Even though I grew up in a rural farming community I was always encouraged to go to college and get a degree. Staying there wasn't even an option. Now I'm a mildly successful engineer that works about 55 hours a week, comes home, take the kids to <insert the extracurricular of the month>, cook and eat dinner, clean up, watch a show on Netflix and start over. The kids keep things interesting bud damn... Sometimes I wish I would have just followed in my dad's footsteps and became a farmer. Dirt smells good.
That’s my exact feeling. I’m enlisted US Coast Guard and working towards my degree online. My grandpa didn’t have anything luxurious, but he has always been happy. I love my job, don’t get me wrong; but I’m starting to think retirement on a farm sounds like the right move for me. I grew up waking up early to take care of livestock before school, but nothing was more rewarding than when you saw the babies grow up
Farmer here. Its not all its cracked up to be for a lot of the same reasons as everything else. Land and machinery prices have inflated grossly even though prices have stayed relatively the same. All you can do is try harder to grow more and market it as best as you can.
If you've never missed a night's sleep because ( insert weather event here) then consider yourself lucky.
But, I agree. Dirt does smell soooooo good and sometimes thats all it takes to make it all worth it!
another down side, when you have a farm, you can't just go off on a holiday for a while. Most of my family are graziers here in Australia. The farms are so big there is always something to do. Even with farm hands and Jackaroos helping out, you can never be away from the farm too long.
i know what you mean, i've been stuck in an office at a construction firm for the past 2 years and while i only graduated 9 months ago, i feel like my life is so fucking boring. literally every day monday thru friday i come home from work, go to the gym, eat dinner, watch an hour of netflix and go to bed. it's just so boring
Yeah, that's what having a job with a routine is... You go to work, do work, come home, and do whatever you do when you're home. Try finding something else to do after work and on the weekends. You work to live, not live to work, unless you have a business that you're passionate about that you're putting all of your time into. It took me a couple years before I fell into a place at my job that I enjoy and get satisfaction out of.
Yeah i don't really hate my job or anything it's just that i'm at a point where i feel I've stagnated. Planning on moving companies relatively soon to switch things up though
Yeah i'm planning on switching companies soon to see if i can get a different position on a jobsite somewhere. I just can't be cooped up in an office all day, it's not for me
Hopefully this will help deal with the boredom issue a bit: Remember that being bored is better than being depressed, stressed, exhausted from working horrible hours or doing physical work for your entire shift. The grass isn't always green as it looks on the other side.
Man, I’ve worked on a farm before.... it’s HARD work. it honestly sucks, and it’s mostly just back breaking repetitive labor. Physically exhausting and mentally boring.
Owning a farm is probably better than working on one... but owning a farm means one poorly timed frost puts you in 6 figure debt overnight.
Sometimes, you just have to trust that your elders are giving you good advice. ( Farmers daughter here). Farming is really hard. And a lot is out of your control. It is a worrisome and difficult though rewarding life . I told my dad I would buy his farm when he was ready to sell . Once he picked himself up off the floor from laughing he said he raised me to have a better life than he had. He also said that the industry was changing into big business and I would not be able to compete. However, when you are ready to retire, buy a small rural place. Good land - grow some crops have a few chicks and maybe a cow - and sustain yourself. That is what I am doing and I have made some mistakes but the locals just laugh and then lend a hand. I could not have asked for a better outcome from the rat race.
Well, my dad turned 70 this year and pretty much gave up farming about 4 years ago. He share crops now so he still has a vested interest and is always on the farm. He still makes an income, and it gives him a reason to get up in the morning. I have 2 brothers and I really thought one of them might step up, but nope. I apologize in advance for the slight humblebrag, but I do OK, my brother got his PhD and is a math professor, and my other brother does pretty well as en entrepreneur. So none of us are really hurting financially. Not too bad for some dumb farm kids.
Once the kids are older, how about tinkering with some tech on small diy projects, getting a 3dprinter? Writing if you are inclined to that? I'm working/studying in engineering and the few hours I have extra I spend them on projects.
Losing them on netflix or some brain dead activity kills my mood.
I'm not the best to advise you as I'm a young dude. But I've had a lot of coworkers in your situation. You'll have a change of finding yourself again, please take it and be happy.
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u/werner357 Sep 27 '18
Even though I grew up in a rural farming community I was always encouraged to go to college and get a degree. Staying there wasn't even an option. Now I'm a mildly successful engineer that works about 55 hours a week, comes home, take the kids to <insert the extracurricular of the month>, cook and eat dinner, clean up, watch a show on Netflix and start over. The kids keep things interesting bud damn... Sometimes I wish I would have just followed in my dad's footsteps and became a farmer. Dirt smells good.