One of the things I wish I had done differently was to not be in such a hurry to rush into a career. For some reason, when I was 22-years old, I felt like I had to figure out what I was supposed to do with my life right away, and that if I didn’t do that, I’d fall behind and never catch up.
This rationale was partially the reason that I went to law school soon after graduating from college. I felt like I needed to get started with something, and becoming a lawyer made sense to me – it had a clear path and was an easily identifiable career.
My brother, on the other hand, followed a completely different path. Instead of jumping into a career like I did, he instead opted to move overseas, getting a job at a tech company which he then promptly quit after he realized that working in an office wasn’t for him. He then spent the next several years living lean and being scrappy while he worked on different projects and businesses for himself. By the time I was done with law school and starting my first job as a lawyer, my brother had spent that same time hustling and building something for himself. Today, after several attempts and hustling for years, he’s finally created a business that fully supports his lifestyle – making him essentially financially independent at 30-years old.
In those early years, I always thought my brother was goofing off, just not wanting to grow up and become an adult. I’d been taught to think that there was a “correct” way of doing things – go to school, get good grades, get a good job with a good employer, and then work your way up the corporate ladder until you retire. I went into the world doing exactly that, following the nice, straight path that was laid out in front of me.
In retrospect, I wish I had charted my own path the way my brother did. I made the mistake of putting too much pressure on myself and thinking that I needed to get started with my life right away. But unlike our parents who maybe had more reason to get started with their careers (and fewer options available), our generation just has too many options at our disposal and too many ways to make a living.
The world is such a big place, and the last thing I think any of us should be doing is rushing into anything because it’s what we feel like we should do. Instead, let’s take our time, try things out, and figure out who we really are and what we can really do first.
Reasons You Don’t Need To Start Your Career In Your 20s
I think a lot of people have this idea that careers are like the way our parents had it – that you graduate school and go get a job at a big company right away. And if you don’t do that, you’ll never be a real adult and will never make it.
But the world just isn’t like that anymore – and if I could go back and talk to my 22-year old self, I’d tell him to slow down. You’re going to be putting a lot of hours into whatever career and work you do. So it’s important to at least know who you are first.
Careers don’t need to start in your 20s. Instead, take those 20s to explore, create, and build. You have a lot of reasons to slow down, and these include:
No One Expects You To Be Settled Down Yet.I’ve found that a lot of the things we do is based on what others think about us. I became a lawyer, in part, because it was an impressive sounding job that I could tell people about. But why did I need to do that when I was 26? As you get older, there’s more pressure to have your sh*t together (I rarely curse on this blog, but I just had to here), but when you’re in your 20s, who the hell cares?
From 22 to 27-years old, my brother spent his time creating and working for himself before he finally created a business that worked for him. During those early and mid-20s years, a lot of people, me and my family included, gave him flack because it seemed like he wasn’t doing anything. I was the 20-something successful law student and young lawyer. He was the kid that didn’t have a “job” and seemed to be coasting through life.
My brother didn’t like people thinking he was a bum. But he was only in his 20s, so it wasn’t as big a deal. He didn’t “have” to be settled down yet. You can use that to your advantage to figure out what your calling really is.
You Have More Room To Be Scrappy.One of the only ways you can spend time creating, building, and exploring is if you have the ability to live lean. When you need a lot to live is when you get pushed into jobs that you hate, just punching the clock each day and living for the weekend. As much as you want to do what you want, you sometimes don’t get that choice when you need to pay expensive bills or take care of other people.
When you’re in your 20s though, you just have so much room to be scrappy. I lived with roommates for the entirety of college and law school. If I wasn’t married, I’d still live with roommates (and I sort of do since I Airbnb a room in my house).
You can be way scrappier and make ends meet with less when you’re younger. It won’t even look weird. But when you get older and have a spouse, kids, and other things that you need to take care of, your scrappiness ability goes way down.
You Have So Much Life Left.I have no idea why when I turned 22 and 23, I felt like I needed to “grow up” and that life was passing me by. I could have gone to law school at 30-years old, and it wouldn’t have been strange at all. But for whatever reason, I completely overlooked just how young I was.
Time is an asset you’ll never get back. When you’re in your 20s (and 30s), you still have so much life left. If things don’t work out, a job and a career will always be there for you. You don’t need to rush into it right away. But if you let those years pass you by, you can never get them back.
My Advice – Take Four Years To Build, Explore, and Create
The advice I’d give to my 22-year old self (and to anyone just starting out their life) would be to take four years to build, explore, and create. Try to survive on nothing but your own wits.
Even if you know you want to be a doctor or lawyer or anything else, I don’t think you should go into it right away. Not in today’s world. There are just too many options and opportunities out there, and at 22-years old, you know so little about who you are and what makes you tick.
You might wonder what I mean by surviving on your own wits. I see this as the ability to essentially “create” an income out of nothing. That’s not to say a job is bad. But you have plenty of time for jobs later. Why not take a few years just to see if you can build and create? You might find it’s what you were meant to do. And if not, well, you’ll still only be 26 – super young in the grand scheme of things and with plenty of time to figure out something else.
I spent those first four years of my post-college life jumping into a career that I didn’t know would fit me or not. I’ve spent the last 5-years of my professional life pretty unhappy. My brother did the opposite. He knew that school and careers would always be there. And he knew that he didn’t have to get it all done at 22. He could take those early years, live lean, be scrappy, and build something for himself. Worst case scenario, he’d go back to school and get a job like everyone else. And he’d still be in his 20s if that happened.
Take Your Time
So to any 20-something out there, my advice is simple. Slow down. Take four years to build, create, and explore. It’ll help you figure out who you are and what you were meant to do.
The great thing is, when you’re that young, you have so much life left. If things don’t work out or you find that you were meant to do something else, those options will always be there. School and careers will always be there. If nothing works out, you’ll still be young too.
The world is a big place. With the internet and the ability to earn money in so many ways, not to mention the fact that jobs and careers just aren’t what they used to be, there’s value in just slowing down before diving in.
I’m now in my 30s, and still feel very young. It makes me wonder why I was in such a hurry in the first place.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- SoFi Money ($325) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $300 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Upgrade ($150) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $150 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $150 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($800) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- Fifth Third Bank ($325) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states:Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account onlinebut you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements.Read my guide on this bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($75) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $75 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.32% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $250 for opening an account.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
