Go to university or continue with ERE plans

Anything to do with the traditional world of get a degree, get a job as well as its alternatives
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Frosti85
Posts: 63
Joined: Thu May 11, 2017 3:27 am

Go to university or continue with ERE plans

Post by Frosti85 »

I have a tough decision to make.

If I continue with my early retirement plans, I have to work 6-7 more years for 40 hours per week, and then I would have enough to stop working.
(or at least, do only minimal work)

Or I could go to university, and study physics (or maybe molecular biology), which I would love. The Situation is, in Austria if you have worked for some time, you can get a studentship from the government, which is worth ~1000€ per month (that would be enough to cover my expenses)
But the catch is, you have to start before you reach the age of 35, and I'm 32 now, so I have ~2 more years to make this decision.

I love science, and would like to contribute to it, but I also love the idea of financial independence.
I could do ERE and after that go to university, but there is another problem with that. Right now university in Austria is free, but recently we got a new government (more right wing) and it's likely they will introduces fees in a few years.

It also seems very hard to get into a research position so I'm very unsure about the university option, It's a dream of me to be a scientist, but I'm not sure if I'm good enough. I have an >130 IQ, but if all my competitors are guys with a 140+ IQ it might not be good enough.
And then I would have to go back into the job market which I would not like.

So what would you do in my situation ?

JamesR
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Joined: Sun Apr 21, 2013 9:08 pm

Re: Go to university or continue with ERE plans

Post by JamesR »

I once saw some analysis about nobel prize winners. Apparently the finding was that a minimum IQ of 130 correlated highly with being a nobel prize winner. But unexpectedly, even higher IQs didn't correlate more. Basically 130 is probably a good baseline for getting a quick grasp on science etc, but after that, working hard/grit matters more.

phil
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Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2014 10:05 am

Re: Go to university or continue with ERE plans

Post by phil »

Yeah don't worry about your IQ.
For me this would be a no-brainer. Go to university. But I might perceive financial independence a bit differently than most people on this forum. To me, it is not an all-or-nothing affair. What counts is the amount of freedom you have "accumulated", irrespective of when you choose to "use up" that freedom. Saving all your freedom for the future just so you can employ it while being officially fully FI seems just pointless to me. It might be the optimal path for many people, but it is not the only path.
Having saved a significant amount of money enables you to make choices like this, even if you have not yet reached the point of never having to work again in your life. You can always go back to your current line of employment if university does not bring you what you had hoped. On the other hand, it may open up new doors.

directionseeker
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Re: Go to university or continue with ERE plans

Post by directionseeker »

I would say go to university and learn physic. Throw yourself 100% to this thing since you already identify this is something you like. Be so good in this field that people cannot ignore you when talk about that part of physic you are going to study on.

Once you become the expert in that field, opportunity will pop up and it might even speed up your ERE progress(I believe you know how to keep the expense down while your income is increasing).

wolf
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Re: Go to university or continue with ERE plans

Post by wolf »

Hi Frosti85. Good to hear from you!
First of all, I think you need to remember that you won't forget the principles of ERE however you decide. What you have learned so far, will help you in the future regardless how the future will be. Either way you will have multiple chances and possibilities to implement ERE principles in your daily life.
Secondly, I read a psychology magazine regurarly. Two things I remember, when I read about your need to make a decision.
1. "Die Stärke eines Commitments und damit die Wahrscheinlichkeit, ein Ziel zu erreichen oder eine Bindung, ein Engagement aufrechtzuerhalten, bemisst sich so: Commitment = Gewinn minus Kosten plus Investment minus Optionen." Heidi Reeder
(translated equation for commitment = benefits minus costs plus investments minus options)
2. Think about you decision. If you decide for one option. "How will you feel 10 minutes after you have made that decision? How will you feel and think about it 10 months after that? And 10 years after that?"
Thirdly, I also think you should follow your passion and study physics. Back when I was 30 I had the dream about doing a sabbatical for 7 months. I was uncertain if I should do it or not. I did it, and I have never regret it. Ok, you can't compare this with your decision. But the underlying logic is almost the same. Following a dream or a passion, something you love, won't be a mistake, in my opinion.

jacob
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Re: Go to university or continue with ERE plans

Post by jacob »

Read/see this:

https://arxiv.org/ftp/astro-ph/papers/0310/0310368.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfxfnokQuLM
http://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1 (keep clicking next until you hit the end)

And search the forum ... I've written a lot more about the practical aspects of a physics career in other threads which you can hopefully find with google. Unless you pursue and finish a phd, your contribution to the field (I presume you mean academically?) will be minimal. With a masters thesis (does Austria use Diplom like Germany and Switzerland?), you might get your name on one paper(*) ... or you might not. With a phd, you're supposed to publish at least one at the end of it. For a [academic research] career, you're supposed to publish at least 4 per year.

(*) Which is super exciting the first time ... but after 10+ papers, it gets old.

thrifty++
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Re: Go to university or continue with ERE plans

Post by thrifty++ »

I can see why this is a tough decision.

However I think extreme personal finance is not just about FI but about freedom to make decisions. Presumably you already have FU money. If you have a fair amount (eg say around a 100k or more) then it would make sense to use the leverage of this and your tiny spending diet to do what you want.

Having the opportunity for free education is a seriously luxury. I am in a country where it is very expensive and graduated with 62k in debt. I would seize the opportunity while it lasts if it is something you really want to do. Maybe start in 2 years time, just in time, and you can use the next two years to up the extreme and boost your savings and chop your spending. Maybe you can find ways to hack spending so much that your spend while studying is so low that you can still very slowly grow wealth.

I think this is really a circumstances based issue,. Maybe you could share more about how much you currently earn and how much your current NW is.

I remember a good thread on here at some point about a guy who worked in investment banking earning shitloads of money like 200k plus and who wanted to go to med school (in a place which would cost lots of money unlike Austria). So I remember my opinion and that of others is WTF you should stay where you are and escalate your FI plans. So I think it really depends on the details of each option. Sounds like you have a different benefits and costs ratio of each decision as compared to this other guy but not completely sure. Maybe you could share more details to get more precise opinions.

CS
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Joined: Sat Dec 29, 2012 10:24 pm

Re: Go to university or continue with ERE plans

Post by CS »

You could look into Medical Physics and see if you have any interest/options. Physics, but with a career path afterwards to FI, at least if you can get board certified/Austrian equivalent.

I'll warn you though, I cried after my first year of grad school classes. It is NOT as fun as pure physics. YMMV if you like biology/practical applications. My phd project was loads of fun, but it was only medical physics because it used a MRI machine.

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