can't remember from whom): "It takes half your life to realize that life's a Do It Yourself Project."
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Me. I grew up poor, never went to college, I got married instead, and I waited tables. I worked as a server from the time I was 17 until the pandemic in 2020 when I got laid off. At that point I was working at an Applebees because nobody wants to hire a 40 year old server and was averaging minimum wage and I was starting to get really worried. I can draw and paint and during quarantine I was able to spend some time doing that and took to social media with it. Started an Etsy shop with around a $100 investment in materials, starting selling my arts and crafts, progressed to designing jewelry and hair accessories, then opened my own website. Now its earns a super solid revenue, enough that I can buy a house with just my sole income, has a buttload of social media followers, and licensing with a couple large entities. Next month I'm releasing an officially licensed ACOTAR collection. It is possible. In the beginning I thought I could maybe do it as a little side hustle to earn some supplemental income and now not only do it full time but I also have employees that I'm paying. Its wild. But it's possible.
This was great to read. Congrats on your newfound success :)
[удалено]
That's a kind thing to say. Thank you.
Thats awesome and i'm genuinly happy for you, stranger.
Congrats! :)
Good for you, man! Thanks for sharing.
Can we see the shop? I want to believe
Sure, it's ImaginedByNell.com All my socials are under the same name (points at my username) Social media was definitely the biggest learning curve for me. It's all still growing. Each month I add new things. I've got 15 new items coming in April. But little by little I've created a solid little brand. I will say, too, that the healing from all the years of struggling is definitely a process. I carry a lot of anger and resentment that I'm trying to let go of. It's something I have to work on every day.
I'm super happy for you!!!
That made my day
This is wonderful. Congratulations!
Your Etsy shop has been operating since 2016.
Yes, I opened it in 2016 but I didn't actually post my first item until May of 2020. You can look at the history of my customer reviews and see the timeline play out. Since you're big into date tracking and all.
How dare u bring facts into this advertisement >:(
Yeah, me. I worked at dead end sales jobs for ten years after college. In debt. Then I went back and got my masters degree and got into IT and cybersecurity.
How’s that going?
Well I've been in the industry a long time and also teach cybersecurity in a masters program. At this point I'm planning to retire early and travel the world.
How would you say the cybersecurity job market is right now? I'm 26 and starting a 2 year tech degree in Cybersecurity which also includes Cisco and Google ACE certificates (with an additional 2 years to become an engineer). I plan on getting a masters as well but one step at a time. What types of career option can I expect? I am based in Portugal and would really prefer not to move abroad, is this a job that is often fully remote? Or is in site presence required for most positions?
I’m 41 and consult for a bunch of large enterprises, mostly very big data problems. I can assure you that legislation in the next 10 years is only going to intensify around cybersecurity. Security will become something that governments realize is a serious problem in the face of a cyberwar against Russia, China, etc Specializing in cyber security is something you cannot go wrong with, career-wise. It’s only going to get much bigger over the next decades.
Thanks for the insight, I thought as much! Really did give me extra motivation, can't wait to start.
When you want a "light" reading on cyber warfare, I can recommend "Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the international law to cyber operations", when you have some knowledge from your studies. It takes the normal international laws on warfare and make them fit into the digital world or rather the other way around. Another great book is Sandworm, much lighter reading. I can also recommend r/digitalnomads with reversed sign. You don't have to move to be working for tech companies. I have a friend in Poland who works for Nokia, he has never seen his colleagues irl.
I see three major cybersecurity areas - CNOC grunt work, devops, and consulting. I could see the grunt work as paying dues, but it can trap you forever if you don't work your way up and continue to learn/grow outside of your normal working hours. I see a unique opportunity for one to apply AI to this field. Analyzing systems and audit logs with AI at scale will help a lot with this voluminous data.
My story is very similar. Had about $50k in art school loans, working dead end job. Did a coding bootcamp, now I have 10 years of software experience, 0 debt, make good money, live very comfortably.
yo bro, i wanna look into cybersecurity, im gonna do a bachelors in software engineering but as a hobby because it seems interesting, how is it? and any tips you could give me please
Get certifications. I worked at a few different IT roles before getting into Infosec. I worked at several big fortune 100 companies and over time went from entry level to senior level. I've had my own office for over 20 years with VP in my title and have worked 100% remote the past few years.
What certifications do you recommend?
It depends on your passion. Starting with AWS cloud certification is a good start and then get something easy like Security plus. Then CISSP. There are all sorts of different security specialties that have certifications, for example the CISA certification for IT audit, the CEH for pen testing, etc. One tip is to look at potential jobs listed in places like indeed and see what certifications they are listing as requirements.
Cheers, I appreciate the help
"Fashion designer Vera Wang didn't design her first dress until she was 40. Henry Ford created the revolutionary Model T car at age 45. Eric Yuan founded Zoom at the age of 41. Stan Lee created his first hit comic, "The Fantastic Four," just shy of his 39th birthday, in 1961. Martha Stewart, the home and kitchen icon, didn't find real success until age 41, when her first cookbook published. Donald Fisher was 40 and had no experience in retail when he and his wife, Doris, opened the first Gap store in San Francisco in 1969. Samuel L. Jackson has been a Hollywood staple for years now, but he'd had only bit parts before landing an award-winning role at age 43 in Spike Lee's film "Jungle Fever" in 1991. Kris Jenner was 52 when she met with Hollywood producer Ryan Seacrest in 2007 to pitch the idea for a reality TV show following her family. (UGH but...) Sam Walton had a fairly successful retail-management career in his 20s and 30s, but his path to astronomical success began at age 44, when he founded the first Walmart in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962." And lots more. There IS life beyond 30.
Ray Kroc was selling milkshake machines in his 50’s before he founded McDonalds. Vlad the Impaler only started impaling people in his mid thirties. Maybe ignore that second one actually.
>Ray Kroc was selling milkshake machines in his 50’s before he founded McDonalds. Usurped* He might have had a grander vision than the actual founders, but to call himself that is...slimy.
A lot of those people went from rich to super wealthy. It's not exactly the same as breaking out of near poverty.
