Careers: Money or happiness?

Meh. I'm going for both the money and the happiness. I've secured one job that's really stable and will pay very well, and I know I'll be happy with what I'm doing. Not only that, I'd be happy with my situation outside of work too (i.e. location and stuff). Another job that's in the works would leave me doing cooler engineering work (which I would be even happier with) and pay me more (which is like, double the happiness). So all in all, I just have to find something I want to do, because I'll be making a lot of money anyway.

Then there's the whole technology start-up venture I'll be doing on the side, and since I'm doing it with friends, it's gonna be pretty fun at least. And if we do all our homework, the gains will be enormous.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

With the "suffer first" notion, it could've also referred to putting up with the banes of school/college/etc (education, getting the grades, working hard in school... "suffering"). And then ideally after all this "suffering," you are rewarded with the job/career you love.

Except he was indeed talking about suffering through the job. I see where you're coming from with that. I know parents who push their kids to be doctors, make them do pre-med in college (or engineering nowadays). Eventually the kid finally figure what it is he or she really wants to do, a conflict ensues, and finally the parents let the kid do as he pleases. Later, both are happy with whatever the kid has done, as long as he didn't drop out or something.

There's nowhere I can't reach.