Careers: Money or happiness?

It seems to be a trend that I see a lot.

People compromise their happiness in their career for a higher pay. "I will put myself through hell just to make more money."

Which is more important to you:

- Enjoying your work, despite whatever pay you make.
- Working for the money you make, no matter how tedious it can get.

Personally, I think if you enjoy what you do, you're much more likely to excel and reap your own personal benefits that aren't in a form of currency. You have your sanity, you like getting up every day to go to work, but you make just enough to live on.

How ya doing, buddy?

Definitely enjoying your work despite whatever pay. Happiness pays a hell of a lot more than the boredom or hatred for a job that you don't like. And if you're enjoying your work so much . . . maybe someone will notice your passion and promote you. Never know . . .

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'd want both but seriously I think of pay first.

I am a bit money greedy. Every since my 4 sisters left the household...I've gotten more and more because the extra money is all directed towards me. I didn't live in a rich household but I get more money from my mom than an average person. This really messed me up. Not to mention that I was spoiled and pampered thanks to being the baby of the bunch.

All of that has made me want a job that pays very well so I can live a pampered life. I want a very Nice Home with a jacuzzi, I want to be able to afford to eat steak and expensive foods whenever I please...yet I don't want to work hard. By having my family do everything for me, I became really lazy and laidback on just about everything.

I pretty much don't think I can do well by having a fun job but not having the cash flow to back it up. I see it this way, are you going to be happy at a fancy home or at work? But then again, I guess it matters if money is your source of happiness as well.

How ya doing, buddy?

My intentions are to pursue a career in a field which will primarily give me a good degree of pleasure in.

It just so happens, however, that the path I am pursuing will more than likely pay well for me. (The biomedical world is developing and expanding fast) However, if I do not make a whole lot of money, I will not be too disappointed.

However, one thing that I would have to take into consideration would be the fact of raising a family. For family's sake, I might have to put more stress on making money than I would like.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Fjordor

My intentions are to pursue a career in a field which will primarily give me a good degree of pleasure in.

It just so happens, however, that the path I am pursuing will more than likely pay well for me. (The biomedical world is developing and expanding fast) However, if I do not make a whole lot of money, I will not be too disappointed.

However, one thing that I would have to take into consideration would be the fact of raising a family. For family's sake, I might have to put more stress on making money than I would like.

Are you planning on doing research for the majority of your career? It seems to me that the biomed field is a LOT of fucking research, unless you're working for a private company, doing something that isn't hands on. (Of course there are exceptions, but research is known to offer very little in the way of income.)

Research pays very little, you know. And working for a private company usually means you won't be doing what you love - but its the way to more money.

So here is your dilemma. THIS should get interesting. =D

I was speaking idiomatically.

Well, a lot of private companies, from what I have seen, have research foci which fit well with what I want to look into.
Because the field is still really young as well, I've seen a lot of "elbow room" in research.
But yes, R&D is where I want to go.

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Obviously most people won't be happy having to live in the ghetto because they don't make any money at a job that they like. I would say to shoot for a happy medium if you can't have both. I'd rather make good money at a job that I don't like, because I would rather live in a decent neighborhood, in a decent home, and afford to eat decent food. Of course, because I am somewhat intelligent and have a college degree, I have more options available to me, so I am more likely to have a job that I like and make good money doing it. Kind of like what I have right now.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by russ

I'd rather make good money at a job that I don't like, because I would rather live in a decent neighborhood, in a decent home, and afford to eat decent food.

Just for conversation sake, how does one determine "decent neighborhood/home/food?"

I guess thats one of the major things I am curious about, you know? How much is a person willing to compromise for their standards of living? What ARE their standards of living?

It really gages and interesting topic in society if you ask me. What is "decent." Where do the boundaries lie? What are we willing to do to achieve the "American Dream," and what IS the American Dream these days?

(I have a completely skewed American Dream, thus I ask normal people - or SEMI-NORMAL. ^_^ )

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I would like to find a job/career where I enjoy doing what I do. But unfortunately I'm lost in what I want to do and it's already the end of my third year in college. There are things that I enjoy such as science and "playing" on the computer but when things get too specific, such as programming with C++, I tend to lose interest.. so I'm still searching for something I'll enjoy and I'm not really looking at what the pay is for jobs/careers.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I'd rather do something fulfilling, even if I made barely enough to get by. I'm going to work in music (as a performer), a field in which the work is usually inconsistent and the pay often meager.