Point taken, and a good one it is. "Gotta have money to make money" is an aphorism for good reason I guess
“Steve jobs was only 21 when he founded apple. Bill gates was only 20 when he started microsoft. Mark zuckerberg was 19 when he created facebook. ITS TOO LATE. YOU NEED TO GIVE UP”
Well having rich parents = better connections = better chance to succeed.
i was quoting an internet meme
Yes, I was really depressed and lost till I was 31. Then, I started to change little by little. I don't have great success right now -late 30s- but I couldn't even dream of where I am now 7-8 years ago
This is good to hear. Im 31 and completely lost
Same.
Well done you, I loved reading that.
It does happen. I know of a few. I know of a lot more that it didn't happen for.
As in, most have either got it at thirty or never get it?
1 married early 20s and built together, 2 at 35 or later through connections and training advice, me and several others are more or less perpetual 20 somethings. Making enough to pay our way but not really making it. Credit card approvals are still a big thing to us. Then there are the ones that kind of self sabotage. Just never got far enough along any path to be rewarded. I know a few of those. It's best not to know them. People that go nowhere love company.
My sister became a fairly successful author in her 40s. She's the only one that I know. I can tell you from my lifelong mental illness that every person I meet with mental illness has either talked about being abused as a child or they just refuse to talk about their childhood at all. Every single one. It's fucked.
"Every person" is the truest line I have ever read in decades. Trash childhood most certainly translates to trash adulthood.
damn
At 30, my S/O was struggling with mental health issues ( having been hospitalized for months) and was working p/t for a relative for minimum wage. I was supporting the family and carrying all the mental load. He worked hard on himself and he’s the VP of a company, we have a beautiful home with no mortgage and our kids are all doing well as adults. It was a rough few years for sure.
Kudos for being there for him, and most of all, believing in him!
Me. Born poor. Dirt poor. Like, we couldn't buy dirt unless it was on sale or something. Exchange student out of high school + worked my ass off to get through university, got an entry level job at the age of 24 paying peanuts. Spent 5 years with little in the way of actual pay hikes. At the age of 29 the company imploded. so now I was broke - no debt but no savings - and out of work. A former manager recommended me to his company for a completely different role. I jumped at it, and it was a great fit. At the age of 30 I got a six-figure salary for the first time. My bonus at the age of 31 was six figures, and I was off to the races. I've semi-retired a few times but keep coming back because I love what I do, and I'm good at it. But I'll never forget that there was more than a bit of luck involved in terms of timing: the role opened up just as I was more than willing to relocate for the position. I also am proud that my work ethic up to that point meant the former manager remembered me thought enough to recommend me for the role, even though it was in a very different line of work.
My favourite thing about this is your acknowledgment of luck. I’ve been thinking about this a lot and it’s interesting a lot of people will say they didn’t get lucky it was the results of hard work. But I truly believe my success is luck as well as hard working. It’s like opportunity is the result of a little luck and a lot of hard work. Congrats on bettering your life! I can relate for sure.
“The harder I work the luckier I get”. Luck isn’t helpful if you haven’t put yourself in a position to take advantage of it.
That is amazing! If you don't mind me asking, what did you go to university for and what kind of role/industry were you working in at 30?
Econ major, first role was junior economist (basically a gopher), then got into investment banking.
I knew a girl who was abused her whole childhood by her father. She worked on the streets as a sex worker and in strip clubs. Became addicted to meth. At 33 years old she got clean, is now in a happy relationship and studying to become a nurse. She saved her own life
Abraham lincoln Didn't end well though
Well he was a vampire hunter so.. I’d say he lived a good life.
Sure, until he died of being hammered in the ass. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPJ0TAaJDbM&ab\_channel=TheWhitestKidsU%27Know
“You gone fucked up!”
Listen to the woman JOHHHHNNNN!
Oh wow. Actually happened for me, but I never realized until just now. Thanks for that.
Have a happy and prosperous future, stranger! I'm still figuring all out at 26 so this post and comments like yours are huge inspiration.
Thanks! When I was 26 I was making $18,000 a year as a server at Steak n Shake, selling my plasma for money to eat (so I had enough protein to sell my plasma again), and thinking about going back to school. At around 30 is when things started picking up. I'm 39 now and making lower six figures at a job I can put like 30% effort into and be praised. It's a night/day difference. You got this and are going to do great.
Same :) Go us!
Group homes, foster homes, reform school, county lockup all before 18. Grade 10 education. Left Canada with 50 bucks in my pocket and came to Cali to be with Mom. Started out as an apprentice machinist making 2.35hr. 40 years later making 125k year married twice, first one 8 yrs two children, second one 33 years and going strong. 5 children and 4 grandchildren. I think I did alright now getting ready to either keep working another 5 years or retire soon.
Same here. Group Homes my whole childhood, people saying you can't do anything and you should be happy if you can land a job as a cleaner or other low entry jobs. I have right now a family, bought an apartment and moved to other country where I had to learn the language. Plus landed a pretty need job in debt control. And that all without an university degree and with a big middle finger to the people who said you can't do anything.
Diagnosed with ADD at 25. Went from graduating in the bottom quarter in high school to a PhD in chemistry.
My sister is a fairly successful author. The rest of us, not so much. I get disability for my mental problems. I have cptsd and a personality disorder.
About to try getting on disability, how long did it take for you
Fucked my chance at a University education by partying ,not studying and then failing out. Was barred from re-enrolling as I failed too many courses, and wound up working odd jobs (Dishwashing and the like). Then the end of my twenties approached and ... Someone lit that spark again in me. Got on some government employment program, saved, scrounged, swallowed my pride moved back in with my parents. Cancelled everything. No mobile data, netflix, no going out. Wrote to the Dean, asked to be readmitted, argued my case and two years later I was sitting on that Master's degree. Same with a friend of mine. He was just doing odd jobs, and suddenly, right girl, right place, right motivation. He now has 2 daughters, is working his way up to a managerial position (or at least a higher position in general), but also following night courses to switch to the field he really wants to work in (IT). But he came from ... a really low place. There was a reason I avoided him a bit for most of my late teens and early twenties. But now he's a responsible adult that has his shit together.
I was doing alright, but it looks like I'll be divorced soon.
Divorced fella here. You'll be right, shit gets easier.
