[menty]

Hello all,
I am new to this forum. As I am going off to college next year I am wondering what you guys do for work. I have loved cars for a while but macs are by far my favorite. I lookup to the members on here with all of their cars and just wanted to know how they got there.
Thanks

I've searched for a thread on this but to no avail. If you know of one could you post the URL that would be great.

 

[andy c]

Hard work,being in the right place at the right time,and a lot of luck !! and don't forget your friends

 

[nh4]

Hello all,
I am new to this forum. As I am going off to college next year I am wondering what you guys do for work. I have loved cars for a while but macs are by far my favorite. I lookup to the members on here with all of their cars and just wanted to know how they got there.
Thanks

I've searched for a thread on this but to no avail. If you know of one could you post the URL that would be great.

You'll find people here that do a little bit of everything. I wouldn't base your major on a perceived ability for it to land you a job where you can buy a McLaren. Clearly there are majors that have a high correlation to career paths with high pay, but if it would make you miserable, what you commute in won't make it better!

One common point you'll likely find among people here is that it took a lot of hard work to get to the point of buying supercars. There will be a huge component of luck, and right-place-right-time.

When it comes to college though, don't forget that what you will learn outside of class is just as important as what you'll actually be paying tuition for. It should be a roller coaster ride where you emerge with a degree in something, amazing friends, memories, and some sense of self reliance that prepares you for the "real world".

In my case I started out in Molecular Biology, took a detour through Health Care Management, and ended up in the English department. Through luck and connections I landed an interview at a telecommunications company. Once in the door, I busted my @$$ to get as good as I could. This was the late 90's and I was convinced I'd be retired and driving a Ferrari by the time I hit 30. Instead, the entire tech market blew up, I jumped ship to a much smaller company, which ended up getting gobbled up by another big company.

I've continued to bust my @$$ and now would much rather drive a McLaren than a Ferrari. Currently, I don't own either, but I'm getting there. 30 has since come and gone, and I'm still working!

It may sound like there is a lot of luck involved in that path, and there was, but one of the non-class lessons I learned at college was that "chance favors the prepared mind". If I were to give advice, I'd say it would be to make sure you are the most prepared mind. Find your passion and then figure out how to mold it into something you'll enjoy doing better than the next guy. Everyone's path is different, but if you start by identifying and pulling to your strengths, you'll be headed in the right direction.

One more quick point -- Learn from failure, don't fear it. Do everything you can to avoid it, but know you'll get caught sooner or later.

Hope that helps and doesn't just come across as the ramblings of someone who should be working rather than posting on a forum

-nh4.

 

[jkheit]

I think Menty is on to something. It would be great to get a baseline on where we're from, what our educational, work and other background is. I'll see if I can whip up a pole (thats what she said--hayO).

UPDATE
Ok, I made up some questions here:

http://www.mclarenlife.com/forums/mclaren-mp4-12c/2967-who-you-mr-mclaren-owner.html

Sorry if this train wrecks guys, I couldn't figure out how to embed javascript into the post for the poll questions.

 

[nh4]

As a further example of doing different things, John posts instructional videos on matters of ingress and egress

http://www.mclarenlife.com/forums/mclaren-mp4-12c/2961-12c-sitting-techniques.html

-nh4.

 

[jkheit]

As a further example of doing different things, John posts instructional videos on matters of ingress and egress

http://www.mclarenlife.com/forums/mclaren-mp4-12c/2961-12c-sitting-techniques.html

-nh4.

And that's how I became a happy miser!

 

[jkheit]

Hello all,
I am new to this forum. As I am going off to college next year I am wondering what you guys do for work. I have loved cars for a while but macs are by far my favorite. I lookup to the members on here with all of their cars and just wanted to know how they got there.
Thanks

I've searched for a thread on this but to no avail. If you know of one could you post the URL that would be great.

