Currently I am in the financial services field and for the most part I like the work I am doing. I have a nice condo in a medium COL city and like the area. I am in my later 20's but still a few years off from 30. However I realized something strange about my current job. I signed up under a contract (which is not a problem and they laid out they paid more because it is a contract), but the pay will go down if I get hired on permanently. Honestly if it is a small dip I get that, but the suggested pay was between 54000 and 68000, the lower end being close to what I got paid at my previous job. While I don't want to focus on salary, I realized my current salary probably won't keep up with inflation, let alone being stepped down and stuck in the 50ishk to 60ishk region. I realized that I want to benefit from inflation, not be caught up by it.

​

This led me to reconsider my second career option, programming. People always said I was pretty good with computers growing up, but I felt like I did better with investing than programming, so I figured I would go toward the financial services track. Prior to the current position I am in,I worked for a well known financial company and got my licenses, but I had to be on the phone all day, so I switched to an analyst role, which I currently work in and I love. The only downside is I feel like I am not progressing and I am stuck in a gully in terms of earning power. I have tried to look into jobs on Indeed in LA, Chicago, and Dallas, but the pay is the same adjusting for col and taxes.

As a hobby I like programming, but I worry about making the jump to being a professional as it would kill my interest in programming after work. I do have about 10 projects in my portfolio including a scraping program for prices of a certain item which then saves the data to a SQLite DB. It is mostly Python but I am going to try and write some projects in Java so I am not stuck on one language. I am on the spectrum, although I can get along with coworkers just fine. I am not the biggest fan of web development, but I guess whatever pays the bills will do. I already have a business degree, but there is a state university where tuition is 6k a year and is near a tech center so I am wondering for that amount a small amount of debt out not be the worse thing. In the mean time I plan to get a certificate from a community college that would knock out my prerequisites and allow me to work while going to school. One other goal besides financial stability is the ability to remote work. While I get out of the gate I won't be able to do this, eventually I would like to be a digital nomad.

​

Overall my biggest concern (besides debt but I don't think the amount would be the worst), is committing to a career. I like trading stocks and I will work this contract (which usually lasts 1 year to a year and a half) and even accept employment with this company if it pops up, but I can't get this nagging feeling that the grass is greener, but I don't want to romanticize it either.

​

TLDR I am in the financial services field but can't help but feeling I am stuck in a gully in terms of pay.