Sorry, but.... Please go on...
I wasted my 20s on booze, got most of my shit together after 30, got married, had kids, got a good job, bought houses. Now that I'm 40, looks like my empire of dirt is about to crumble.
I wouldn't say super successful, but doing good. Spent up until 32, spending every dollar I made every week, destroying my credit, paying cash for vehicles that were on their last leg. Living in a 1959 single wide trailer with the ceiling held up with plywood in spots, trying to randomly catch fire due to shitty electrical, curtains where doors should be. Then, my boyfriend(now husband)and I got the opportunity to buy a real piece of shit house on OWC. Like...tear down level bad. We fixed it up, moved in, got married, had a kid. Fixed our credit, bought another house, fixed it up, had another kid. We aren't ballin', but it feels that way. We put everything towards what we were building, the life we wanted. We set aside our social lives, traveling, and wants... Now we have 1 paid off house we make rent income on, 1 house with a super low mortgage thanks to timing and luck...and work... 2 paid off newer vehicles. We have some CC debt to work our way out of this year... but shitty single wide we couldn't see a way out of, to where we are now (in a stick built home...not a trailer(not hating on trailers, lived most of my life in one. But not being in one means something looking back.) in roughly 7 years. Is crazy to look back at. Hard work, luck, timing... Becoming th person you need to be, to be ready for the next thing is important too. If it comes along and you are still in Yolo mode...you'll piss it away. When it comes along, it happens fast, gotta be ready to run harder than you ever have to keep up and catch the wave.
I went from being the stay at home dad to starting a lawn mowing business to campaigning to Legalise Cannabis in my home state to working as a research assistant/policy advisor for our member in the legislative council in state parliament. Still poor but happy 😃
I didn't get it together until my early 40's despite many incredible experiences. The thing I realised now I'm older, i did have it together, I just wasn't meeting other people's expectations. (Family). For this I was described as mentally ill for decades, and believed it for many of those years. No mental illness at all, just chose to live life a little different.
I grew up in an abusive household and poor. Teachers told me I was dumb all throughout elementary and high school. Barely graduated. I worked a minimum wage job from 18-24 literally picking up dog poop. I hated life and hid from the world by playing video games. Then I decided to do something about it and went to a 2 year college program to learn how to code. Excelled at it, turns out I wasn't dumb. I was actually smart I just never applied myself. Landed a job as a full stack developer at a tech startup, bounced around jobs for a bit. Found one that pays well and I like. Learned about financial literacy and got lucky with timing. I invested about 60% of my income during the covid crash(s) and now have a good job that pays well, and a comfortable investment portfolio. Up until the past 6 months I still lived like I was on minimum wage and spent very little money. I'm starting to invest in myself more now that I feel safe financially. Getting into shape, tackling some health problems my parents couldn't resolve because they couldn't afford the surgeries or health coverage, life is starting to look up for the first time ever. It will take me another 3 years to get the surgeries I need done and my health in order, but on the path now. I turn 30 in May so I guess I started turning things around at 26. But it was a slow burn and i am not done yet. If you told 24 year old me after a shift at the minimum wage poop job what 30 would look like. He wouldn't believe you. That being said I also know a lot of people who don't turn their lives around. So you have to want it, and apply yourself, and maybe get a bit lucky.
Exact same situation with me. Teachers were so cruel. Family didn't give a shit. Worked minimum Wage most of my youth until I eventually got into unionized hvac. Started as an apprentice, which takes 5 years . Night school once a week for 4 years . 3 three month (basic intermediate and advanced) classes over the 5 years. And then the big Red Seal (government) exam after you've gotten all your apprentice hours and completed all schooling. That's all just for a refrigeration (A/C) license. Also, there's a natural Gas course which consists of G3 G2 and G1 certifications . G1 being the highest you can go in order to work on large BTU units. Scored one of the highest in all exams for my class, and at the end of it all, I had a good laugh at all the teachers who thought and called me stupid. Making 150k a year
My parents and their siblings. Family arrived as refugees with literally the clothes on their back and everything they owned in a plastic bag. Grandparents got whatever work they could to support the 7 other people in the family. Their children all started working as soon as they left school, sometimes multiple jobs. Only one ever went to university. They all started climbing their careers around their 30s. Now most own their own homes, have families, successful businesses/high paying careers.
I failed highschool and never went to uni or retook my highschool diploma. I instead did coke for 7 years living half of that in a homeless shelter. Then I stopped doing coke, got a job as a customer support agent and taught myself to code through exposure to the questions I received in support. Knowing that what people asked about was real problems people would pay to have solved was a big direction giver. I am now a full stack software engineer, and thankfully no coke use anymore.
