TAKE THE JOB!!!!! There's no point in staying at a dead end job where you don't see yourself in 5+ years. I would definitely get a beater sport bike to commute around LA; lane sharing is amazing when everyone else around you is at a stand still. I interned in L.A. for a summer, (lived with my uncle in O.C. and commuted to Burbank) and remember the epic traffic jams.

 

zzzz

 

Haha I find it funny when people in housing projects of section 8 drive nice cars like dodge chargers or Nissan Muranos. I think people should live within their means.

I've seen some of the nicely modded z's on here and I don't know how people can afford mods without loans. To have that much cash you don't need boggles my mind lol. Example, any twin turbo z must have cost $15k to do.

 

I know right? But some people gradually pay for their mods, some don't necessarily pay 15k or more all at once. I used to see people with Masarati's and Bentlys but were in debt up to their eye ***** trying to keep up with the jones's. Those are the same people that got suckered during the housing crisis and college graduates that owe over a trillion dollars in student debt. But people think it's normal.

 

Though I already have a savings account. in which I put 4.5K a year into, and a separate saving in which I put $80 a month into for any future problems the Z might throw at me, and I would have that money ready.

Im going to school for graphic design/visual communications.
And I would take all night classes. but there are non offered.

I talked to my mentor the other night and he had the idea of postponing the job until summer when I am done with school. (until fall session starts up again)

Right now I am lucky and dont have to pay for housing or food (unless I eat out)
and making $12 an hour and moving closer to work is pretty much impossible to keep myself alive in LA.

 

I understand when most people suggest staying in school and getting your degree..

But honestly it is very hard to get a good paying job with just an undergraduate degree in today's times.. Especially in something like graphic design (no offense but it's not something like engineering)

Landing a job is really about who you know, more so than it was in years past when a BA or BS meant much more

If you know how to budget your expenditures I say go for the job in the field of work that you want.. That experience on your resume will mean alot to future employers in the same field.

On the other hand, you stated there are no night classes for your major so I don't know how you are going to graduate without a flexible schedule. I say if your mentor can postpone the offer until summer it's a definite go-ahead from me.. if you excel at your position they may work with you on schedule when Fall comes around.

Just another opinion.

 

This x1000. I'd prefer to get paid to get an even better handle on school work, to do better in school, to get paid more.

 

Yes, I can agree 100% with these guys. I went to school thinking I'll graduate and get a good job. Mind you I wasn't expecting much only $38,000 a year.

It's all about who you know and you're real world experience. For most jobs there will be more qualified people applying, make yourself stand out and sell yourself

 

Its not about your resume, its about your work history, references, connections, and real-world experience. By no means am I trying to convince you to drop out of school, but give you my advice on what to prioritize. If you can manage to balance the better job in your chosen field as well as stay in school, by all means do that!

Another post stated that your degree doesn't really matter that much, and I wholeheartedly agree. Over the years I have had guys with masters degrees and PHD's working for me, and I don't have a degree at all. I just learned from some great people, starting at the bottom and giving everything I had to improve my situation. Just keep in mind that you don't want to be as good as the next guy at a few things, but you always want to be better than the next guy at everything.

I know that it may be hard to not tinker with your toys, but in my opinion, try and hold off spending that money for another year or two and save it as a safety cushion in the meantime.

You seem to have a head on your shoulders, so take all of our advise with a grain of salt, and follow your instincts.

 

I bought my Z at 18. Made about 35k a year. Told myself I was going to TT it and everything. I think I may have created a DA thread about it 7 years ago as well. Lol. Just work and save $ the world is a fcked up place

 

Pay your car off early and enjoy no car payments

 

who said I had payments

I think I will take somewhat off majority advice on here.
Take the new job in summer and kill myself driving 5 days a week and living like a bum haha.

Also Im starting my own company in the next few weeks and already have contract account signed. so I think that will help alot with commute expenses when the time comes!

Hopefully I get to build the Z, get a chopper and still have all of my house savings in tact hah. but one step at a time

 

Neeko reading all the responses everyone pretty much reiterated what i was going to tell you. Your going to have to struggle in college to get anywhere in life unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. In la that means your parents must make in excess of 500,000 a year. 10 to 12 dollars an hour isn't a huge jump but if th job is in your field with a great and well known company in the industry, make the struggle. I did it while i was in school and i had five or six more job offers than most of my friends who went to USC and UCLA because i had two years of full time experience at a big 4 bank. LA also isn't biased on schools, cool you went to UCLA, but if this long beach state or CSULA grad actually has been working while they were in school and did the same amount of schoolwork you did, your degree isn't worth shiit.

Chino hills to irvine isn't bad, I kinda did that going from LB to DTLA everyday @ 4:30 pm to get to my job by 5 and believe me i was broke. OMG I was broke but i worked hard and t payed off. This decision is entirely up to you. if you think you cn handle it, do it and don't get down on your self when shiit gets a little rough, but if you have any doubt in your mind that you can't handle it, don't do it. If said friend is willing to hire you, than they will be willing to hire you after you finish school with a degree.

Also no modding, it was a good enough accomplishment that you bought the car, worry about getting out of school with no loans, finding a great job and having no debt.

 

As people have stated, stay in school! I will add a caveat however, stay in school IF it aligns with what you want to do. If it currently doesn't align to get you where you want to go, then fix it. (I am NOT suggesting you drop out, I am suggesting you change your academic plan to fit your needs)

And on that note, I am glad you are thinking about this at 19, I know I was nowhere near this mindset at 19. As everyone else on here stated, DO NOT put money into the car. Enjoy it for what it's worth, I bet you can remember the feeling when you first turned her on and took her for a spin. Don't forget that.

Someone mentioned an emergency savings fund, if you don't already have one, this is absolutely necessary. Anything after that, why not save? why not invest?

I believe everyone on here is all for building up your car in a tasteful way, but I don't think anyone on here will tell you that it is worth the cost of a burden on your life and goals.

I am a full time engineer currently preparing to begin my MBA in the fall, there are guys on here with extremely valuable experience (much more than I can offer), so ask smart and honest questions, you will get your answer. If you want to provide more detail, we can probably guide you much better. Send a PM if you want to chat on the phone. (As someone mentioned, build a network, here's a popfly).

 

As to Stuart & RainyCityZ I really appreciate your time and detailed opinions on this subject.

I contacted the gentleman at the new job opportunity and asked if the position would be available during summer when I finish school. in which he said "Available or not, you will be working for us" so thats on a good note.

In the mean time I will continue to work at the tire shop im currently at but still run my business after hours whenever possible. I will be the brains/head of the company though I do have an investor. (for those who are curious Im starting a commercial screen printing business. have been production printing about 5 years myself)
If things work out right and I nail some more big accounts, who knows, might get a chopper after all ahah and if not. I will make the commute with the Z for as long as I can!

In other news, I am financially stable with a house saving and an emergency fund. But wanted to reward myself a bit and picked up some KW V3's being installed next week along with getting a corner balance

 

Why do you want a chopper so bad? Are you part of the Mongols or Hell's angels?

 

 

Good deal on the job, that is truly a friend, dnt burn that bridge for anything. I would focus on school, your business, and your job in the mean time. It looks somewhat good to an employer if you started your own business while you were in school. On the coilovers, its cool to mod your car, but like i said be wary of the mod bug, you dont want to be spending 2500 on coilovers and all of sudden you need 1000 because of life. but good deal bro, keep on this path and you will make it i promise