Career choices

[Crusader1986]

So I'm in a bit of a dilemma.  I'm a private music teacher and although I enjoy my job I'm not sure I want to this for my entire life.  The reason for this is money. Although financially i'm doing ok, in the future I'd like to be in the position where I'm able to support a wife and kids, earning enough money to have a comfortable lifestyle, being able to afford top medical care for myself and my family etc and I'm not sure that being a music teacher is going to cut it. Which brings me to my next question...If I'm unable to earn enough as a teacher do I change profession and choose a career solely for the pay check? People say if you just do it for the money it's a recipe for a disaster but then again people go into banking just for the money, and for a number of them things end up turning out ok. I'm in my early 30s, would be willing to go back to university so commitment, time and money wouldn't be an issue. I just want to make the right decision.  The question I guess is is it ok to just do it for the money?  I'm also considering going down the path of accounting but considering that many of those jobs will be automated during next 20-30 years i may need to consider other options. Also i've got an interest in computer programming/web development but would the salary be high enough?

 

Or maybe I should just stick to what I'm doing and enjoy, and try and land a gig teaching at a prestigious college/school etc. Your feedback would be much appreciated, I could do with some guidance.

[Boss]

1 hour ago, Crusader1986 said:

So I'm in a bit of a dilemma.  I'm a private music teacher and although I enjoy my job I'm not sure I want to this for my entire life.  The reason for this is money. Although financially i'm doing ok, in the future I'd like to be in the position where I'm able to support a wife and kids, earning enough money to have a comfortable lifestyle, being able to afford top medical care for myself and my family etc and I'm not sure that being a music teacher is going to cut it. Which brings me to my next question...If I'm unable to earn enough as a teacher do I change profession and choose a career solely for the pay check? People say if you just do it for the money it's a recipe for a disaster but then again people go into banking just for the money, and for a number of them things end up turning out ok. I'm in my early 30s, would be willing to go back to university so commitment, time and money wouldn't be an issue. I just want to make the right decision.  The question I guess is is it ok to just do it for the money?  I'm also considering going down the path of accounting but considering that many of those jobs will be automated during next 20-30 years i may need to consider other options. Also i've got an interest in computer programming/web development but would the salary be high enough?

 

Or maybe I should just stick to what I'm doing and enjoy, and try and land a gig teaching at a prestigious college/school etc. Your feedback would be much appreciated, I could do with some guidance.

"The question I guess is is it ok to just do it for the money?"

Well, I wouldn't say you are doing it just for the money, Money is more like a tool, its used to get something done. What you want to be done is more important than the money. Like If the goal is to build a house, I may need some tools but im not getting the tools just for the tools, I'm getting the tools to build a house. So I wouldn't say you are just doing it just for the money, but rather doing it for as you said  

"I'd like to be in the position where I'm able to support a wife and kids, earning enough money to have a comfortable lifestyle, being able to afford top medical care for myself and my family etc"

As far as career choices, sure you can change. But if its just for more money I don't think that is needed. Have you tried expanding your music teaching with online music courses to reach more people? I don't know much about music teaching but I did a quick search and found this person who sold this course teaching piano which has over 85k people enrolled. He made well over a million dollars for sure.
https://www.udemy.com/pianoforall-incredible-new-way-to-learn-piano-keyboard/

If you have any free time you can try that out. I am a retired entrepreneur and have coached many people so I have a pretty bias way of thinking. But I believe you can become a millionaire selling almost anything. There is a famous story of a guy becoming a millionaire selling pet rocks lol that is an extreme case, but, if you are a good music teacher, you can at the very least make a comfortable income selling your music teachings. 

[Wuzzums]

Why not go with the Patreon/YouTube route?

There are a lot of teenagers who want to learn how to play an instrument so there's certainly a market for it. The trick is getting to that market and now it's far easier to do that than it ever was.

As far as changing career paths, there are 2 phrases that pop to mind:

(1) Do what you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life... because nobody will pay you.

(2) Do what you love because if you don't you'll never work hard at it and there's no such thing as success without hard work.

The latter is a Dan Pena (businessman) mindset. His key to success is just do it. Work 20h a day and you'll make it but you won't be able to work 20h a day unless it's something you love.