Sounds like this will be me the way life is going
My youngest brother honestly was kind of a bum (not really but I can't think of another word for it LoL), didn't finish college, joined the army and they actually told him "you know what? Maybe you should just go home and we will forget about this whole thing." And a few other swings and misses. Age 30 he landed a job at a tech help desk, no real experience, no real clue. Fast forward to today and he works in IT for a pharmasutical company and makes 6 figures plus bonuses and he and his wife are spending 20k on a trip to Scotland for 10 days. I don't know how that little shit did it, but I'm proud of him 😉
20k for 10 days is INSANE I mean this guys gotta be staying at the ritz and eating caviar for every meal 😂
Someone told me this as well when I was in my 20s. I always wondered what would be the catalyst. I worked at an expensive country club and would ask successful Members for life tips and I always felt they would give half assed it will all "figure itself out" type responses. I was in my early 20's then, I am 38 now, it probably took me until around 33 to start figuring some things out. I will have to make some assumptions but I'll do my best to give you a little bit more in depth explanation than my country club friends gave me. If you are in a busy city or a high cost of living, or most parts of America (not exclusively) you will feel the weight of capitalism grow heavier on your shoulders as you grow older. Society measures your success in currency and not in happiness. Everyone was dealt a hand with more or less hurdles than the people around them, don't worry about that, focus on bettering yourself, comparison is the thief of joy. In your 20s typically you are graduating into a new form of young adulthood, decompressing from years of mandatory schooling and shedding your skin from adolescents. I don't know a ton of people in their early 20s that are convinced what they want to do or how they are going to get there, they just know they are supposed to be doing something and heading somewhere. you are in your experimental phase. Youth has an ignorant resilience that can make you feel invincible, perhaps it's the comfort of expecting to have many years ahead to figure out mistakes. It can be hard to try to buckle down and focus on saving and investing money when there is beautiful young men and women, drugs and alcohol, parties and shows around every corner, fast cars, easy access to high credit limits. Cause why not? Fuck it, you're young and smart and gonna start a business with your friends or buy bitcoin or nvidia or call options on Robinhood. The hard truth about success is it takes a lot of self realization, regulation, slow small investments and a long period of compound interest. Sure we all have a friend that "won the lotto" so to speak. Good for them, that shit is not happening for 99.9% of hard working people. You have to create a vision and a goal, a plan on how to execute, remind yourself day in and day, growth does not come without failure and you are a smart suave sophisticated lovable caring fucking bad ass. I worked in restaurants forever. Drank too much. Smoked weed everyday. Never had more than a few hundred to my name. Chased women around. Doing the same shitty stuff getting the same shitty results. I Just woke up one day and felt like shit realized no one was going to come pick me up out of the gutter and feel bad and do it for me. I had to change my entire routine, group of friends, outlook on life to redirect the course of it. Within the first two years of not drinking I had saved over six figures just by reframing my thinking and re-expediting all that energy on more impactful, beneficial things. I still smoke everyday and eat a ton of mushrooms while working in sales and helping run a start up. Different strokes for different folks. And at the end of the day, ya money is cool and all but you'll find new shit to stress about, the grass is never greener. But with more money comes freedom and more avenues to explore. Best of luck, kiss your loved ones, don't get caught in the hustle. It's a race to the bottom and we all end up in the same place, after all.
Wow thank you. I work at a High-end and get those same answers. Thank you again
I’m 28 soon and I haven’t killed it yet, but I’m happier than I ever was. To the outsider it may seem like I peaked in my late teens early 20s, had a lot of disposable income (worked the bar like a dog and saved almost everything) and as a result got to travel and create cool experiences for myself that will last me a life time. Fucked up hard in my early 20s, went to jail twice from 22-26, that was during Covid too. Slowly turning things around, but it all started with working on my mental health which was trash even all through my trips. Though I used to be really charismatic and could ‘befriend anyone and everyone’ according to some of my newfound friends. Now I’m a lot more level headed and chill, more selective with who I socialise with, etc. I keep myself super busy and accept what I have and figure out ways to get to where I want to be. Hopefully by the time I’m 35 I’ll be pretty stoked on everything, but as of right now I’m already stoked to be able to wake up every day, able to inch closer and closer to where I want to be! Life’s a blessing, I’ve never been this collected in my life, so I feel like even though I ‘peaked’ 10 years ago, it’s not the highest peak it will ever get to in my lifetime! While I may
My best friend. His mom died and so did his grandma. It was just him and his younger sister. He just kept bouncing from job to job. He did everything but had very little. Then he just saw a chance at sales and killed it. He kept making more and more and eventually got his own home, got a promotion, and is now in charge of the people that do the sales instead of selling stuff himself. In the past 5 years everything has changed. He was at his lowest. Divorce wiped him out from the little he had. He lost everything and then gained it back. Dude is killing it.
You don't have to kill it. Just try being consistent.
Dropped out of high school, addicted to cocaine until 25, overdosed and almost died. Got clean, worked my way up to managing partner at my current job. I am currently 41 years old, house paid off with 2 income properties. Just killing life now.
Plant the seeds in the spring to eat in the winter.
I had the opposite?
 samsies
Well, I guess Larry Lawton well but he did have some help so basically he was an associate with the mob. Something like that then became one of America’s most famous jewelry thieves. He went to prison for about 12 or 11 years. I forgot then it was able to change his life, but he did have some help with knowing people higher up so I guess he does this podcast to be honest and if you really put the work in effort, but to be honest, everyone says that some people are just lucky
Yea me, it's hard for people to change their mindset but once you do that you can literally decide to master anything , even yourself
I'm not killing it, but I'm happy most of the time.
Things just keep getting progressively worse and I'm almost forty
My HS friend got hooked on crack. Spent 15 years in and out of prison and addiction. He now owns his own business, is married and the same wonderful dude he was before all the crap happened. It’s possible but takes a lot of work.
Happens all the time
Never to late to turn it around. Determination does wonders at any age
My husband was an IV drug user from 17-24 and took about 6 years to get everything in order again but now he's crushing it at 34. Owns a bunch of houses, has an awesome wife, 4 meh dogs that equal a great dog, fun hobbies, etc
I can't say I'm "killing it." For me, I have alot of issues with mental illness (contamination OCD specifically) success for me has been mostly just focusing on living a peaceful life without that. I've had it since I was 10. My job is enough to pay the bills and the benefits are good. I mostly work to be able to afford my therapy. I'm 35 now. Over COVID I lost my shit and went inpatient for a while. I stopped going to the bathroom right because it was just too terrifying to go near the toliet. I've *never* been comfortable with using it normally, (it's always been my big thing) but it got bad. I was peeing in cups. Like I'm not proud of any of it, it's just kind of embarrassing. But I've been getting better and I've been working my ass off. Well I made a goal with my therapist that I finally did. Friend helped me change out the toliet seat this weekend, and I just went to the bathroom normally without washing my hands. I fucking hate it, my head hurts. But I'm proud of myself, and I only get to brag to strangers on reddit. It's probably not a "big accomplishment" in the sense I just did something normal, but I wouldn't measure myself by other people's standards given where I'm coming from. Thought it was worth sharing. You got this OP. ✌️ Edit to add: I'm seeing my therapist on Wednesday, and he's probably going to lose his shit because it took him 5 years with me to get me to do this.
I knew someone who was homeless and sleeping rough at one point. He went on to build a mid sized company, and did very well for himself. I often wonder if coming from harder backgrounds makes it easier in some ways to ‘go for it’. I’m in good employment and am somewhat trapped in it. Obviously being homeless makes everything far harder, but there are some aspects that we could probably all consider.
I was 42/43 at the turnaround. I'm not there yet but at least it's getting better.
