Recent engineering graduate unhappy with current position.

[Forrest Martinson]

Hello, I recently graduated and jump on the first decent job that was offered which lead me to the great state of Alaska. I am currently working 70+ hours a week on salary. I am exhausted and frustrated. I am committing my self to this job for at least a year so that I don't have to repay a signing bonus but after that I will be up in the air on what to do. I am told that after the work season tames down it will be closer to 30 hours per week doing some estimating in the office which might change my mind set on leaving so as soon as possible. 

I currently have a decent chunk of school debt that I would like to have mostly paid down or off before I start investing into rentals. I am very good with my money budgeting wise and I don't spend money beside on essentials. I would also like to move back into the lower 48 before investing my efforts into property. I'm guessing I should look for a decent job to support my self while learning with the first couple properties, but until then what can I do in the mean time to get the best start.

I am working on getting some of the books so I have reading material this winter, but other than that what should/could I be doing?

Thank you and I look forward to talking and maybe even working with some of you in the future.

[Tyler Mullen]

Read business books, REI books, economics, investing, personal growth/goals/motivation topics.

Start tracking your net worth with an app, personal finance software or a spreadsheet.  If you can grow your net worth average at least 1% per month, through saving, investment performance, equity growth and debt pay down, you'd be killing it.

Don't wait to pay off all your debts before you start investing.  Can you buy a house now, if "no", why not change it to "yes"?  Or find other investments to build on a smaller scale for now.

Some jobs are worth keeping in the short run for how much they can pay you now, you save every thing you can and invest it.  Then you can leave the job more easily because you'll have other resources.  This is the kind of planning pro athletes and people in high tech have to do, they know the here and now can't last forever.