I'm not interested in anything else and I don't have a "backup plan," which in my opinion is giving up before you even start. But I don't plan on ever having a family, as I can't imagine trying to support others with this sort of a career.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I went the money route, not by choice, but I needed money to pay rent and it eventually lead me to a nice paying job. I hate it though, and only people who seem to be motivated by money enjoy themselves here. I'm the type of person that can live without fancy cars, big house and big jacuzzi. Despite having all that, I am not happy. That's because I spend about 9-10 hours of my life wasting away at a job that is not satisfying in the least. This puts me in a bad mood which I bring home. For me, it's not really about walking out of the office and leaving it all there. The job, the people at my job, they all make a huge difference in regards to how satisfied I am.

You spend most of your life at work, I'd rather feel fulfilled, rewarded and happy, that way I don't come home feeling like shit and not wanting to wake up the next morning. That's just not me. I kind of wish money would buy my happiness because then I could stay at this job and buy whatever I want. So instead, I'm actually quitting, going back to school and eventually come out with some cheesy degree that leads me to really low paying jobs but at least I'll have fun doing it.

I can't see myself landing a cushy government job where I sit on my ass all day doing very little work but I have a huge pension ahead of me. I just can't do it. It's job stability, it's a easy work for good money, and it secures your future. Why doesn't that appeal to me? I wish it did. I don't know, maybe because I have ambitions and higher standards for myself. Right now I'm surfing forums while at work. Eventually I run out of things to do and instead of being able to go home and take a nap, I need to sit here and waste another 4 hours of my life doing nothing.

Knowing that most people don't like their jobs anyway, if I have the option to try and find my dream job, I'll do it. I don't believe that there is no perfect job out there. Maybe not perfect, but close enough. I'll go crazy if I stay at a thankless job that I don't enjoy.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I'd take either at the moment.

Money can't buy happiness but it sure opens up a lot more opportunities for you to find it. If you have plenty of money it's easy to study a subject that interests you so you can change careers. Provided you don't live beyond your means (which is possible at any income).

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

This is where being a traditionalist (and being married to one) benefits me greatly. I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but happiness comes before money with me - waaaaayyyy before money - and because my husband is the "breadwinner" in our household, I have the luxury of choice where he does not.

Of course it would be ideal to have both, but if I really had to choose one it would be happiness over money any day.

Thinking about this really makes me sad because lately I've been pressuring him to stay with his current job as an Army officer (which he hates) instead of going back to his civilian job in pharmaceutical sales (which he loves), since he makes so much more money in the Army. Being a man must really suck sometimes. =/

I was speaking idiomatically.

I just so happen to enjoy a high paying career. However, if it came down to one or the other... I have to enjoy the work.

Worked in a cubicle for one year. I ahted it... it paid better than any other job I could get at the time, but it was so boring. Right now, I have two jobs, both of which I enjoy. One of them pays great but has very low hours... The other pays ok, but has alot more available hours; alot of people think it pays well, but personally, I disagree, if I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't be doing it.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

Just for conversation sake, how does one determine "decent neighborhood/home/food?"

I guess thats one of the major things I am curious about, you know? How much is a person willing to compromise for their standards of living? What ARE their standards of living?

It really gages and interesting topic in society if you ask me. What is "decent." Where do the boundaries lie? What are we willing to do to achieve the "American Dream," and what IS the American Dream these days?

(I have a completely skewed American Dream, thus I ask normal people - or SEMI-NORMAL. ^_^ )

I wouldn't exactly say that I'm the image of normality either, but we can pretend otherwise for these purposes.

I didn't grow up in a family that had much money, so to me "decent" is not huge six bedroom, 3 bath house in a gated community. For me, decent is what I have now. I live on the "good" side of town, in what is a quiet neighborhood. I live in a townhouse style apartment, two bedroom, one and a half bath {that means that I have a bathroom upstairs where the bedrooms are and a toilet downstairs}. The building only has three apartments in it, so I have two neighbors, who are about my age and quiet.

I don't have to deal with no-class thugs walking past my apartment all the time. If I want to sit outside during the day, I don't have to worry with someone walking up to me trying to sell me drugs. I don't have to deal with some bum knocking on my door at midnight asking for money. I don't have to worry about getting shot or mugged between my front door and my car {in theory}.

Ok, where I live isn't perfect. I have train tracks running about 50 yards from my back door, which may bother some people. I am used to it. Sometimes I might have to pause my movie if a train goes by while I'm watching a DVD, because it blows its horn as it goes through the intersections within a half mile of here.

Because I didn't grow up in a rich family, my "dream" living situation would probably be living in a garden home {like in a sub-division, it's called different things all over}, in a quiet neighborhood. Just a nice three or four bedroom home with a furnished basement consisting of normal walls, a pool table, large TV, gaming equipment, etc. Maybe that is something that I will one day have. Maybe I will have something similar, but not quite what I had dreamed about.