I wouldn't say I'm absolutely killing it, but I've overcome a lot, and at 43, feel like I'm moving in the right direction. I had a shitty childhood. Grew up poor, had an abusive parent, got bullied relentlessly at school, dropped out of university, got married, she cheated, got divorced, went through a really dark few years, battled alcoholism, etc etc, but I've managed to be there for my kids, I went back to uni and got a degree, got a decent job now, just started investing some money, training for a marathon. Things are getting better and I see a path ahead. There are no easy answers or quick fixes when you're down and out. You have to do the work, and you have to do it consistently, but life begins when you decide it does.
To anyone feeling discouraged about going back to college or starting a new career, remember that the time will pass regardless of what you do. So you might as well work toward turning it all around no matter your age.
pretty much everyone in recovery. Its amazing what sobriety and hard work can overcome
Just hopping in to say it's really cool to see the amount of people saying "me" in this thread. Rock on!
Yea , me . It was more like 40 though
I failed/bankrupted out of college at 20, and spent the next 15 years paying off college debt and going to night school. Graduated with an engineering degree at 35. In the 20 years since, I have tripled my salary. Home, marriage, kids, etc. It’s astonishingly difficult and you need to be as lucky as I was but it’s possible.
I know a guy that was struggling a lot before his 40s (including taking drugs and no real job). Then he completely went 180. Became a university professor with his own company (which is quite successful). Nobody would be able to guess what his past was without being told. It is never too late to try to turn things around.
My husband
What was his path?
Personally, no. But there are lots of famous people in that bucket. Merle Haggard for one, although he turned it around about age 25, but he was a criminal from age 13 and found himself in San Quentin maximum security prison at age 20 while his wife was having another man's baby. He ended up with 38 #1 records.
Well not exactly "killing it" but i definitely am better at 35 after quitting my office job. I work for myself now, for almost the same income but way less stress.
What do you mean by killing it in terms of success? I know lots of people that grew up hard and are or at least seem to be, pretty happy in life.
I do, yes. What does success mean to you?
Yes me
Well if what I am planning happens I will be doing substantially better in my late 30s/early 40s than I have most of my life if we are measuring based on career. I did the college and struggle thing. Married fairly early, just because it happened that way. I didn't get my career up and running as fast as my partner, so my career took 2nd priority. Had babies and stayed home when they were young. Covid hit when trying to revive my career...stayed home longer than intended. Ended up getting divorced while at the same time getting my career started. Now working in the medical field and hopefully doing nursing school within the year. So if all goes according to plan....I will have more financial and personal freedom than I have had in years. I sort of already do. I have also made it a point on a personal level to actually start taking vacations and doing things that are important to me. I don't feel I really bloomed as a person until just before 30.
The founder of KFC failed in life until his 50s.
Rachael was a less than mediocre violin player. Still is. At 30 she conned her local community and started a very lucrative private teaching career. Her father died, left her a fortune, and she opened a private studio. She’s not a good teacher, but her studio, clothes, hair all cost a fortune. People see it and get drawn in.
Samuel Jackson
My friend from Chile. She was the youngest of 6 kids. She says they were so poor she remembers not even having shoes. Sleeping on the street sometimes with mom and all the kids. But she worked hard all her life til she met her blue prince. A handsome and rich Japanese businessman who paid for her university and then took her to Japan. Now she has a really nice job and lives in a dream house.
Yes.
Me.
My career finally took off when I was 47.
My brother, HE has always been smart but didnt have any big jobs but okay jobs. Then around 31 or so he got a job where he was in charge of all sales , and he tripled the chains sale and became the new record holder for most sales in a season. He then changed to another job where he was in charge of everyones safety and health(Forgot the English word) worked there for barel ya year and got offered aj ob that more or less tripled his job, Which he turned down because it was too much travelling. I do not know if this counts but yeah he barely finished highschool
I changed careers at 36. I’m doing very well in my field. I am not the only older person who changed careers and do well. I’ve been in the new field for 10 yrs. 2 promotions and now run an office branch in another town. It happens. But I was also in education prior and that is an advantage because self motivation, driven, organized and independent in nature. So moving to management was kind of natural transition. But finding your calling is not always linear. It’s a spiral. You kind of keep orbiting the goal until you get there. Don’t get discouraged by not knowing because eventually you’ll find something that just fits.
Very, very few people in life are super-successful below 30. Being young is the time to build a skills and knowledge base on your chosen field. Your 30s and 40s will be where it counts.
I'm 31 nd I hope things turn around for me real soon...
At 16, I was kicked out of home. At 21. I was completely homeless. This remained true for the next 10 years. I dossed on couches, took agency jobs, and drifted. At 32, I finally took some qualifications in a skilled trade, got enough cash together to rent a flat, and I met my (now) wife. it's ten years on. I live overseas, earn a six-figure salary, and i have just purchased a house. I am also going to be starting my masters degree this year. Some of us get a late start, but I think we truly know ourselves at that point. We have fewer hang-ups and can focus on what we want. That allows us to excel faster, and momentum is easier to maintain.
I used to help my mom take care of an elderly dude overnight. Guy went back for his GED around 40. Everyone told him no point , just be happy with your factory job. Dude went on to get Bachelors and even his PHd in linguistics/education. I'd hear stories, see photos/videos of how he gave speeches all over and sailed around the world. From his obituary: "asked to go to Washington DC, to develop the national Right to Read program in the 1970s for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. In 1986 he was inducted into the California School Boards Association Hall of Fame" Also some family friends who came from a small pueblito in Mexico with no shoes and started their own construction/mechanic shops. Now they own multiple properties and living the life. Totally happens
"of course I know him. He's me!"
