Careers: Money or happiness?

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.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Having connections and using them to get jobs isn't really as unethical as it sounds. I used to despise the idea too, but put yourself in the position of the person doing the hiring. You get a bajillion applications from a ton of people who all read those websites and went to those seminars that teach you how to look and sound all snazzy and brilliant, and you're probably pretty jaded about it by now. You throw out the ones who don't look snazzy because you have to weed this gigantic list down to something manageable.

Then it becomes basically an arbitrary decision based on some random little detail that appealed over all the others. Given the volume of applicants, you can't really afford to do a full investigation of each one's strengths and weaknesses and how those would mesh with the rest of the company.

If instead, you knew someone you trusted, who could vouchsafe for the competence of one of your potential employees, it gives that particular applicant so much more credibility that it's simple common sense to pick them over some stranger who could afford shiny designer paper. I'm inclined to think that this practice is less like trading favors and more along the lines of risk assessment and general good business practices.

There's nowhere I can't reach.