 

I'm in my late 20s and changed career paths. I'm not successful but I'm still at it because going back is not an option for me. I can go back but I won't. I simply can't picture myself living that life again. Even if I were paid 100x more I would probably go back, work for 1 year, then quit and do what I'm doing now.

You also mentioned having a family. In my situation the person that I was working a typical job was way different than the person I am now doing what I love and I have to say that the former is not someone that would have a happy marriage/family. I learned it the hard way but there are objective ways to test if an accounting job is a good fit for you for example. Things like big 5 personality traits, and the creativity test are what pop into mind.

[barn]

Hi @Crusader1986

I'm gonna be blunt (told/keep telling myself the same)

Are you conscious of the simple yet unchangeable fact (strong and serious voice) "That you are DIEING?!"

If you need a lengthier version, make sure you watch this a couple of times :

Sincerely, hope you follow up accordingly,

Barnsley

[ofd]

Quote

Also i've got an interest in computer programming/web development but would the salary be high enough?

What have you learned so far?
You can become a certified LPIC admin by learning a lot on the subject and then taking a test. No idea how much that counts where you live, but it's better than nothing. Plus, the books that prepare you for the test aren't that expensive.

 

[Dylan Lawrence Moore]

Read Robert Kiyosaki's book Rich Dad Poor Dad. That should give you a few good starting ideas.

[lorry]

I'm just a guy on the internet, but I don't think you should abandon the years and years of industry knowledge being a music teacher provides without some real thought.

Like, if you have 10 years music experience, can you supplement your skill set so as to allow you to draw upon your musical knowledge in some new context? Say you are interested in programming, in your area is there a demand for programmers who work on musical problems? If not, can you move?

Or, if you have the head for numbers required for accountancy, have you considered a role in data analysis (again analyzing musical problems?). An analysis role might be a better fit because, ordinarily, you interact with technology at a higher level and there a lot of communicating and presenting of ideas (10 years teaching, eh?). Again, are there data analysis jobs working on musical problems in your area? If there are not, can you move? If not, have you considered skilling up and applying said skill set to musical problems in a teaching format online? Or developing a youtube channel wherein you do analysis on music (pop?) an ongoing basis, or something? Is there a market for a specialist music analytical consultant? (I bet there is)

I don't know why the "just for the money" is a thing. I think the problem to solve is I have all this expertise in this area which I am really passionate about, what skill can I learn that will enable me to translate this expertise into more value for other people.

Again, I am just a guy on the internet. Everything I said is in the context of just a guy on the internet reading a paragraph and projecting myself onto said paragraph.

[Crusader1986]

Thanks for the advice everyone, much appreciated and it's a lot of help!  I guess that yes I have so much knowledge and experience in music and teaching that giving it all up for a completely different career could be a very unwise move especially considering that I could use the free market and the internet to try and make a greater income just by thinking a little bit outside the box, instead of starting from scratch in a completely different direction.  I guess that i'm already maybe a bit of an entrepreneur as i've been able to make some money out of teaching music as a self employed guy so going down the full on entrepreneur route and coming up with a plan for a business idea that would give value to society in the area of music would probably be the perfect decision especially as I already have much knowledge and expertise in music which gives me a natural head start.

 

Also regarding doing what you love, Dan Pena's idea makes complete sense. If you do what you love for a living then I guess doing it for 14 hours a day would not be a drain on your brain as you love what you're doing so much. And if you do it for 14 hours a day, it wouldn't take you long to get really good at what it is you're doing and find a way to make a living out of it. Seeing how a lot of it would be trial and error, yes you'd fail many times but seeing how you'd be piling so many hours into what it is you're doing, the odds of you finally getting it right and making a breakthrough would be multiplied and success made more likely.

[barn]

Yellow,

Sounds like you've made up your mind. Wishing you all the best!