Menty, I set up a little poll (here: http://www.mclarenlife.com/forums/mclaren-mp4-12c/2967-who-you-mr-mclaren-owner.html), so hopefully we might get some insight. I would bet a sizable portion of the folks here have their own businesses.

And, I bet a good portion of the folks here that have their own businesses, love what they do.

So to that end, if you can, find what you love to do. That often takes some time to figure out, but it's worth it. If you can't find anything you love, then go for the money and get into investment banking. You only need to survive until you get through one good economic cycle and then cash out if you hate it.

That said, I'm a lawyer.

 

[Walt of Destiny]

My dad had a sign over his desk that read:

"The harder you work, the luckier you get."

That was the preeminent memory I took to high school and on to higher education.

Having said that, I have worked for someone other than myself once in my life. And it was at Budweiser plant the summer of my junior year at Rutgers. (I don't count bartending as being anything other than self-employment.)

Otherwise I've been happily unemployable since then.

 

[FastZilla]

"Don't redistribute my wealth....Redistribute my work ethic!", bumper sticker.

Struggling everyday to survive. My mom said I would never amount to anything without a college degree. Without one life is hell, so I left corporate America and found with a lot of force you can get a square peg thru a round hole.... A bunch of specialized training in a very small tech community and holding a bunch of IOUs helps too.

I have mommy issues... Who's a therapist on here

I heard someone say "if you want to make a small fortune in technology, start of with a large one..."

 

[jkheit]

Somewhat related:

http://priceonomics.com/is-college-worth-it/

 

[FastZilla]

Interesting John. Unfortunately now I don't think a person without a degree could do what I did because they would never get the entry level jobs now without one. With the unemployment such that it is education pre-reqs are now a simple filter before initial contact is made. If you happened to get in previously, the glass ceiling is now lower than ever and the sheepskin is at least a hall pass that may let you crawl on the glass to find the door thru

.....I tell my kids the same thing my mom told me FWIW.

 

[jkheit]

Interesting John. Unfortunately now I don't think a person without a degree could do what I did because they would never get the entry level jobs now without one. With the unemployment such that it is education pre-reqs are now a simple filter before initial contact is made. If you happened to get in previously, the glass ceiling is now lower than ever and the sheepskin is at least a hall pass that may let you crawl on the glass to find the door thru

.....I tell my kids the same thing my mom told me FWIW.

In the computer/software/tech sector, I see kids without degrees that are doing great. It's a pure talent thing there in the startup world. iTunes University let's you self teach through some of the worlds best schools/programs.

Also, I think things may get polarized back to they way they were before the 40s/50s. Where having a bachelor's was so rare, it could be in butterfly collecting, it guaranteed you a good position. If education keeps getting more expensive, only very well to do folks, and those that get full ride scholarships, will get to have a higher education, and everyone else will get a professional/community college certificate degree.

No doubt, if you can afford it, education is a wonderful thing. My mom threatened me with death if I didn't get a masters degree. And I believed her!

 

[ftyl]

I agree with the other comments... It is all a combination of hard work, right time - right place and luck.

Although, as my consultants always tell me, even with all the three, if you are not intelligent and thus see right time-right place-and right luck combined at any time none of that will help.

And as someone I think in this forum said not too long ago... Usually the most intelligent person in the room will say they are not intelligent.

So I honestly think, people that say that it has a lot to do with luck and right-time, right-place, are the most intelligent in the room. Since only them will be humble enough to not say its all their bright ideas...

 

[nh4]

And as someone I think in this forum said not too long ago... Usually the most intelligent person in the room will say they are not intelligent.

I've been in rooms where someone has raised their hand and tried to make a case that they are indeed the smartest person in the room... It never ended well. My favorite case of that was when I was interviewing someone for a technical position and he said point blank, "I know what you do here." I said, "Great, there's a whiteboard, show me." I'm not sure where that person works now, but it's not here.

-nh4.