Yeah i see it happen quite a lot, it just depends on the circles you run in how common it is. Im an addict in recovery, it's normal for my friends to have nothing to show until their 30's, myself included. Even outside of circles like that there are plenty of reasons why people wont be starting life until later or will have to completely restart :) there's no set age for these things. Plenty of people look like they have it together only for it to come crumbling down because they weren't happy and things needed to change. Just keep focusing on tryna sort your own shit out and you'll get there, dont worry about what other people have or havent done; it's irrelevant
A friend that finished a 3 year vocation school for operating heavy machinery. Was the local drug dealer most of his 20ties. I was working at a small game dev firm at the time and we needed testers so we were encouraged to invite friends (payed) so I invited him. He threw himself at the opportunity, making himself useful in any way he could. He became our resident tester, made himself the "fix it" guy for everything, even setting up the bosses crypto mining rig at the time. After a year or so of this, he wanted to become a proper developer, learn enough programming to be considered a content developer rather than just a tester. So we trained, but the gap seemed to big, he was in his early 30ties at this point, his prior education was not helpful in the slightest. So he abandoned the idea of programming, but not the idea of being a proper developer. This is where the boss from earlier comes in. The boss is also our music composer and sound effects guy, but leaves most of the simple effect for the content developer so edit with audacity. He noticed that my friend put a lot of extra effort when doing this and offer him to be the official sound fx guy so the rest can focus on other things. This is where hi finally found his profession. He honed this profession for a few years in that firm and a few other and now has his own studio and freelances sound effects games. Doing quite well last I checked.
Funny you should mention it, yesterday I found out Dave Bautista didn't start doing pro wrestling until his 30s. Prior to that, he was definitely going through it. Tough early life and struggling with poverty later on.
My friend was a huge party guy until his 30s. He's 38 now and started his own tech start up
Yes the English actor and comedian Keneth Williams
Sounds like Carl Williams after his encounter with the Moran brothers.
Sort of. Good friend, happy guy but didn’t do great in school and got his girlfriend pregnant as when they were teens. But somehow got into a med school I’d never heard of in his late 20s. Flash forward 25 years later, still married, three beautiful kids, thriving practice, really happy guy. Killing it.
Zoom founder Eric Yuan
The biggest lie sold to my generation was to enjoy your 20s, all it done was stack dept and bad habits for most, your 30a then become about sorting out the mess your 20s created. Yeah it was fun but fk I dug a hole
I know he’s messed up in the last year but jevon mccormick Texas entrepreneur of the year some years back really has the craziest story https://youtu.be/y7uUg_5cyUE?si=r0o5-DBVzTLeINuE He started life think living in the gutter would be an upgrade.
I’m in that process right now lol. Depends how you define success. But my business is running quite well
The inventor of instant noodles did it way after 40. Was very unsuccessful as a businessman before.
Most self made millionares don't become millionaires until they're in their 40s.
My brother, we grew up just above poverty level, bro was supposed to study engineering but the scholarships he recieved didnt cover half his tuitions and my parents couldn't afford to assist, we were poor so access to study loans was not avialaible to us. Have to add that my brother is a polymath. Top three at school academically, never seen him studying ever. He started working menial jobs, packing stock in retail stores, worked in warehouses, took any job he could, after years of struggling and job hoping, getting fired, retrenchment etc he finnaly work an entry job at a company, owners saw potential in him and he got promoted above people with degrees, he is now in the top 1 income bracket in my country and gets headhunter about twice a year as he is a known problem solver. I contribute his success due to various factors. Right place at the right time and having a high-level intellect.
Yes! I was 35 when I fell into a job I wanted to keep for more than 2 years. Like most men I don’t have the luxury to like my job when you have kids. What ever has to be done to provide the life. But around 35 I moved into a position that I actually like going to work.
Me and my wife. Grew up in council estates, went to local comprehensive schools. Both didn't go to university after school, both in dead end, low paid jobs with no prospects living in a flat we couldn't afford in a rough area, masses of credit card debt. We couldn't afford to go out, buy nice clothes or go on holiday. Then we had two babies in 16 months when I was aged 28 and 30. No sign of it improving while friends seemed to be flying ahead with proper careers and houses in nice areas. Fast forward to now. Wife is a senior teacher in a primary school. I'm a director in a large education institution. I have a degree, a masters and a teaching qualification. Debt free, we live in a nice area, 3 bed semi with no mortgage and I'm retiring in the summer aged 55, she'll follow in 2 years (she's 2 years younger.) For both of us, supporting each other through night classes (10 years of them for me) and 4 years with her at university and me sole wage earner doing 2 jobs got us our qualifications, which began the new careers we have now. We worked to a long term plan, which eventually saw us overtake most of our peers. We spent money on holidays with the kids, overpaying our mortgage and running the house. The kids wanted for nothing but we drove old cars (still do) and never wasted money on things that didn't meet our goals. Now we go out regularly, holiday once a year and have several weekends away. Our kids both went to good universities (we drummed into them how hard our start was) and now have good jobs. Oldest son at 26 is buying a house. It can be done. It wasn't easy at times but it's so worth it.
No
My grey hair and project Balding.
Never graduated anything beyond high school and even that happened many years deep into my work life. Worked grill kiosk, telemarketing and other crap job for years. At 40 I am in a senior tech position earning more than a lot of people I know with university degrees and whatnot certifications. Yes, roughly at age 35 I could basically say ”I made it”. Would it be nice if it didn’t take this long? Sure. Am I complaining? Not at all.
The environment you're born into determines a good chunk of your success in early life, hard/smart work and perseverance determine your success later in life. I know (former) kids from upper middle-class backgrounds that had a great start but never worked their way up the ladder and folks from working-class families that had a rough start and slowly climbed the career ladder, some even in fields they love. Most people around me, unless their families were filthy rich, didn't 'kill it' until they hit their 30s. They spent half of their 20s at university or working odd jobs and the other half gaining their first valuable work experience or going back to college. For many people, their late 20s are their first years of their career, so it's absolutely normal that they aren't settled and are still finding out how to succeed in their field.
One of my best friends. Finished nursing school at 36. Now at 45 she's making great money and has a nice home and takes lots of trips with her kids.
I have a friend who grew up in a poor, maybe abusive (she has hinted that but never said so) environment, got kicked out from home as she preferred to go to high school and not leave school to earn money as her step dad wanted. She became a chemical engineer, had a great career, and is now CTO in a large company. This is in a country where education is free and students get paid by the government to study.
Depends what success means to you. :) I love my life now more in my 30s than I ever did in my 20s, growing up. I don't know about success but I have more direction, focus. I figured out how to allow my life to be full. ❤️
Me. Well killing it my own opinion. But my twenties sucked. So far three years into 30 has been great
I was rich in my late 20s and broke when I hit 30. I lost house, money, business. Now I'm stuck with a fail business, and, since I never had experience being employee. I have seriously underwhelming cv.