Barnsley

[Crusader1986]

Yes I've definitely decided. However with the online teaching courses I'm wondering as to what is the best option? Would it be more marketable to sell my course as an ebook? Or just as a basic website (which you pay for membership to gain access to of course)?  However I am thinking of tackling and going all out on all options.  The last couple of days one thing I've been thinking is that one good way I could utilise all my skills to provide value to the world (and make more money) would be to not only go for the online guitar course, but to produce ebooks on how to play (to cater for the kindle users) and paperback books for those who don't have access to the internet or who are just more old school. One question I have to ask is would it be a good idea to present exactly the same product/course for multiple platforms eg ebooks, online website, paperback books, dvd's to appeal to as many users/platforms as possible? Or would it be wiser to have different products/courses for different platforms eg jazz guitar part 1 in ebook form, heavy metal guitar shred masterclass part 1 for DVD, Blues guitar in the style of the greats in paperback plus CD, The Ultimate guide to playing guitar complete beginner to advanced Pro in the form of an online membership course?

 

Also I've got a bit of know how in how to use HTML and CSS but i'm completely clueless in how to operate JavaScript. And as I'm still a bit of a novice in how to code and build a website I have no idea how to construct multiple pages and get them all linked together. I assume JavaScript would take care of that but I'm not sure. My 3 questions would be 1)What part of computer programming takes care of creating and linking different pages? You know, when you go to the top of this forum page and click on the Videos bar and it takes you to the videos section for example. And 2)What are the best online courses that teach you how to do all this stuff? Also as I still need how to learn how to operate JavaScript what are the best courses I can sign up to on the internet which will teach me how to learn Java? I'm currently using codepen.io and codeacademy which are great for learning and practicing HTML and CSS but no sign I'll be able to learn and practice JavaScript so would be good to know where else I can go to learn how to use JavaScript. Thanks!

[lorry]

1 hour ago, Crusader1986 said:

Yes I've definitely decided.

However with the online teaching courses I'm wondering as to what is the best option? Would it be more marketable to sell my course as an ebook? Or just as a basic website (which you pay for membership to gain access to of course)? 

However I am thinking of tackling and going all out on all options.  The last couple of days one thing I've been thinking is that one good way I could utilise all my skills to provide value to the world (and make more money) would be to not only go for the online guitar course, but to produce ebooks on how to play (to cater for the kindle users) and paperback books for those who don't have access to the internet or who are just more old school.

One question I have to ask is would it be a good idea to present exactly the same product/course for multiple platforms eg ebooks, online website, paperback books, dvd's to appeal to as many users/platforms as possible? Or would it be wiser to have different products/courses for different platforms eg jazz guitar part 1 in ebook form, heavy metal guitar shred masterclass part 1 for DVD, Blues guitar in the style of the greats in paperback plus CD, The Ultimate guide to playing guitar complete beginner to advanced Pro in the form of an online membership course?

 

My dude, please consider a call to Stefan and have a convo.

 

Again. I am a dude on the internet projecting myself. I don't know what you should do, because I don't know you, but there is some information in your posts and I have something of an idea about myself.

 

You have a business. This is awesome, well played. But, how is it that you are currently making business decisions? Are you gathering information and analyzing it so as to predict the most likely outcome of your decisions? Or are you somewhat flying by the seat of your pants, throwing stuff out there, and seeing what sticks? Have you actually measured your business and empirically proven that it is not viable (so as to support a family)? And what exactly does viable mean in your context? $50k? $100k? If not, how do you know that you can't be a "successful" music teacher or run a music teaching business? Like, is your music teaching optimized such that you are actually maximizing your potential as a self employed teacher? Are you targeting higher paying customers? Do you have different prices? What does your churn rate look like? What do your customers look like? Where do they live? Is there a difference in churn between customers based on where they live?

Dude, there are so many questions. I don't want to snow you in, but have you answered them, or are you running on intuition? And it is OK if you are running on intuition and know you are running on intuition, but you have to know, eh?

 

A few to consider:

------------

Am I running on intuition or am I measuring things empirically?

In my context, what is the definition of success (how much money do I need)?

If I am running on intuition, what is required to measure things empirically?

If I am running on intuition, and I don't have the skill to measure things empirically, what is required to gain the skill to measure things empirically?

------------

Given the skills to measure things empirically.....

What is the current state of my business and am I maximizing the profitability of my business as it exists currently?

