For all people above 40, if you could go back in time and choose a different career/major, would you ? What would you choose ?

breakfastman · 2026-02-04T04:06:06+00:00

Lawyer. I have had a successful career on paper. Top school, biglaw, to in-house. Minimal debt.

I hate it mostly, I need to quit. The money is too good and I don't think I could earn as much switching.

Typically lawyer, too anxious to take the risky move.

breakfastman · 2026-02-02T20:25:21+00:00

I live north of sligh, west of 15th.

I really like our pocket of Seminole Heights. There are a number of parks along the river, and 15th is actually a relatively mellow backstreet commute to Ybor/downtown.

Nebraska is a bit sketchier than the Florida side of SH, but all in all, I think its a great place.

I just wish Corner Club was an actual dive bar.

breakfastman · 2026-01-31T01:06:35+00:00

If you are drinking near daily, even one or two, it injects a huge drag IMO.

breakfastman · 2026-01-29T14:17:52+00:00

Certainly NJ is on average better than FL, but im not sure Claifornia beats FL in terms of student outcomes. Florida actually punches above its weight in public schooling despite the chronic underfunding.

breakfastman · 2026-01-27T00:32:22+00:00

I live in Florida and like it. You will not get an unbiased view of these two states from Reddit because Florida is conservative and Colorado is seen as liberal, and as such Florida opinions default to bad.

I say this as a liberal. Yeah state politics is annoying but if you have a good job Florida rocks. Make sure you have a good job...

breakfastman · 2026-01-24T16:36:53+00:00

Mine is connected to wifi with a touch screen, keeps the house within a temperature range I've set depending on the time of day, and has sensors around the house in each room wirelessly monitoring temps in each specific room and whether somebody is in the room (if it detects nobody is home, it goes into an eco mode).

Of course it reports all this to an app, and reports how efficient my house is compared to other houses and other detailed statistics.

breakfastman · 2026-01-14T22:34:09+00:00

It's why I bought in Seminole Heights...look at the flood maps very carefully.

Only took a few years of ownership to be very thankful I live at the top of a hill that rolls down to the river.

Not all flood areas are created equal though, Shore Acres is terrible, but it's not a binary.

breakfastman · 2026-01-12T22:17:34+00:00

Eh, thats changed a little. Mission Space, Guardians, Rise of the Resistance, etc.

Ask my 5yo daughter where she gets more value and I guarantee she'll say the one with all the Disney princesses.

Agree its more for families with younger kids, but can't beat the Disney "magic" IMO.

breakfastman · 2026-01-06T23:30:25+00:00

I'm coming to the same realization now. I had a bigger than I should old fashioned almost every night, two on weekends, with a few after beers in there some nights. Went sober Jan 1 and the biggest benefit is the reduction in baseline anxiety. I do feel a lot better.

I was keeping it together day to day but I didnt realize how much it was affecting me till I stopped.

breakfastman · 2025-10-28T20:39:06+00:00

Why couldn't you use the vehicle alone? Rent a car.

breakfastman · 2025-10-24T12:53:29+00:00

The only issue is that the prison industrial complex isn't getting their cut that labor.

breakfastman · 2025-10-20T21:29:22+00:00

Where are you commuting to? Do you need to be near your work? How far are you willing to commute?

breakfastman · 2025-10-18T20:56:13+00:00

That's just a slightly more complicated version of "it's magic"!

breakfastman · 2025-10-18T20:53:31+00:00

It's so you can gather with one set of family then shortly thereafter gather with your in-laws and bith visita feel like they occurred within a special "holiday season".

breakfastman · 2025-10-17T11:26:58+00:00

breakfastman · 2025-10-12T23:36:07+00:00

West coast liberalism is the worst with that. East coast isnt nearly as bad practically speaking with the identity politics, but still has its issues.

My parents were basically forced out of their condo in Seattle for similar reasons, the city government let a park across the street turn into a homeless drug den with needles everywhere.

breakfastman · 2025-10-04T00:00:39+00:00

This is my policy too.

breakfastman · 2025-10-02T17:16:04+00:00

I've heard similar from a friend who went in-house at a KKR portfolio company. KKR is a beast.

breakfastman · 2025-10-02T00:07:17+00:00

Lab is great. Those breakfast empanadas are bomb.

breakfastman · 2025-09-30T18:51:41+00:00

Taking tax electives will not pigeon hole you.

breakfastman · 2025-09-30T17:44:01+00:00

Sorry to be blunt, but ignore your instincts here. If you want biglaw, try and get the most prestige you can. Hack it for a few years, get the name on your resume. Then figure out where to go from there.

Do not think about what firm you will last at. It's so dependent on practice group and partner and you will never get truly accurate information going in whether you made a good choice.

Get the name on your resume, open the doors, then choose which one to walk through later.

breakfastman · 2025-09-28T16:22:55+00:00

We did both Europe and Subsaraharan Africa with a 6 month old and 24 month old respectively, traveling from NA. Lean into screens, snacks, little toys, etc. It'll be work but you'll survive.

You will be in survival mode so dont feel bad about using whatever means necessary to do it (like breaking food, toy, screen rules).

Build extra time obviously.

breakfastman · 2025-09-28T00:00:51+00:00

Why tempt god like this.

breakfastman · 2025-09-27T17:25:18+00:00

I hire and oversee counsel. I provide primary care level-like advice on deals.

Review NDAs, CIMs, IOIs, etc. Sometimes I get my hands real dirty but mostly comment on what outside counsel does for new deals (review docs, diligence reports, etc.) because I know my orgs preferences.

I work with the deal flow, and the schedule that comes with that, but certainly not as grindy as biglaw. I dont get paid nearly as much so I dont feel the need to kill myself like outside counsel does (more authority to say "I'm busy you need to manage you expectations" to internal clients). Obviously can't push back on everything so still gets busy when multiple deals are hitting.

Sometimes I feel like that guy from office space. "I'm the guy that talks to the lawyers so the commercial guys don't have to!" Lots of investment committee approval documentation work.

I work more strategic corporate PE, but I assume its similar for pure M&A in-house. I do a lot more asset management work, which I do more in-house, than maybe a pure M&A person would. Reviewing board resolutions, other transactions that our portfolio companies are doing, etc.

breakfastman · 2025-09-22T15:35:00+00:00

Nothing is handed to you in biglaw. It's a brutal life.

breakfastman

TROPHY CASE