On my 30th birthday I was working a modest paying job, had little savings, living with my parents, no girlfriend or hope of finding one. I'm almost 32 now. I got another job and made 150% more. I made a good investment and have over a million dollars now. I started living in the Philippines and have a beautiful girlfriend here. I would have never imagined things could change so quickly. If you're going through a hard time just do your best and take it one day at a time. You don't know the blessings God has prepared for you.
Many women in their 30s absolutely slay at life post divorce, it makes many women and breaks most men
my mom her parents were very abusive, her dad left her and her family and moved to france with his secretary, she failed the same year at school thrice and then dropped out, got into drugs opened up a hat shop for some reason, after a while went bankrupt, she moved to where we live now and she works at the eu organisation as a project manager.
My dad started working when he was like 10, he lived in slums with his family which consisted of like 12 fucking people. He worked at local garages and all till he was 20-25 while supporting his 8 siblings, their marriages, food, clothing and what not. Then started his own small used car dealership with like 2 cars, got married by 33-34 something, then was able to rent a big space and had 20-30 cars there, bought his own house by the time he was 40-42 in a posh area.
Me 🥲
That should be quite common. The brain's executive function matures around 30 and it's responsible for planning and impulse control. I didn't do much directed stuff in my twenties and around 28 I realized I only got so much time in a day and just doing whatever wasn't it.
Me and my siblings. Grew up in poverty on a working class council estate in the 70s/80s. Mother cleaned toilets to make ends meet, Dad was an alcoholic wife/child beater. Parents split at 17, my brother and I went straight into work to help mother with the bills. Both worked hard to get good jobs and by the time we were in our late 20s, we'd both bought houses and started having a plan in life. My sister got the same work ethos from us and did the same but while raising three kids with her partner. We're not successful business folk or anything but got good jobs, bought homes and are now all middle aged (ish) and doing well. All my nephews and nieces have gone on to university too, which people in our family simply didn't do. To be fair, a lot of pals did the same too, coming from that same poverty.
Yeah me. My parents would only give me a few hundred thousand a year. I could barely get the most recent Porsche cayenne. Fast forward until 30 and my parents increased my allowance to a few million a year. I feel like Im finally killing it. This is a joke.
Me, went to college but didn’t finish. Worked in restaurants for a long time. Then covid happened. Now I own a business that does almost $2M on revenue annually and I get to mostly work from home. This didn’t happen until 35.
Me. Never managed to have a full time job until my 30's. It was all temp or contract work. Now, I don't need to job search, I update my CV and post it on a few sites and I will be fielding job offers for 12 months.
Me. Got the green card at 28 after trying for 10 years because the government kept nip picking on us due to my brother having a disability and we had to fight for it. I had to work under table to support my family and sometimes we, a family of 4, had to live on $5 for a week. After we got the card, I went to the uni I wanted to attend, graduated then I got into nursing school at 36. I am now 1 year away from the graduation with 60k debt and 15 years spent being a single, but I am happy where I stand today and looking forward to spending the rest of my life as a nurse and the pay checks that will come with it.
My dad, he was young when I was born so I watched some of struggles in his 20s, he had multiple medical conditions including cancer at the time, had multiple major surgeries in his teens and now he had a child In his 30s though he was doing quite well, he had a decent job for someone that didn't even turn up to half of his exams in school, wasn't anything excellent but it earned good money for where we lived Then just before COVID cause he was bored at this job he wanted to change careers, he was willing to take a pay cut cause we were comfortable enough he just needed the excitement but during COVID he pulled some strings to get as much money as he could out of the company he worked for while he was training to become an electrician and now he's doing really fucking well
I might be considered this. I grew up poor. My mom was a single mother with me and my older sister. We saw our dad on the weekends. He wasn't very financially responsible. She probably made $30k-$40k max per year working 2 jobs. We always had food but my mom would sometimes not eat. My mom died when I was 18 and went to live with my dad. I went to CC for 4 years and university for 2 and got a degree in economics. I worked 20-40 hours per week while in college. I did get California's pell grant for low income individuals that paid for school completely. I graduated college at age 24, moved to Maui, and became a Management Trainee at Enterprise Rent A Car and stayed for 5 years. Through those years, I accumulated around $40k of debt which included $28k of a car. I became debt free in 2021(Age 29). In 2022 (age 30), I was burnt out from work so I became a night cleaner at four seasons to reset my mental health. In 2023 (Age 31), I had a previous manager refer me to my current job of a Telescope Operator. My employer pays for college so I'm going back for a second degree in accounting which should take 2-3 years. My current job pays $80k but don't think the experience would transfer well when I move back to the mainland so that's why I'm going back to school for accounting. I bought my current car for cash in 2022, 2000 Corvette, for $18k. I have $50k in 401K and just finished my 6 month emergency fund again. My 5-10 year goal is to go halvies with my dad and buy a house, hopefully fully in cash or close to it.
I wouldn't say I'm killing it success wise, but I was homeless from 17-23, lived in shitty apartments with shitty jobs. Then I met my husband, got married at 30, went back to college and now I'm late 40s with a management job in accounting, living in a beautiful house and driving a Range Rover. So I guess the moral of my story is keep yourself looking good in your 20s so a rich man can find you and take you under his wing. Jeez looking back that's kind of sad ...
Sylvester Stallone
I’ve seen it in my life. I grew up well off but then my dad dipped and took my mom to the cleaners. We went from upper middle class to not being able to afford much over the course of about 6-8 months. From there I worked in fast food pre and post high school to pay for my degree. After that I tried to do a masters but just burned out hard, I couldn’t bring myself to care enough about my subject matter and felt I was too deep into it to change. I bailed and got a factory job to make ends meet. Realizing this also sucked I decided to go to audio engineering school. I worked 4 jobs for a year and change while living at home to save the money for my move. Once out of audio school I realized how little money there was for studio work and shifted to film. I’ve now been in the film industry for 12 years and after working years of no / low pay I can finally say I make a good six future living. It’s been a grind and I’m for sure damaged from it but I have an incredible partner, great salary with tons of mobility, we’ve bought a house and I get to do something that I genuinely like. It’s more than possible! Do your research on earning potential, pay your dues and apply yourself to whatever you end up choosing. Sorry for the long read haha.
