Only earning €14 an hour. Feel like a failure

LegacyUser

Hi,

This probably seems trivial but I've no idea where else to ask for advice. So I'm 27, and I only earn €14 gross an hour, which works out after tax as about €11.00. I feel like I should be doing so much better for myself in life. I know I have no God-given right to earn a certain wage, but I graduated 4.5 years ago from UCD with one of the top degrees in the country. My peers from university are probably on upwards of €22 euro net hourly by now.

I never liked my college degree much, but I persevered anyway. I didn't like the work itself either. So, I decided to completely change career after a year working in an office for an insurance company. I simply called myself a freelance writer and began marketing myself to clients.

It has been a struggle, albeit a struggle with some nice perks. The nature of the work lets me travel while on the job, meaning I've lived abroad on and off for the last two years (mostly abroad). I've also improved as a writer markedly since I began writing in December 2015.

But by the measure that matters most, the measure that would allow me to live comfortably in Ireland, I'm failing. I actually fear coming home to live there because €11 an hour after tax won't get me very far. I'm not even sure I could afford rent in Dublin city. I just feel so behind everyone else and so far below my potential.

Should I leave aside the ambitions of becoming a writer who actually earns good money? Or should I get back into the normal working world with a company that will pay me for the skills I learned during my degree and subsequent work experience? Or should I persist doing work I enjoy that allows me the flexibility to travel a lot? I really don't know. All I know is that I feel like a failure compared to people I went to college with.

Permabear

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fluffybiscuits

OP I would seriously suggest that you do think about moving to another city where the rent is cheaper and the cost of living is not as high. I know people who have gone to Prague and Budapest as there are regular cheap flights and the cost of living, especially in Budapest is sweet FA. You are comparing yourself to people who inevitably might have just had a stroke of luck and by comparing yourself to others (which is no harm if you want to take something positive from it) detracts away from what you might be able to achieve if you just yourself as creating your own niche really in society.

jimmycrackcorm

If your job is freelance writing then you basically have a good opportunity to live in cheaper parts of Ireland.

No one can tell you if you are going to be successful enough at writing to be able to afford to live in parts of Dublin but then many people have no choice but to live there working either in low paying jobs or commuting far because of that.

I'd be optimistic in your shoes though. You're showing potential, you have flexibility in your location. So give it a chance.

Dick phelan

plenty of people earning less OP besides money is not the only measure of success, i'd rather do an ok paid job i enjoy then a well paid one i hate personally.

witchgirl26

OP Permabear is right in regards comparing yourself to those you went to college with. My sister completely changed career after doing a degree and professional qualification which meant she started from near the bottom again. She'll often complain that I earn more than her but I've stayed in pretty much the same career after college & my prof qualification which meant I've moved up the ladder in that career. I'm not going to lie - it's a little annoying. There's been 10 years of effort to get to this salary sticking at the one thing. I wouldn't expect to get anywhere close to what I'm on for this if I changed career in the morning to something unrelated to my training.

You're on a different path to those you went to college with now so can't compare like with like. And you have chosen a career that is a little more difficult to move up the scale in. But if it's what you enjoy and you can have a good life living it, then go for it. You don't have to live in Dublin if you're able to do your work from anywhere so enjoy that freedom. The people you were in college with are probably a little more stuck in terms of locations than you.

While your monetary amounts may not be the same, you may have additional benefits to your new career than they do.

Don't go into a job that you hate just to earn money - that won't end well. If you can live comfortably enough off your earnings as a writer while working to improve and therefore earn more than I'd say go for it.

Mr. Incognito

Money is no way to measure success.

You are writing for a living. It's a notoriously tricky way to earn a living. Even GREAT writers like Hunter S Thompson living in relative poverty for most of their lives.

I think you are being unrealistic as to the length of time it takes to earn an average industrial wage writing freelance.

If you want a secure living apply for full time journo jobs.

