Investing in Another's Career

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Investing in Another's Career

Steve Jones - SSC Editor

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November 28, 2022 at 12:00 am

#4104473

Comments posted to this topic are about the item Investing in Another's Career
May 15, 2023 at 2:47 pm

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skeleton567 SSCertifiable Points: 5875 More actions · Answer 1

No way in hell! More unpaid education loans. Sounds like a great way to divide families and lose friends. Should have saved this for April Fool's Day.

This reply was modified 2 years ago by skeleton567.

Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )

skeleton567 SSCertifiable Points: 5875 More actions · Answer 2

To follow up on my first response. My wife and I did over the years of OUR careers actually invest in 529 plans for five grandchildren. The benefits of these are that you remain in control. So far we're at 60%. One graduate, one in-progress, and one yet to begin. Due to family issues, my wife is actually withdrawing, paying the tax, and enjoying the fruits of her efforts. But the whole idea is a GIFT to start with, so the only expected RETURN is intangible.

Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )

larry.blake SSC Enthusiast Points: 186 More actions · Answer 3

Agree with skeleton567 here. I wouldn't do it as an investment strategy. I *might* look at it more like mentorship. I put something in, maybe I get something back, but it's not an expectation.

latkinson SSCommitted Points: 1678 More actions · Answer 4

For those old enough to remember the TV Series "Northern Exposure" you will recall that the Dr in the show had agreed to have his medical training subsidized in return for a period of service. Unfortunately for him, that service had to be performed in the Alaskan boondocks. I could easily see the "investors" having too much control over where I might work or live, or to take it to an extreme, control who I interact with socially, and so on. No, that investment model is not for me. I will try to see if I can find a copy of the book, it sounds like something I might enjoy reading.

Luther

ZZartin SSC-Dedicated Points: 30921 More actions · Answer 5

ZZartin

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Points: 30921

November 28, 2022 at 4:45 pm

#4119068

Is this a serious article?

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004406 More actions · Answer 6

I'm with Rick and ZZArtin on this one. But, I WILL put a positive spin on things...

It's a funny thing... I didn't realize, when I first started, how much investing a little time in others would pay off. I did it to try to help others with their real world problems on, especially, this very forum. I didn't realize that I was investing heavily in my self (I said that in a RedGate interview way back in 2011). I've not only learned more about SQL by trying to solve their problems, I learned about some crazy issues that happen in real life and some ways to handle them and the people involved. Hopefully, it has also helped the people that asked a question. I've also learned a great deal over time by the efforts other people have made to answer questions.

I won't invest money in people for reasons not dissimilar to those Rick mentioned but investing a little time has had incredible returns that I never expected.

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

skeleton567 SSCertifiable Points: 5875 More actions · Answer 7

In my last position some of the DBAs and a couple mainframe developers who had offices close by around our server room came to regularly do social things for several, mainly dining out. Some of us had worked together for up to 10 years. After retirement I relocated two states away, but even after 12 years we still communicate a lot by email and keep up with our families. And an old coworker from an earlier position of 20 years ago has visited us with his wife twice in the past two years from three states away.

In 1986 my wife and I relocated two states away and left coworkers and friends to spend 28 years in Iowa. We had also worked with these folks to establish a new church of which we were charter members. When we returned we re-established these ties, and recently celebrated the 50th year of that organization. They are now the folks we enjoy our retirement years with and the dividends of earlier times working together.

Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )

Scott Mildenberger Ten Centuries Points: 1356 More actions · Answer 8

An interesting concept. As I got thinking about it this is similar to athletes getting sponsors (investors). Many, many (40) years ago I thought about becoming a professional golfer. Back in that day at least the way many tried this was to get sponsors that put up your expenses and in return they would get a percentage of any winnings you produced. The sponsors may lose their entire investment or they could get a percentage of a large amount over time depending how the player did. Many players would get people that knew them from their hometown, etc. where someone would say sure I will give you $x in case you hit it big. You only gave up a certain total percentage to others. The concept of selling shares in yourself would be similar, never give up more than 50% so you still have control.

m60freeman SSC-Addicted Points: 467 More actions · Answer 9

This reminds of Bowie Bonds. In 1997, David Bowie became the first recording artist to sell bonds with the royalties from his previous recordings. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bowie-bond.asp

This was investment of the future earning potential of something that was already proven to be a commercial success and was seen at the time as a "sure thing". The article explains why although it ended well, there was an unexpectedly rocky period in the middle of the 10-year maturity of the bonds. So even a "sure thing" can be risky.

Creating an investment vehicle for someone's future potential is even more risky than life insurance, whether or not such shares or bonds give the investor any control. Even if a majority of investors vote to force someone to take a particular job, there is no guarantee they would succeed at it.

I had a friend who dropped out of medical school in her last year (decades ago), and has spent and will continue to spend the rest of her life paying off the student loans involved. If she had sold shares of her future earnings in exchange for her education costs, she'd be debt-free, but those investors would all have lost their investments. What about other unexpected problems: development of long Covid, a mental illness, or something like Parkinson's Disease or even ALS? You can't have shareholders vote to prevent someone from becoming unable to work, or at least there is no way for it to be effective.