Dirtbag existence vs. educated and employed

Does anyone care to wager in on their thoughts of whether getting an education and only climbing around your work schedule is better than dirtbagging and climbing wherever and working small jobs to keep climbing and travelling

Luc Ried wrote:Does anyone care to wager in on their thoughts of whether getting an education and only climbing around your work schedule is better than dirtbagging and climbing wherever and working small jobs to keep climbing and travelling

Haven't there been numerous threads on this in the past? (Not that we can't use a few more!)

mountainproject.com/v/what-…

mountainproject.com/v/quitt…

mountainproject.com/v/the-b…

mountainproject.com/v/dirtb…

mountainproject.com/v/givin…

mountainproject.com/v/being…

mountainproject.com/v/caree…

Judging by your grammar, I'd suggest that you stick with what your good at.

I'm sorry if my lack of commas, run on sentence, and lack of punctuation bothered you. I know how much grammar matters in my pursuit of a prospective education in the field of engineering.

doak wrote:Judging by your grammar, I'd suggest that you stick with what your good at.

Was that an ironic misuse of "your"? Or are you one of those folks living in a metaphorical glass house and haven't yet learned not to throw stones?

doak wrote:Judging by your grammar, I'd suggest that you stick with what your good at.

Em Cos wrote: Was that an ironic misuse of "your"? Or are you one of those folks living in a metaphorical glass house and haven't yet learned not to throw stones?

This thread just exemplifies teh Internets.

Engineers aren't that great so don't worry about an education. Unless you learn from a mentor you've got a rough road ahead of you.

Just do what makes you happy, and be happy that you're doing it.

its all success if it's what you need.

Luc Ried wrote:Does anyone care to wager in on their thoughts of whether getting an education and only climbing around your work schedule is better than dirtbagging and climbing wherever and working small jobs to keep climbing and travelling

What would you propose we wager and how do you know who wins?

Actually as an engineer I'll tell you, you better figure out your grammar. Nothing makes you look more like an idiot that sending an email to a client (or an official report) with bad grammar and miss spelled words.
Edit: thanks talk to text for making me look like an idiot, it's misspelled, you are correct.

Ryan7crew wrote:Actually as an engineer I'll tell you, you better figure out your grammar. Nothing makes you look more like an idiot that sending an email to a client (or an official report) with bad grammar and miss spelled words.

Was this meant to be ironic too? It's misspelled. I am sorry.

I would think that if you live, breath, eat, drink and sleep climbing, dirtbagging is a good option for you.

If, however, you like having a life outside of climbing, have other activities and hobbies you enjoy, have family you like spending time with or friends who don't climb, having a career is probably a better way to go.

I know proper grammar, however, I hadn't planned on MP having strict grammar rules. I was also being sarcastic when saying it doesn't apply to engineers.
Thank you thecmacattack and mathias for the only thoughtful responses on here.

The only problem with doing what you want, hmmm or following your heart is you end up working at Mc Donald's or waiting tables when you should be collecting social security.

So if you got retirement figured out I say be the dirtiest bag you can be!

That's the only major downside I see in the dirtbag existence. It just so happens that its also a pretty big downside.

Actual input: Do you like to climb and have fun all the time? Would it not bother you if the non-climbers in your life don't really have an interest in what you are up to? Would you think of someone who lives out of their car and plays pick-up basketball full time with extreme levels of optimism as a 'pretty cool guy'?

If yes, never clean your bag again!

The world is full of smart poor people. Define "education" as it can most certainly be had outside of a formal classroom setting.

Luc Ried wrote:I'm sorry if my lack of commas, run on sentence, and lack of punctuation bothered you. I know how much grammar matters in my pursuit of a prospective education in the field of engineering.

Good luck getting a job in engineering with that attitude. If you can't effectively communicate, you'll be consistently beaten by all the folks who got C's in the engineering classes, but can actually express themselves.
Any asshole with a calculator can do the math necessary to be an engineer. That's only a small part of the job. Either learn to express yourself, or you're in for a rude awakening the first time you have to design around the capabilities of somebody who refuses to answer your poorly conceived, borderline incomprehensible emails.

Answering the prompt: when I was 18, all I could think about was climbing. It was all I cared about. As long as I could climb, I'd be happy.
As I've aged, I've encountered more of my physical limitations. I can't bounce back from an injury like I used to. A sustained effort one day has more serious repercussions the day (or week) after. I can't drink myself into a stupor 3 nights in a row and expect to climb at my peak the morning after each.
The older I get, the more I realize that a monolithic life would ultimately unsatisfying because I could not wake up every morning and be awesome. First, I branched out into other hobbies. I learned to ski. I backpacked.
But I also came to realize just how exhausting constant travel can be. I've gone on 6 week road trips. I've climbed every day for a summer. After a certain point, it stops being fun, and you've got nothing to really look forward to.

I'd say that anybody who makes long term career plans without ever working a rewarding job is not really in possession of sufficient data to make blanket assertions about what's really better in terms of long-term life decisions.

Brian Scoggins wrote: Good luck getting a job in engineering with that attitude. If you can't effectively communicate, you'll be consistently beaten by all the folks who got C's in the engineering classes, but can actually express themselves. Any asshole with a calculator can do the math necessary to be an engineer. That's only a small part of the job. Either learn to express yourself, or you're in for a rude awakening the first time you have to design around the capabilities of somebody who refuses to answer your poorly conceived, borderline incomprehensible emails. Answering the prompt: when I was 18, all I could think about was climbing. It was all I cared about. As long as I could climb, I'd be happy. As I've aged, I've encountered more of my physical limitations. I can't bounce back from an injury like I used to. A sustained effort one day has more serious repercussions the day (or week) after. I can't drink myself into a stupor 3 nights in a row and expect to climb at my peak the morning after each. The older I get, the more I realize that a monolithic life would ultimately unsatisfying because I could not wake up every morning and be awesome. First, I branched out into other hobbies. I learned to ski. I backpacked. But I also came to realize just how exhausting constant travel can be. I've gone on 6 week road trips. I've climbed every day for a summer. After a certain point, it stops being fun, and you've got nothing to really look forward to. I'd say that anybody who makes long term career plans without ever working a rewarding job is not really in possession of sufficient data to make blanket assertions about what's really better in terms of long-term life decisions.

I was being sarcastic, as stated before, and thanks for the actual advice as well

Greg Petliski wrote:You can certainly be both. I have and will continue to hitchhike, dumpster dive, live in caves, etc because it makes me incredibly happy. But at the same time, I enjoy being an active environmental conservationist, reading Richard Dawkins and engaging in the political process. But to your point, neither is "better" it all depends on the person. Certainly dirtbagging is better for me, but that doesnt make it so for all. You could very well be dead before retirement. My dad was recently killed, run over by a pickup truck. He was 66, just starting to enjoy his retirement. Why work your whole life for something that MAY come true when you could have fun NOW and work later, when youre old and too feeble to put up hard routes anyway? This is the best part of your life, RIGHT NOW, ages 18-40, and we spend it working, so that we can take time off in our 70s and 80s?!?

This is my exact feelings on the matter. Living life to the fullest (cliche, right?) while I can