Do what you love

I don't want to be rich after I graduate. I don't need a BMW or an Armani suit.

I just want happiness and a job I love.

Recently, I sat down with a successful and innovative student of our fine university who seemed to share the same beliefs I have with life after college.

Eric Schleien, 21, of Westchester, N.Y, owns and operates a hedge fund out of his dorm room. He got the idea from a book he read when he was young, a book that promised teens the opportunity to ‘be richer than your parents.'

After reading through the book, Eric found other books that lead him to investing, something that has since become his passion, his job and something he would love to do for the rest of his life.

He added that he doesn't know how many hours he works in a week, 'I don't keep track,' he said. 'I love it so much that it has just become a part of my life, like anything else.'

Eric has also been featured in a book, Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffet.

It's not very often I run into a student who has been featured in a book, yet alone someone who is sharing pages with a man that is worth billions of dollars, and at one point, topped Bill Gates on Forbes Magazine list of richest people.

Eric is featured in a chapter for his accomplishments and to his knowledge, is the youngest operator of a hedge fund in the country. He was featured in the book after meeting the author at a business convention and told him his story.

Eric also spoke to me about how much he loves what he is doing, and 'would do it even if the whole world told him not to.' He also added that if for any reason he could not continue to invest as a career, he would still spend his free time taking part in it.

'There's never a moment where I feel stuck or struggling,' Eric said about finding things to invest into and discussing his work.

If there is anything you can take away from Eric, it's that you too, need to be dedicated. If you expect to land a job that you really want, one that you are passionate about, then you need to devote yourself to taking all the right steps.

If there is the slightest hint in your soul that you could be great at something, if you think you could spend the rest of your life doing that – go for it.

Don't hesitate or stick with a lousy program you're already involved in. Switch you're major, transfer to a different school. Do whatever it takes to be successful.

And here at UB we have our chances. A chance to explore many different fields and we can try them, if we don't like it, we can try again.

Don't commit yourself to a major or career path based on the potential of a high salary or because someone else wants you to. It's your life, your career and your chance to do anything.

So do what you want, do what you love, and do it for your own future.

If you're lucky enough to find a job you love, you will really feel as if you never work a day in your life.

Eric has his love for investing; I have my passion for journalism. I have been working for The Spectrum for over a year now, and in that time, have no idea how many hours I have spent writing, reading, re-writing and editing stories.

But, it doesn't seem like I have ever ‘worked' here. My first two semesters I didn't receive any pay, and that didn't bother me one bit, despite the massive amount of hours I spent in the office.

Steve Lopez, an award winning columnist for the Los Angeles Times, was kind enough to visit us in our newsroom last week, and he briefly talked about being paid to do what he loves, something I took to heart.

'I feel like I'm stealing money every two weeks because I get paid to do this,' Lopez said.

I can only hope to be there someday.

E-mail: matt.mosher@ubspectrum.com