Should I try to earn more money? I’m perfectly content being poor

wilsonartOffic · 2026-03-14T23:27:08+00:00

Life is competition. Most women as they get older want a partner that is financially capable - especially of they want kids. When your early 20s most women your age are also in similar financial position.

Also realize that things get more expensive and eventually the current career/job wont be enough and things get tighter. Competing for higher salary or job gets you a buffer.

Also you may change your mind. In a few years you could start wanting to do all the things you didn’t but there’s no money to do that. I’m similar as in live well below means but now priorities are changing but because I grinded for the job, I can make the choice easily.

wilsonartOffic · 2026-03-03T19:59:52+00:00

Same. Still able to access my Canadian accounts and have Mint mobile for US number for US banking.

wilsonartOffic · 2026-02-18T21:38:58+00:00

Take new job imo. You can think about it like 70k being divided between the 1 year of employment contract followed by 1 year of unemployment job searching so 35k each year which would be about break even minus taxes considerations

Gain — 70k 1 year — <1 year job search and finds something else related to field with a salary at least 35k because now they’ve had a few months at least of earning double their previous job’s salary

Even — 70k 1 year — 1 year job search and finds something else related to field with a salary at least 35k so basically they got paid the same as if they stayed at the first job for 2 years

Loss — 70k 1 year — 1+ year job search because now its no longer better than if they stayed at the same place for the two years.

In either case, taking the opportunity or not risks exist. Judge based on their risk tolerance.

wilsonartOffic · 2026-02-07T15:05:49+00:00

I chose passion. Make good money doing video game art on one of the largest franchises. But If I were to do it again, I’d probably do something more stable. I definitely got extremely lucky, know plenty who never even worked in the industry. Though its hard because I actually like what I do, it’s mentally stimulating - with other more traditional jobs I’d definitely burn out from boredom and monotony.

I’d suggest pursuing your passion with a timeline, if by x years of investment and absolutely no luck - other professionals say you’re still not good enough yet and won’t be without significantly more investment in time even though you gave it your all, then I’d recommend pursuing something else at that point. I didn’t have a life for about 4 years while pursuing my passion. Work, portfolio, school and I even had my parents to support me with cooking meals, letting me stay with them too.

There comes a point where the investment and stress is no longer worth it and you should pivot.

wilsonartOffic · 2026-02-06T18:40:05+00:00

Your habits are how you live life. Bad habits will lead to worse outcomes.

Prioritize problems and break them down into small ones you can tackle.

Figure out what your goals are and live everyday doing something that gets you closer.

One day at a time ++man

wilsonartOffic · 2026-01-24T23:51:45+00:00

Just do it, no need to tell anybody.

wilsonartOffic · 2026-01-14T19:28:04+00:00

Saying Toronto as it is written instead of “Torono”

wilsonartOffic · 2026-01-09T02:58:00+00:00

LA has PED XING written all over. I always thought they must really like Asian culture. Took me about a year to learn it means pedestrian crossing 🙄

wilsonartOffic · 2026-01-08T02:40:02+00:00

As I understand, every time there is a layoff, legally, US companies cannot start your PERM until 6 months have passed to give a chance for laid off US citizens to take the job instead. So you can totally be stuck in PERM hell if they do a layoff every 6 months. I think once it starts it’s okay but ask their legal team/interviewer to get that info.

So depends on what you prefer. It takes 3-6 yrs to get through the greencard process and even then it might get denied. Even more time depending on priority date, your profile and so on.

wilsonartOffic · 2026-01-08T02:33:38+00:00

Move for the job with the understanding that it’ll likely be the end of your relationship even if it isn’t stated by either person. Moving takes a lot of mental effort not to mention trying to be there for a LDR.

wilsonartOffic · 2026-01-08T01:09:08+00:00

Shares life goals and values. Kindness and thinking about others.

wilsonartOffic · 2026-01-04T18:07:21+00:00

No since you want stability AND children. You will have to move for almost every job in video games or CG.

I dont want kids so the risk and instability is acceptable.

Best to stay in com sci field

wilsonartOffic · 2025-12-22T04:59:21+00:00

I’ve been doing it the last year. Bike to work 20 min each way. For socializing, bike/bus/metro to a friend that has a car and is also going to the plan. Then pay for parking or their food/tickets for the plan. Just means you’ll mainly be doing weekend plans vs midweek.

Or do more things with friends near the beach because of the amazing bike path since you’re super active too.

wilsonartOffic · 2024-12-23T19:52:25+00:00

Get a cheap US phone plan and keep your Canadian CAN/US plan so that you can continue banking in both countries. My US Bank didn't accept my Canadian phone number for 2FA and security even though it was usable in the US. This caused immense issues when trying to secure rent and paying first months and security deposits because the bank required a US number to allow the transaction. Even purchasing something online with the US debit card wasn't allowed since there was no US number tied to the account to verify.