If I am not maximizing the profitability of my business, what choices can I make differently and what is required to inform those choices?

If I made those choices, what difference would it make relative to attaining my goal?

------------

 

Full blown projection time?

Call in and chat to Stef if you can.

Define what you mean by success.

(Super projection starts here) Learn business analysis. You have a business, it behooves you to be able to make informed business decisions. Incidentally, this is a very, very, very valuable skill. Every single question you are asking, is a business analysis question. Every. Single. One.

Once you know business analysis. Optimize the shit out of your business (and record every thing you do as a project, write it up in log books and reports and publish that online somewhere, a blog or something).

Once you have optimized, measure your business and prove it can't achieve your goals.

If you can't, then consider the youtubes and the ebooks and what not, but again, measure it, research it, prove it. (I just looked, there are alot of teaching music youtube channels, not to say you can't do it better, but fucking stiff competition).

After all that, then look to using your music skills and your analysis skills. Can you provide analysis to other self employed creative types? (you speak their language after all, right?)

Do you want to build on your analysis skills in a musical context (can you analysis a song and predict it's chances for success? or who will buy it? or what emotions it will evoke?) You could (possibly) dominate these kinds of problems because you have so much musical experience to draw on that you will intuit a lot.

 

Again. I do not know you. So I am projecting myself onto what you wrote.

 

 

[barn]

Dear @Crusader1986

 

2 hours ago, Crusader1986 said:

Yes I've definitely decided. However with t

 

It's perfectly normal to be curious. Aiming indefinitely isn't...

Do stuff, make mistakes and you'll discard some of your current doubts in the step by step process of getting things done.

Looking forward to hearing of your battles and conquers man! Enough thinking!

Barnsley

 

[meetjoeblack]

On 11/13/2017 at 8:21 PM, Crusader1986 said:

So I'm in a bit of a dilemma.  I'm a private music teacher and although I enjoy my job I'm not sure I want to this for my entire life.  The reason for this is money. Although financially i'm doing ok, in the future I'd like to be in the position where I'm able to support a wife and kids, earning enough money to have a comfortable lifestyle, being able to afford top medical care for myself and my family etc and I'm not sure that being a music teacher is going to cut it. Which brings me to my next question...If I'm unable to earn enough as a teacher do I change profession and choose a career solely for the pay check? People say if you just do it for the money it's a recipe for a disaster but then again people go into banking just for the money, and for a number of them things end up turning out ok. I'm in my early 30s, would be willing to go back to university so commitment, time and money wouldn't be an issue. I just want to make the right decision.  The question I guess is is it ok to just do it for the money?  I'm also considering going down the path of accounting but considering that many of those jobs will be automated during next 20-30 years i may need to consider other options. Also i've got an interest in computer programming/web development but would the salary be high enough?

 

Or maybe I should just stick to what I'm doing and enjoy, and try and land a gig teaching at a prestigious college/school etc. Your feedback would be much appreciated, I could do with some guidance.

I find myself in a similar position. Seeking more resources and a better lifestyle but, I realize I've spent a significant portion of my life chasing phantoms (career, women, status, etc). The times are changing. A lot of women are making money. When it comes to dating, LTRs, and marriage, this needs to be considered IMHO. I know a lot of men who had a wife or gf that was career oriented. The sec children come, its bulking season, and its homemaker time. She doesn't return back to work so, the man is then stuck swing for the fences to bring home the bacon. I think its ideal to have one income assuming you make high income. If she works a shitty job, it doesn't offset what is being lost from child care.

 

I think entrepreneurial ventures are ideal. If you can find a way to take what you are intrinsically talented at, put to use your skills, and interests in such a way, you can turn a profity; this is the lane to get into. I know a man who left a corporate job to start a fitness club. He is doing well. By no means rich but, he is not in that rat race of corporate drone anymore. Gary V speaks about getting in whatever lane you are talented at. Peter Drucker always talked about turning your talents into star performorer rather than going from amateur to mediocre.

 

Good luck man. I am sure you are talented enough to problem solve the direction you want your life to go with your family. How does your wife fit into all this?

[Crusader1986]

Haha I have no wife. I'm a single, 30 year old, childless bachelor!