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I no longer like the idea that one should be happy where they work. I've pretty much given up hope of finding something I would enjoy doing for over 40 hours a week ad aeternam, and I think that the myth that such a thing should exist has created a segment of society with utterly no motivation. It's sufficient for me that work will never be boring. Then again, my ideal life would be books and games without working and without the guilt associated therewith.

So basically, big surprise here, I'm a fan of middle-ground. I don't hate the job, and make sufficient money to have few concerns about living comfortably, while at the same time having enough free time to have a life.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Pleasure before the money, but usually pleasure can be bought through money. Money doesn't matter too much to me as long as I am enjoying myself. Last year, before contracts, I made $8000 for my year's pay. With contracts, I made about $12-15 grand. I hate fulfilling contracts, but I love stagecrew. Sure stagecrew pays bullshit, but I love my coworkers, my boss, and the work I do. The only reason I am leaving my job now is because my coworkers have all turned against me (I'm 25, and all my coworkers are not of drinking age yet). I'm just the old man at the disco. I gotta move on.

Of course, with enough money, I could just make friends elsewhere easily.

Wierd Al once said "If money can't buy happiness, I'll guess I'll have to rent it."

Jam it back in, in the dark.

well it may be pointless to say, but I'd love to get a good paying job that I also love. who knows if that'll work out though.

I'm definitely shooting for happiness first though. get a job I love and learn how to live with that money wise. if that doesn't work out, I'll just lower my standards I suppose until I land a job that is as high as I can get it on both the happiness and money scale. I'll be going to university for a degree though, so my chances of getting a better paying job are already higher than if I just went out looking for one now. sustaining a comfortable lifestyle shouldn't be too hard with that, and if I end up marrying someone who also has a similar paying job then the combined income shouldn't leave for too much money stress.

there's a fairly large General Motors plant in a nearby city and even though the workers there make a lot of money, I hear mostly that they don't really like their job. factory work is pretty boring I imagine and I assume thinking about how much money you're making every hour eventually wears out. I think the money is just so good that they don't ever leave their jobs though, they just kinda suck it up and go somewhere nice for their vacation time I suppose.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

You're ultimately compromised unless you find a good balance between the two. For example, if someone is interested in being a scientist that studies animals but his or her parents urges them to become a doctor for the money, the person might need to choose somewhere between those two jobs. So then, the person can become a veterinarian and fulfill their desire to study animals while the parents should also be happy because their child is still a doctor and making good money.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

(I have a completely skewed American Dream, thus I ask normal people - or SEMI-NORMAL. ^_^ )

Just wondering,..

what is your skewed American Dream?

As for my answer, I would rather have a job that I'm happy with. Money from a job I can't stand won't work well with me in the future.
But since I'm young right now, I wouldn't mind having a job just for money.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I look for a balance of both. I sold out. Circumstances forced my hand. But at least I run my own business that allows me to have a small amount of personal freedom which I can derive a certain amount of enjoyment out of. Even though I'm doing some thing(s) I absolutely despise. Oh well, least I'll have an early retirement.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I make myself take a job that has good pay, and slowly make myself fall in love with the job. It'll take time, but eventually I'll start to like it.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

For me it's all about happiness; money is nice and all but I prefer being happy doing something I enjoy instead of being paid a lot and hating ever second of it.

I remember being an RA for a couple of summers at a University; it paid more than my 2 day a week part-time job but the STRESS and HASSLE completely negated the pay benefits. By the end of the summer I was completely stressed and pissed off.

FELIPE NO

I was offered 2 jobs, one that paid $6.50 an hour and one that paid $5.25 an hour, I went with the $5.25 one because I didn't want to pay taxes and I wanted my weekends to be free. The money is a grant from the institution I am involved with, so taking the $5.25 will not cause me to pay taxes.

That being said, I want to become a director and an author (perhaps even an actress, but it's very doubtful). However, I do come from a lower income area and money seems to be very vital. The competition in the job market, due to outsourcing and technology, is starting to become ever more challenging (even doctorates are having trouble finding decent jobs).

Therefore, once I begin my full career (whatever career that may be) I'm going to mostly chose money if I can not find a balance. Here's how I see: If I can make enough money, then I can do things I enjoy in my spare time and be financially secure. If do something I like for very little money, then bills will get to me and I would be unhappy anyway. Perhaps it's the curse of the Earth Sign, but with the way the economy is falling, I'm going to be thankful to even get a financially-secured job with a bachelors degree.

I do want a balance and will try hard to find one, but if I had to chose I would go with money.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Money=Happiness ^_^
Unless of course the job is taking your pride then I'd take another one ~_~

Jam it back in, in the dark.