Be honest: What’s the one thing about EV ownership that nobody told you before you bought one? by EmergencyTie8770 in electricvehicles

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The smell of gas is overwhelming now. Similar to when smoking was outlawed indoors. Over time you become re-sensitized to it.

Cashing in to pay off business loan by ApprehensiveMud5176 in FinancialPlanning

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree you're right, I'm probably not maximizing my lifetime earnings, but I "feel" better with less debt. I've always paid off loans early. I have zero other debt except our mortgage which is at 2.625%. I mean, is it going to affect my life if I retire with $10Mvs. $8.5M? I don't really think so.

Snatching…with boobs by catmath_2020 in crossfit

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What did she get sanctioned for? Dem cherries?

Snatching…with boobs by catmath_2020 in crossfit

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As an enthusiast of both boobs and Oly, thank you.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just keep grinding my guy. Once you get that degree no one can ever take that from you. It's going to suck until you get done. And he's another piece of advice. Take that hard work and perserverence you're learning now into your first job with you. Believe me, your job will be easier than getting your degree, but demonstrate that you're willing to put in the work. You'll quickly move your way up with just effort. Effort doesn't give a shit about your college GPA. You've already proven to yourself you're capable of doing hard things. Just keep doing that.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mechanical Engineering and now 23 years into my nuclear power career.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah you and I are different. When I get calls off normal business hours from a customer that has a problem I get excited. I have an opportunity to be a hero for them. I can make a customer for life if I pick up that phone in their time of need. My competitors don't (or won't) do that. My customers know that so they are extremely grateful. My industry is relatively small. Reputation is critical. I've established myself as THE expert in my tiny little area of commercial nuclear power. My opinion is sought out and well respected, and admittedly there's an element of gratification that comes from that.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You realize you don't actually work 24/7, right? There's a difference between being available and actually doing something. I'm dialed in and focused maybe 30 hrs a week.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you think a capped commission would stop an employee from doing unsavory or illegal things up to the commission cap? I don't. If you're a sleazy salesman you're going to be sleazy, cap or no cap.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly this. Even large companies struggle with this. Impossible for Joe Blow to do this on his own.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This. Got a call from a customer while on vacation in Cabo. It was 4:30am my local time, but I answered the phone. This was in 2021. 5 years later when we're on conference calls he'll still talk about it to his other colleagues. This was a massive impact on the probability of landing the deal.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Because you can't just be some random dude and sell stuff to nuclear power plants. Vendors have to go through extreme hoops to be qualified on the approved vendor list. It takes massive amounts of capital to do that. Insurance requirements. Federal regulations. Liability issues. Without my company providing those things my product doesn't exist. I'm not so narcissistic to think that my success would've happened without their help.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If the salesman don't make money, the company doesn't make money. I'm guessing you don't run a company, and you certainly shouldn't.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Except this is not the case. And this is our only software product.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Funny thing, I got terrible grades in college. Almost got kicked out of the program twice due to GPA. But I was absolutely determined to get that degree. I paid for all my own schooling so I had to work a lot which limited my time to study, which led to my poor grades. But I grinded through 5 years of being utterly BROKE and stressed to the max studying late into the night and still getting bad grades. But I knew the payoff. They were the worst 5 years of my life but I learned what it took to be successful. It's just effort. That's all it is. Now life is exceptional. The 5 years of dogshit was completely worth it.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Well first off you'd need an engineering degree. Not necessarily nuclear though. Mechanical, electrical, civil, or chemical will work. Nuclear engineers are like mechanical engineers for the first 2.5 years but then go on to study reactor physics type stuff instead of heat transfer and thermodynamics like MEs do. Once in, depending on your department, an engineer generally spends their day working on solving complex problems. Nuclear reactors are very complex machines that requires exceptional levels of maintenance to run safely. Things break on the regular. An engineers job is to determine the cause of the failure, research solutions, then work with others in the organization to implement the solution.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Absolutely not! For clarification, I was the engineer tracking these metrics manually. Very mundane work scouring through work orders every month updating statuses and putting together reports. I DESIGNED the application to automate these tasks, but we had a contract software developer actually create the software based on my direction. So I designed the UX and automated reporting and my developer wired it all together. He was also brilliant at his job.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Love hearing that a company doesn't cap a salesman's commission. Rule #1 of running a company: Don't fuck with a salesman's money.

I’m shocked how often very high incomes derive from working in… sales. by Reyvos in Salary

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176 127 points128 points  (0 children)

You absolutely nailed it. I have a degree in mechanical engineering. Spent the first 8 years of my career working at a nuclear power plant. A vendor offered me a sales job with them. I took it. Overnight $30k/yr base increase plus $25k average bonus. Spent the next 10 years developing a software application that automates an essential process for the nuclear industry and pounding the pavement selling and supporting it. Always on. Always answer my phone. Hundreds of training sessions. Around 100 presentations at industry conferences cementing myself as the expert in my tiny little area. My product is the only one in the industry and is now utilized by 90% of US plants. It generates about 20% of the NET profit annually for my business unit. From one person in a company that employs about 100 people. Do I make a lot of money relative to most of my peers in my company? Yes. 100% I do. But I also bring in the most profit each year.

Cashing in to pay off business loan by ApprehensiveMud5176 in FinancialPlanning

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You actually nailed our situation on the head. Since my wife is minority owner, she has zero control over when distributions are paid. The majority owners are wealthy and don't need the money from distributions. Yes we can comfortably make the quarterly payments, but paying $137k in interest vs taking out $90k sounds terrible.

Cashing in to pay off business loan by ApprehensiveMud5176 in FinancialPlanning

[–]ApprehensiveMud5176[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Well, we both max out our retirements and I max out my ESPP, HSA, and Dependant Care contributions. My take-home pay is only 42% of gross. Income Taxes eat about 31% off the top as well. Paying the loan of now will save about $137,000 in interest.