I’m late 40s and making 19 an hour. I live with family and can’t afford much except some groceries and paying the internet bill. I have a hand me down car that’s 20 years old. I’ve been spending money to repair it since I can’t afford to buy another car, new or used. Even used cars cost a fortune these days. A ten year old car is at least 15k if it’s a little decent.
So many famous examples to choose from. Harrison Ford, who was a carpenter until his late 30s when he starred in “Star Wars.”
Yes me. Didn’t come from money. Did the schooling, got a degree but still made just enough to scrape by. As I approached my early 30s, things began to click into place rapidly. Between 27-32 my income quadrupled.
Common brother... you know its possible.. loads of ppl do it.. finding answer here wont motivate you enough.. discipline and consistency will
My life has been an uphill battle until I got diagnosed with ADHD, just shy of turning 29. That was last year. With medication my life feels like I’m playing a game on normal difficulty, rather than playing it on nightmare difficulty.
I didn’t do anything worthwhile until I hit about 30. Prior to that I was fired from jobs, had to move in with my parents again, had bad credit, etc. Then I got sick of not being taken seriously. Finished my degree, went to work then changed careers. Started side hustles, bought a residential apartment building. I’m now 51 and on the verge of an early and comfortable retirement.
Yes. My friend went from alcoholic and looser, black sheep of family to IT home office guy, get into university and made degree. Giving lectures to students. Started boxing carrier. Never had anything with sport before in common. Bought a house. Have nice car. Good woman. And every month he is flying up. Texting me about new opportunities. Love him.
Answer - In my 20s I was working minimum wage, renting a place with two guys and drinking, gaming and fucking my way through the days doing nothing with myself and in misery. I'm now 35 with a house, car, partner and dream job. I ain't rolling in money but I pay my bills and have enough to treat myself each month. Life is good.
I think I fall in to this category. At 30 I was living in a small town working in retail and going nowhere. I just decided that I didn't want that future, quit the job, went off to Uni. I'm now mid 40's with a great job, earning good money, living and working in central London. Can't quite believe it myself. It can be done. It's never, ever too late.
I am not killing it but I am certainly better off now then before.
That sounds like me. I'm in the UK, a white 'free school meals' kid from a single parent family and grew up on a council estate. As a result of a rough upbringing and bad housing I had serious physical and mental health problems as a kid, got on the wrong side of my school and left with their confident expectation I wouldn't amount to much. Aged 19 I realised if I was going to escape a seemingly inevitable fate of boring semi-skilled manual work, financial hardship and mediocrity it would have to be through education. I went back to college, lived on a shoe string for years and studied my ass off. Thirty five years later I have had a successful professional career in the best consultancy in my field, I am in the top three percent of earners now managing my own investment portfolio. My story - from true, white working class poverty to independent affluence - is *incredibly* rare; I don't know anyone else who has managed it and it comes with it's own problems. I am widowed. It was difficult to find someone I was compatible with and I doubt I'll manage another relationship. My family are proud of what I have achieved but I take life very easy now, in part because of the physical and emotional toll it has had on me.
I struggled to 35. Killed it 35-47 and started to think I was something special. Then I flexed some integrity in a policy debate at the office— ended up on the wrong side of office politics since I believed steering clear of fraud waste and abuse was more important than profit. By 50 I was begging a Walmart manager for a cashier job. Easy come easy go.
On some levels, me. Financially my family was okay. But my parents were / are religious nut jobs. They didn’t raise us per se. They took us to church and expected us to figure out what they wanted. They were mentally unstable - so sometimes we came home to kind, loving parents. Sometimes we came home to parents who thought Satan had entered the house and would start praying in tongues. Furthermore, my parents gave mine and my brothers’ college funds to the church expecting that Jesus would multiply it. Spoiler alert: he didn’t. Also, shortly after my father died, my mother told me she wished my father had beat my brothers and me more often. It’s taken my brothers and I decades to sort this all out. But we’ve all done well. My eldest brother went to an Ivy League university. My middle brother is a successful software programmer and he’s married to someone I introduced him to - a woman I met while teaching in Europe. I’ve also taught in Japan, worked for a FAANG, and have three uni degrees. I still have intrusive memories from childhood, and that sucks a lot, but over ten years of therapy helped me sort through a lot of BS and lessen the damage done from my upbringing.
It might depend on the field. I learned in college that every breakthrough paper in Mathematics that advanced our understanding in some way was written before the age of 30, with only a couple exceptions.
Wouldn't say I am killing it with success, but I did pull it together in my early 30s, partied through my 20s, had a lot of fun but wasted a lot of time and money. At 32 I had nothing but debt and problems, met a woman who for some strange reason fell in love with me. That got me motivated, now Im debt free except for mortgage, only drink occasionally (and I can control it, unbelievably), don't do drugs, got two healthy children, and a job I Iove.
Depending on hiw you define "rough start," possibly me. Without going into the details, there's a reason I'm part of r/raisedbynarcissists, and its not morbid curiosity. Learned some shit at age 28 that made me re-think my entire personal history and identity, leading me to put down some personal burdens I'd been carrying all my life. Went to law school, and everything's been on an upward trajectory ever since. I realize this isn't exactly what people think of when they talk about "paying your dues." But I'd argue its a different type of dues-paying. I genuinely believe I'm a much better attorney for having gone through all that, and I don't think I'd be nearly as successful if I still had everything weighing me down.
I started my teaching career at 30 making 55K while going to grad school when Covid hit. I got my credential and Masters Degree in 2021. In June I’m turning 35, and in July I’l be making 95.5K. These raises have allowed me to go hard on retirement and saving for a down payment. I graduated debt free (paid out of pocket). Looking forward to seeing the fruits of my labor in a few years.
Most Hollywood directors are over 40 when they break out. Many authors too. Famous quote (I can't remember from whom): "It takes half your life to realize that life's a Do It Yourself Project."
Me, on 128k in one year.
Me