[Crusader1986]

By the way, I've started on my mission to get my online guitar course started. Seeing how I need to learn how to code I've starting using codeacademy and codepen.io to learn and practice how to code. Problem i've now run into is trying to figure out how to set up multiple pages but I'm having big problems in trying to figure out how. Doesn't seem to be possible on codepen.io and the problem with codeacademy is that on the section on html they don't show you how either. What I'm now thinking is should I instead just abandon all this practicing and just go ahead and get my own hosting and domain and then start building my own website with something like wordpress? Or is wordpress even good enough or the right thing to use for starting an online course which people purchase? I would call Stefan for advice on this but it's a show on philosophy, not teaching people how to code so I know it would be the wrong place to go to for advice. 

It's getting very frustrating as I'm totally clueless on learning how to code, and the fact that I know what I want but I don't know how to get what I want because I don't know where to go to find it. Could really do with some advice.

[barn]

2 hours ago, Crusader1986 said:

By the way, I've started on my mission to get my online guitar course started.

 

Sounds good.

Would you stop doing it if I put you in contact with the headhunter of an established private school(dedicated students, generous bonuses, availability to even work some on the side... if you have a private project) ? I speculate you could make even more than if things went OK with your project?

*details later

Barnsley

[barn]

By the by, I am asking you this seriously.

No maybes possible.

Barnsley

[Fashus Maximus]

I agree with everything said from the other users. However, I'd like to answer your question on programming, since no one really addressed this and I'm in the industry.

Can you make a lot of money? Depends on the type of programming you do. It can range from 40k to 400k, and even more if you go the entrepreneurial route. Since you're starting from scratch, it'll take a lot of time before you make much. You'll probably start off doing some debugging, or some basic front end stuff, and you'll be competing with H1B foreigners.

Imo, you'll be better off expanding your music business and use your web skills to help with your online presence.

[Crusader1986]

Barn, no I wouldn't stop doing it if I were given an offer to teach at a private school. If I were given an offer to teach at an established private school I'd be very willing to take up the opportunity to teach at the school, but in my free, spare time I'd put in the hours to make the online guitar course become a reality. So yes I'm also very interested in this teaching position. Whereabouts is this private school based?

[meetjoeblack]

On 11/20/2017 at 8:10 PM, Crusader1986 said:

Haha I have no wife. I'm a single, 30 year old, childless bachelor!

Fantastic. It means you're available.

[meetjoeblack]

8 hours ago, Crusader1986 said:

By the way, I've started on my mission to get my online guitar course started. Seeing how I need to learn how to code I've starting using codeacademy and codepen.io to learn and practice how to code. Problem i've now run into is trying to figure out how to set up multiple pages but I'm having big problems in trying to figure out how. Doesn't seem to be possible on codepen.io and the problem with codeacademy is that on the section on html they don't show you how either. What I'm now thinking is should I instead just abandon all this practicing and just go ahead and get my own hosting and domain and then start building my own website with something like wordpress? Or is wordpress even good enough or the right thing to use for starting an online course which people purchase? I would call Stefan for advice on this but it's a show on philosophy, not teaching people how to code so I know it would be the wrong place to go to for advice. 

It's getting very frustrating as I'm totally clueless on learning how to code, and the fact that I know what I want but I don't know how to get what I want because I don't know where to go to find it. Could really do with some advice.

Stay in your lane. - Gary Vee!

You could pay a solid programmer or student/new grad money to build your site and to code for you. Otherwise, you can half ass it and bump around aimlessly. I remember learning HTML and basic coding languages once upon a time. I was never strong in code. I could reset a password and do basic analyst stuff but, a lot of places wanted to under pay. I tried looking into start-ups and they paid even less so, I changed career paths. If I was a strong programmer, I would have went full throttle at it, accumulated as much exp as I could infield before changing gears with my own endeavors. Peter Drucker speaks of opportunities, ones presented having experience in a particular field say, healthcare, IT, marketing, education, etc. and therefore, one would know the gaps to be filled. Areas of opportunity and money to be had.

