Mar 18, 2024
Although the pursuit is admirable, chasing down a dream job shouldn’t come at the expense of all your financial security.
In an episode of Caleb Hammer’s YouTube series, Financial Audit, 34-year-old Cam revealed she’d quit her salaried tech job to pursue her dream of becoming a “creative entrepreneur” — essentially her way of saying she’s an aspiring model and actress.
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This dream job, however, hasn’t proved very lucrative for Cam so far. In 2023, she said she earned just $10,000 from modeling and acting gigs. Her side hustles delivered another $13,000. She even admitted to Hammer that her income is simply not enough to allow her to continue to reside in her hometown of Austin, Texas.
The gap between her monthly income and expenses is bridged by credit card debt. Cam had also lost $32,000 speculating on cryptocurrencies — money that is now desperately needed.
“That’s just being an irresponsible child,” Hammer said, as he sifted through her credit statements and crypto accounts. However, he thinks Cam can turn her situation around if she stops being “delusional.”
Unfortunately, a growing number of young Americans are following a similar path into debt.
Pursuing your dream job
In 2020, Cam gave up her corporate job in tech sales to pursue her dream of modeling and acting. She’s not alone. In fact, 57% of Gen Z said they believed they could make a living as an online content creator and influencer, according to a survey by Morning Consult.
Meanwhile, 81% of millennials believed they could eventually land their dream job one day, according to a survey by Hired.
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Hammer admitted this type of pursuit is admirable. In fact, he claimed to know this first-hand: his dream job was to become a successful content creator on YouTube. However, he said he wouldn’t have attempted this career if his finances had been unstable or if he’d been swimming in debt like Cam.
“I want you to live the dream,” he told her. “I want everyone to live the dream. But there’s also being a responsible adult.”
Cam has several credit cards in collections. Meanwhile, she’s fallen behind on her mortgage payments of $1,000 a month.
Cam is also behind on monthly payments for her $8,900 auto loan for a vehicle that was purchased just before she’d left her corporate job.
Hammer said her decision to quit a tech job was an example of bad timing. The pandemic created a boom in tech hiring.
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Tech giants such as Amazon, Meta and Snap nearly doubled their workforce between 2019 and 2022. Microsoft, Alphabet, Apple and Salesforce also ramped up hiring considerably during this period. “They couldn’t get jobs out quick enough!” Hammer said.
Maintaining her job could have allowed Cam to avoid debt and perhaps create a cushion of cash that would have allowed her to pursue her dream job a few years down the road. Hammer said it’s not too late to salvage the situation, though.
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Holding down a 9-to-5 job
Hammer thinks Cam can quickly turn her situation around by getting a steady 9-to-5 job to meet her debt obligations. He suggested she make a tight budget to save money and stay on top of her monthly bills.
Going back into the world of tech sales would be ideal. Sales representatives at technology companies in Austin make an average salary of $74,540 according to Zip Recruiter. Some can even access bonuses and commissions to boost annual income.
However, even a minimum wage job would pay more than Cam’s current modeling assignments and side hustles. Earning just $15 an hour at a fast food restaurant for 40 hours a week would deliver $31,200 in annual income, according to Hammer’s calculations.
Cam, however, is reluctant to do this. “My time is worth more,” she told Hammer, to which he responded, “No it’s not. If it was, it would be paying for this [debt]... Beggars can’t be choosers.”
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Vishesh Raisinghani is a financial journalist covering personal finance, investing and the global economy. He's also the founder of Sharpe Ascension Inc., a content marketing agency focused on investment firms. His work has appeared in Moneywise, Yahoo Finance!, Motley Fool, Seeking Alpha, Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine and Piggybank.