 

[nh4]

In the computer/software/tech sector, I see kids without degrees that are doing great. It's a pure talent thing there in the startup world. iTunes University let's you self teach through some of the worlds best schools/programs.

It's still possible, but it is a lot harder than it was. As I mentioned in my post above, I have no business doing what I do based on the merits of my degree. I graduated from college in 1999 and into an economy where tech was in the overheated ramp that ended in the bubble bursting. I came in the door with a lot of other folks that had no business doing what we were hired to do. The company I started at was considered by most to be a place one went for 6-12 months to figure out how to do what we were brought in for before going to a start-up and becoming fabulously wealthy. This worked for a few folks, but most ended up as victims of the bubble bursting.

For someone to come in now without a degree, or without the "right" degree, it is much harder to get in the door. It is still hard to find particular skill sets, but the talent-pool-to-open-jobs ratio favors the employer waiting for the right candidate rather than needing warm bodies that can be trained. Indeed here, most of the college grads we hire are coming in with Masters degrees and with co-op or intern experience in the industry... Many times they are our own co-ops.

-nh4.

 

[Champagne612]

.

And as someone I think in this forum said not too long ago... Usually the most intelligent person in the room will say they are not intelligent.

That was me after reading Walt Destiny's post - who posts are always thought provoking.

Mclaren owners are a breed of people - the sheer dna of the owners and enthusiasts says willing to take a chance.

I don't think there is a guy here who doesn't know how to roll up their sleeve and do whatever it takes.

 

[Walt of Destiny]

That was me after reading Walt Destiny's post - who posts are always thought provoking.

Mclaren owners are a breed of people - the sheer dna of the owners and enthusiasts says willing to take a chance.

I don't think there is a guy here who doesn't know how to roll up their sleeve and do whatever it takes.

Thanks for the comment. (Blush)

And I cannot agree more with the comments about Mac owners; There seems to be a commonality among us. Especially that we tend to spell things correctly and use proper grammar.

I wonder, what is the percentage of us that are in the digital tech fields? The Mac(Macs now) is (are) such a configurable platform that they must attract a certain sort. More so, I believe than other marques.

I skew that a bit, as my business exists entirely in the real world and until teleportation becomes a reality and Mr. Heisenberg is finally defeated, I'll be in business.

But it seems that there may be goodly number of digi-kingpins.

 

[ftyl]

I've been in rooms where someone has raised their hand and tried to make a case that they are indeed the smartest person in the room... It never ended well. My favorite case of that was when I was interviewing someone for a technical position and he said point blank, "I know what you do here." I said, "Great, there's a whiteboard, show me." I'm not sure where that person works now, but it's not here.

-nh4.

Thats a great answer.. lol

 

[ftyl]

I am sure there are many tech guys here, as you said Walt, especially because of the tech aspects of the 12C and the P1. I am such a tech guy by heart, but I have grown more into liking M&A and general deal-making than anything else.

And I also agree with Doug, the people here are very alike. I think there is a big age range here too, which makes this a very interesting place to connect I think, since it gives an interesting shared interest among people that would otherwise usually not connect, not only for reason of different age groups but also for the reason of completely different industries.

I am actually starting to do investments/M&A things all around the world, so I am rather interested to get to know people in many different verticals, not only for investments in such verticals but also building a good pool of possible synergies that can be folded into deals with the right contacts in place...

 

[nh4]

I wonder, what is the percentage of us that are in the digital tech fields? The Mac(Macs now) is (are) such a configurable platform that they must attract a certain sort. More so, I believe than other marques.

Maybe John should add in another poll with a question like, "Regardless of profession, are you, or do you aspire to be, one with your inner geek?" I believe there would be a lot of positive responses!

I skew that a bit, as my business exists entirely in the real world and until teleportation becomes a reality and Mr. Heisenberg is finally defeated, I'll be in business.

I'm assuming your going Uncertainty Principle Heisenberg and not Walter White alter ego Heisenberg... Please note above comment with regards to inner geek...

-nh4.