Reddit linked 250 free udemy courses, many of which had basic programming, and coding courses. I repeat, free. Search. It might still be available. Again, I think outsourcing it would be better and you can spend more time running the show. Doing what you already do best. I could have tried to continue programming but, why turn amateur programmer into mediocrity? Ideally, its best to stay in my lane, be a star performer doing whatever it is I do best.

[barn]

4 hours ago, Crusader1986 said:

l. If I were given an offer to teach at an established private school I'd be very willing to take up the opportunity to teach at the school, but in my free, spare time I'd put in the hours to make the online guitar course become a reality. S

Full disclosure, I don't have contacts in the music industry, yet. However, I wanted to 'jump the rabbit out of the bush with a hypothetical'.

I wouldn't be surprised if you got upset... not amongst the most gentle ways to find things out.

My theory was that you are maximising obsessively without any true connection to a well defined deep drive, therefore constantly looking for new directions to open towards without ever really discarding anything.

I hypothise that although you have made some progress in moving forward, essentially you are back to square one with the same set of doubts = different but the same hesitation state = no real progress, the way I see it.

And I might be wrong, plus I'm prepared to apologise for my mistakes or withdraw my conclusions if you convince me with reason & evidence.

I wish you to use your potential in the one thing that you really want, not in a myriad of different things that would be / could be / might work.

My source of argument basically are twofold.

1. There's no multitasking in the sense of multiplying your energy, can only allocate a set amount.

2. Why do something sub-par if you can think of something better.

Sincerely,

Barnsley

[barn]

By the by @Crusader1986
, have you watched the video of Stefan Molyneux which I posted to you in this thread?

If so, what are your thoughts on it?

Barnsley

[meetjoeblack]

On 11/14/2017 at 9:24 AM, Dylan Lawrence Moore said:

Read Robert Kiyosaki's book Rich Dad Poor Dad. That should give you a few good starting ideas.

Great book. Audible offers a 30day trail and one free book. I've read it before. Its worth reading a second time.

[barn]

Hi @Crusader1986

I was wondering if you've made any progress you deem noteworthy?

Barnsley

[meetjoeblack]

On ‎11‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 2:02 PM, Crusader1986 said:

It's getting very frustrating as I'm totally clueless on learning how to code, and the fact that I know what I want but I don't know how to get what I want because I don't know where to go to find it. Could really do with some advice.

You would likely be better off learning SEO and marketing all the while, you perfect your craft. You could use Upwork or find a competent comp sci student in his final year begging for an opportunity to make money as well as expand his portfolio. You could be a jack of all trades and a master of none. I commend you on learning programing. I once played with it in high school, mostly HTML, C++, javascript, Java, and some visual basics. I was far from a strong programmer. I could code but, it was like pulling teeth. I did some work as a analyst in I.T. mostly resetting passwords. Likely, I couldn't even do that now given the changes in programs and software. There was no IPOD back then let alone HTML5. 

Learn to market your content, learn SEO, and begin promoting. Look at who your biggest competition is. What are they doing? How much of the market do you need to acquire in order to make this worth the task? Look heavily into content creation. 

Finally, there was a reddit link to 250+ free udemy courses a few months ago. Some were solid. Some had good info on programming, marketing, etc. It would be worth a look to get a idea of a conceptual framework. It will get the motivational juices flowing. 

 

Good luck sir. 

[lorry]

SEO and marketing course

https://eu.udacity.com/course/digital-marketing-nanodegree--nd018

 

Intro to Programming course

https://eu.udacity.com/course/intro-to-programming-nanodegree--nd000

 

Here is what you can do:

Wait until the classroom is a day away from opening.

Sign Up.

Classroom opens, and you spend a day or two copying down all the course materials. PDFs, Links, Structures, Projects, etc.

Once you have all the content, cancel the course (you shouldn't need a refund because there is a 1 week cancellation policy).

Do the course.

Apply it to your business.

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY START A BLOG ON MEDIUM AND TELL US ABOUT IT.

???

Profit.

 

Obviously check the cancellation policy and if you gain from said skills chuck a few quid their way.

[meetjoeblack]

there was a link to like 250+ free udacity courses on reddit FREE> Curious if its still up. Search TS! Many are super basic.