I am the OP.

If you knew me, you'd know that I am exceedingly frugal in many ways, that I save and invest *aggressively*, and that my late model BMW is used and not flashy. Some other fool took the depreciation/tax/ins hits for me.

The bicycle is a bit flash...I will grant you that. However, I ride the wheels off my bikes, so it's worth it to me.

My original post was sort of a knee jerk reaction to him looking me up and down and acting like a hot shot. I don't think he saw the car or bike. I suppose it was a poor choice of words..but what I meant to get across is that you do not have to look like an over-shaved drone and break your back for a soulless, meaningless job/company to get ahead.

If you are not L3...ask yourself what transferable skill set your time with ERAC has instilled in you. I got out early and lucked into a very lucrative technical field, where I have advanced to a position normally held by people 10-15 yrs older than me. Make no mistake, I work very hard and it is often very dry and tedious stuff...I guess I give L3+ employees the benefit of the doubt, seeing how former area mgrs seem to land on their feet.

The odds of an ERAC mgt trainee new hire getting to that level are worse, statistically speaking, than an 18 year old kid ever making the big leagues if drafted out of high school. I've done the math based on turnover in a certain region and a certain time frame. Think about that.

PS I'm not 'new money' trash. I might be old money trash in a few yrs if I keep my head on straight and get lucky with long term investments...but for now I live on half of what I make.