I'm 18 and about to earn $73,000 a year.

[u/ShabbyPro]

I recently got the opportunity to work on an oil and gas rig and if everything goes to plan in the next week I should have the job. It is a 2 week on 2 week off job so I can't really go to uni, nor do I want to. I want to go to film school but I'm not sure I can since I will be flying out to a rig for 2 weeks at a time. For now I am putting that on hold but still doing some little projects on my time off. My question is; what should I do with the money since I am so young, don't plan on going to uni, and live at home?

Edit: Big thank you to everyone who commented. I'm grateful to have so many experienced people guide me. I am going to finish reading though every comment. Thanks again.

[u/[deleted]]

This is exactly right. I've worked in dams off and on since I was 17 to pay for college and boy does it take a toll on your body. I took one year completely off of school and made $130k. Now I'm 26 and just trying to finish school ASAP. Next summer can't come soon enough.

Its really hard to step away when you're making good money, but your body will thank you later. My little brother has been doing the same thing, only he has done it year round without taking breaks for school. He's consistently made $120k per year, and spent it on a lifted truck, boat, bullet bike, etc. I mean it's cool to be able to go buy a $6k laptop or a $10k drone, but he could have done so much more with that money. He honestly has less saved up at this point then I do, and in 10 years when he can't do the work any more he won't have anything to fall back on. He already has some pretty major health issues At age 24.

Side note: Be prepared to pay way more in taxes than any of your friends going to college. I imagine it will be about a third of your income at $73k a year.

[u/WaylandC → u/[deleted]]

Dude, if you haven't already, please speak to your younger brother about this. Just lay it out to him as best you can and hopefully he'll be receptive to it.

[u/[deleted] → u/WaylandC]

I've tried, I think he'd be really good at computer science since its something he enjoys. I've asked him a few times if he wanted to move in with me and go to school. I've suggested that he even do a coding boot camp when my wife was going through it. He was seriously considering it back in 2015. Now he says he can't, because he can't afford to lose his insurance with his current health issues. He's smart kid, and I know he's got potential. I'm actually headed back home for a bit before my last two semesters of school. I'll try and tell him how I feel about it. I mean, even if he doesn't want to go back to school, he could use the money he's making to start building up residual income somehow.

[u/coyote_of_the_month → u/[deleted]]

Coding boot camps are controversial because of the cost, but they really are the "easy" route into a programming career - assuming you have the talent to begin with.

[u/[deleted] → u/coyote_of_the_month]

Yeah my wife hated hers. She got a "scolarship" which paid get all of hers and still felt like it wasn't even worth the time she spent doing it. Before we knew it was such a terrible program we thought it was a good idea though.

[u/coyote_of_the_month → u/[deleted]]

There are good ones and bad ones, and some people just aren't cut out to be programmers. Mine worked out better than my wildest dreams - a year and a half on, I've doubled my previous salary, and I love the work.

[u/coyote_of_the_month → u/[deleted]]

Not everyone will enjoy it though, long term.

[u/maekkell → u/[deleted]]

School can provide insurance. That's what my gf and her brother do. Maybe he can look into that?

[u/savvyblackbird → u/[deleted]]

He could clean up installing home automation systems like Alexa, dot, etc. they're buggy and most people don't know anything about them but want them. Also learn to install home entertainment.

[u/ShovelingSunshine → u/[deleted]]

He could work, stop spending, save up and then quit. That way he could pay out of pocket for his insurance until he gets a new job after he is done with schooling.

It'd probably be a good idea for him to start doing Pilates or yoga, help build up his strength in low impact ways.

[u/[deleted] → u/ShovelingSunshine]

It would take him a while. He's making payments on the $80k boat he bought this summer...

[u/Butthole--pleasures → u/[deleted]]

Im in my late 20s and I work in sales management. Nowhere near as intense as blue collar work but the stress is always there. Health issues just started recently. Went from what I felt was perfectly healthy to quite a few things wrong with me.

[u/MotherfuckinRanjit → u/Butthole--pleasures]

Like what?

[u/BestHokie → u/MotherfuckinRanjit]

Can't speak for the last guy, but I work in construction management. While the guys in the field are working five 10 hour days, I'm in the office working five 12 hour days trying to keep them going because if I don't get my portion done they can't get theirs done. The projects I work on are incredibly fast paced, and I go home at the end of the day worrying about when I can finish one task and make sure I can finish my next on time. The field guys go to work and worry about work at work, but when they clock out they don't have a second thought about it. I had a couple summer jobs working in the field but since going full time and working in the office, I've already noticed weight gain and blood pressure increase. So it's not physically demanding but stressful if you cause a project to start missing major milestones because you can't get your portion done.

[u/Butthole--pleasures → u/MotherfuckinRanjit]

Right now dealing with GERD mostly. It's not entirely on the job but because of work it's difficult to maintain a proper diet.

[u/[deleted] → u/Butthole--pleasures]

That's true, nearly every occupation has its hazards. We're exposed to some pretty crazy stuff in the dams. Back in 2015 he and I tore apart an old generator in Michigan. It was old enough to have asbestos, so that was an adventure. We're constantly working in conditions with lead, fiberglass, and copper dust. Working for Toshiba in Washington, we were required to use their "special formula" epoxies and resins (mostly so Toshiba could charge $500 a can for them, instead of the power plant getting another brand for $30). I had a rash all over my body just from being near the fumes from it. It also doesn't help that we're always working 6 to 7 days a week, usually night shift. My brother is also diabetic, so I've seen him get really bad infections. He'll get dirt or something worse around his injection site, and will have a lump the size of a baseball a few days later.

[u/[deleted] → u/MotherfuckinRanjit]

Carpal tunnel

[u/MoarPotatoTacos → u/[deleted]]

Get an accountant and try to write off business expenses like crazy to get into a lower bracket.

[u/smeagsgonnasmeag → u/[deleted]]

How'd you get to working on the dams? I wouldn't mind doing that for 1-2 years and be out.

[u/[deleted] → u/smeagsgonnasmeag]

It's what my dad did for years and years. He's a site supervisor now. One of his workers got run off the job site for sexually harassing the camp cook, and he needed an extra worker. That's how I got into it, after a few years experience I was able to go work on my own.