Great British Bake Off

You are making a living as a writer, something a lot of people dream of but never achieve. You're being too hard on yourself. If I was you I'd move to city in central or eastern Europe. As someone said Budapest is cheap and that's the capital! Moving to a second city like Plovdiv or Gdansk is even cheaper.

These places are gems full of nice people, beautiful old cities, stunning women and an incredibly low cost of living (paid 80c for a pint in a pub in Sopot).

FizzleSticks

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Hollister11

14 an hour isn't that bad. Over a 40 hour week it's 560 gross.

OK you probably don't have loads of flexibility, but you can still enjoy life and live decently. You just have to watch your money.

You should spend the next few years trying to get increases in intervals up to 20. Whether that's by getting a pay rise, or moving jobs.

If you get 20, that's 800 a week, which is very good.

Caryatnid

Seems to me that you're living the dream. Well done, it's incredible what you've done.

jigglypuffstuff

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Money is no way to measure success. .

This OP, and fyi, ive made upwards of 68 per hour for lecturing and often made less in a week than you do...So while money is no way to measure success, per hour earning is even further from the point

Take it easy on yourself OP, money is not the be all and end all

Witchie

I have direct experience of this situation. I worked for years in "great jobs" that bored the foook out of me but allowed me to provide a good life for my children, buy a nice house (which am trying to sell - anyone want a 5 bed, 3 bath home in one of the best parts of Monaghan town?) and it nearly killed me. I was so miserable. I got through it, lost my job, went back to college and got degrees in digital marketing and project management. Part of those courses involved coding and writing for the web.

I had wanted to be a writer since I was a kid and was told to be sensible and get a real job. While I worked, I found joy writing for my local sports team, won some awards and accolades for my writing work so knew this was still where I wanted to be. I then decided to combine my digital marketing skills and coding and now work as a content creator and editor. I do some webdesign too but my bread and butter is writing content, editing it, editing images and uploading to the cms.

I earn €18 an hour. Work approximately 20 to 30 hours a week and have spent the last 9 months moving around Asia until I settled in Kuala Lumpur. My stunning apartment with a pool and gym in a great area costs €380 a month. I live very comfortably on about €100 a week including going out and getting a bit drunk at the weekends and taking little trips to Bali, Borneo and Singapore all since I moved here.

Basically I got back the life I want, on very little money. I found a work/life balance in a cheaper country and have never been happier.

I feel like I am "winning" at life after years of struggle. You are winning without having to go the long way round. You are my hero.

Jen Pigs Fly

Same age, have a degree and I earn a lot less than you!
I did a degree in business and marketing - I am now working in the civil service :L big change to what I thought I'd do!

I take on tasks and challenges to boost my cv in order to get promotions and go up grades.

I don't wallow in it, I know I'm only starting my career and money will come as I gain experience.

I currently live at home as rent is madness and it's cheaper to save up and buy a house! So in managing to save a good chunk on a much lesser income than you.

We're young, we both still have 40 working years ahead of us

Arghus

If I was making a living as a freelance writer I would consider myself to be living the dream.

LLL11

I'm about the same age as you, spent six years in college, have two years working experience since, am continuously doing courses to upskill and am earning €12.70/hr before tax, with a child to support on my own. I can just barely make ends meet, without saving anything. If you don't have any dependents to pay for then €14/hr is a liveable wage outside of Dublin - provided you work full time.

It depends how much you love/hate a job. I would do almost any job short term if it was well paying, to build up a few savings. Can you get a job with a journalism company for the moment and consider branching out on your own again when you can afford it? Hopping over and back between insurance and journalism might not look so good to a prospective employer down the line. Or if you are enjoying travelling, move to a country where you will be well paid and the cost of living is low, and don't move home for another few years. Hopefully the rent crisis will be over and you will also have a few savings.

It's not a decision you can make overnight. Make sure to weigh up all of your options. By the sounds of it you don't have any ties at the moment and it could be the right time to freelance and do your travelling. If you move back and settle you may not get this opportunity again.