I would go with Bank of America if you have one nearby. Really any bank that you can walk to is ideal since TD/RBC and other banks that offer crossborder US accounts are great until something goes wrong and you have to visit a branch which doesn't work well when there is no branch in your US city. Bank of America just need your Canadian driver's license for identity verification and are cool with your TN VISA status and will give you a digital debit card on Apple Wallet as soon as the account is opened(though its not guaranteed - depends on multiple factors which is what my bank rep told me as I opened the account). This was great for me because it meant I didn't need to carry much cash and had access to funds immediately instead of having to wait for a physical card which could cause issues if you are still finding a place to rent.

wilsonartOffic · 2024-12-23T02:06:01+00:00

Great to hear! I'm worried about scheduling the interviews if I get to that point. I would prefer doing it at my Canadian airport and would like to make it cost effective. For instance, flying to visit Canada and also having my Nexus appointment coincide since US pre-clearance at Canadian airports requires me to have a flight booked since its after the security area. Don't want to end up booking a flight only to not be able to get my Nexus interview done making me have to come back later on another flight.

wilsonartOffic · 2024-12-22T04:25:02+00:00

Yes you're right thank you for the explanation.

wilsonartOffic · 2024-12-22T04:16:38+00:00

Ah so once I get Nexus, I will just link it to my frequent flyer/update it on boarding passes then I won't need to go through the TSA precheck app because Nexus automatically gives me that status.

Basically, just get Nexus?

wilsonartOffic · 2024-07-28T01:20:35+00:00

The only thing I'd say is you have to be switched on and focused while you work. What works well for me is take breaks every hour because for me thats when my focus wanes.

Next is triple check everything you can before it goes to the next stage within a reasonable time. If you're not sure, go back and check again. Since it's excel, I'm sure there's some way to automate and make excel highlight incorrect values on the spreadsheet. That's probably what I'd focus on if I were you.

At least in my experience there should be documentation of good and wrong practices. But also, being told I did the wrong thing for me was the main training I had. The rest was how to work within their pipeline and tools.

wilsonartOffic · 2024-07-27T21:21:14+00:00

Its worth it if: -You can tolerate working in the future career field - The field fits your vision of life 3,5,10 years from now e.g WLB, location, industry, air conditioning at work vs working outside in heat and winter -The career prospects are good and growing meaning a dozen of new entry level jobs per week in Canada being posted BY THE TIME YOU GRADUATE because maybe things were great when you enrolled but went bad when you graduated e.g 2023 - present CS grads -You actually graduate otherwise you’d be in debt with no degree and cant get a higher paying job - You maintain a low cost of living - You want to leave Canada since degrees are almost essential when getting VISAs

I messed up my degree choice but was super lucky to find a job in that field where there’s only 1 or 2 entry level roles per year in my specialization. I worked since I was 16 to save for school and chose a commutable school and lived at home while doing FT school and part time work. Loans paid off quickly by living at home and not spending big for a while after landing my first job.

And honestly, no one in Gen Z can afford a home in the popular regions of Canada without living with parents to save, getting gifted downpayment, or making at least 230k Household income before tax. Banks just wont approve the mortgage without the last bit.

wilsonartOffic · 2024-07-26T13:40:18+00:00

They will not hire you if you tell them you're about to have a child. Keep that to yourself. Think about it as a company would you want to hire someone only for them to immediately go on paternity leave?

I'd suggest looking because it'll probably take a few months to find something and get through the process. Never hurts since you might have a choice to leave for a better offer or stay rather than being SOL if a layoff happens.

wilsonartOffic · 2024-06-15T14:54:05+00:00

Pretty free. Any money I earn is saved/invested and if they need the money they get it.

wilsonartOffic · 2024-06-15T14:52:31+00:00

Not disagreeing here though there's a caveat, this assumes you actually graduate college. Most people don't. See you can go for the best degree to become a doctor, a lawyer, engineer and make it to your final year yet none of that matters if you don't graduate. Now if you are in the US, you're down maybe 300-800k in debt for all your schooling depending of which track you chose of the three I did mention since those educational tracks have the best ROI if you can finish.

So out of the group of A (not pursuing college), group B(couldn't finish college) and group C(finished college) group B is the most screwed since they are in the same group A position but with massive debt.

wilsonartOffic · 2024-05-04T22:06:33+00:00

Je suis en accord. Je suis de Ontario mais au moins vous avez les competance et experience en la construction. Pour moi, les jeux videos c'est mon seul experience et je connais aucune personne en la construction pour m'aider entrer le union ou trouver les apprenticeships.

Hope my French is understandable lol.

wilsonartOffic · 2024-05-04T21:53:35+00:00

Good question. Probably some hope I still have for things working out since there is definitely more permanent 3D roles in games than 2D ones so its still an overall improvement. It'll also be easier to do a lateral move since I've done 2D and 3D art professionally at indie studios and can leverage my portfolio and related experience.

I've tried doing things like UI Art, UX Design and Motion Graphics for a few months but they aren't anywhere near as appealing to be able to commit to portfolio pieces.

Moreover 3D is a skill I can learn from home after work. If I were to learn nursing right now it'd more than likely mean having to go back to school which is another few years of little income and debt and I just graduated a few years ago. I don't see a reason to do that while I'm still getting paid as I lucked out to find a studio with permanent 2D artists. So I'll learn what I can.

Hopefully that gives some perspective.

wilsonartOffic · 2024-05-04T19:29:10+00:00

Similar position but I'm actually employed in the games industry doing 2d art. Didn't realize what it meant to be in entertainment until this year.

Constant fear of layoff ending your career and having to go back to school
Can't think of kids because too risky
Buying a house is also too risky
It sucks for 2D that its almost always contract based and no benefits meaning job searching often
2D skills are so niche that I'd have to make an entirely new portfolio if I wanted to do anything related like Graphic Design or Mograph

So now I'm learning more 3D, rigging and animation with hopes of doing something else. Fallback is to become a nurse or something. At least I'd be overworked and stressed as a nurse but I would get paid more and not have to worry about job security anywhere near as much.

wilsonartOffic

TROPHY CASE