Posted: 7/6/2012 11:24:45 PM EDT
| I'm quite sure this has been addressed before, but given a choice, would you rather make excellent money at work and be miserable or, would you rather make far less but enjoy complete job satisfaction and contentment? If you are lucky enough to love what you do AND make good money, good for you. That scenario seems rare these days. |
I was thinking of making a thread just like this with the same question 
Im in a similiar situation at work. I make decent money now,but I hate my job,hate the hours, and really starting to hate my coworkers. I should have an opportunity to get a driver route on day shift,but it will be a noticeable decrease in pay. |
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Quoted: I was thinking of making a thread just like this with the same question Im in a similiar situation at work. I make decent money now,but I hate my job,hate the hours, and really starting to hate my coworkers. I should have an opportunity to get a driver route on day shift,but it will be a noticeable decrease in pay. Christ, thats me. I fucking hate my job... It pays well for what I do, but I still hate it  |
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I just left a job that I made good money and and loved. No bennies, long hours and dangerous. Went to a job with slightly more money and I like. I did it for the fam... I am better now due to the bennies and less hours. Lots of room for improvement in the new job, none in the old. 32 years old here with 2 kids. If I was single I would have thought about it much more...and would have still gone to the job I like. |
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Right now I make shit money, but love my job, and everyone at work gets along. It's a good workplace. The job I had before I moved, I made over double what I make now. I hated everything about it, and almost everyone I worked with. I did it almost 4 years... I'm much happier overall now. |
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I'm quite sure this has been addressed before, but given a choice, would you rather make excellent money at work and be miserable or, would you rather make far less but enjoy complete job satisfaction and contentment? If you are lucky enough to love what you do AND make good money, good for you. That scenario seems rare these days. I would rather do something that I feel is rewarding outside of pure money. I would much rather, for instance, make 20k rushing people to the hospital...than working a job making twice that where I hate every waking hour at work and feel embarassed to tell people what I do for a living. As of right now...I have the worst of both worlds. Hate the job...and the pay sucks.... =/ Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
In my early to mid twenties I switched off from being a ski instructor in the winter and a chef at a fishing resort in the summer. I made crappy money but had a ton of fun. I thought it would be better when I made good money and could take cool vacations to get away from work, but then there always seems to be reasons why you can't go, or something alse that ruined it. I'n trying to get back to the crappy money good job thing now that I have all of my toys.
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I worked a lot of hours at jobs i didn't really like when I was young (20-30 range), made decent money, but invested heavily rather than compete with the Joneses. I also constantly "traded up" on my jobs by looking for opportunities to take on the next challenge. It wasn't easy or comfortable, but it now allows me to live a lifestyle few can, work for myself and enjoy my family. I am grateful every day that I did it, and those awful jobs early on are what did it. A few things I would add to the conversation:
(1) Work smart AND hard. We all know about Mexican landscapers who work 60 to 70 hours a week making $8/hour. They work hard, but will never really have much. Being strategic about your career and investment opportunities is just as important as work ethic. (2) Ensure you can "turn it off." Once you invest that much of your life into something, it somewhat becomes your identity and how you find fulfilment. I've worked with successful CEOs of start-ups that worked 4,000 hours a year and poured themselves into their business. They sold the business and made over $100 million. What did they do the day after they sold it? Started another company  . Didn't even take 1 day off. While we all have different ways of measuring success and happiness, I don't imagine they'll die happy and fulfilled.
(3) People become workaholics after just a few years, and the stress of working a job you hate (or long hours and stress) have physical impacts that we still don't understand. If you let your job impact your exercise, health (ex: heavy caffiene use), stress levels, "down time," etc., it will catch up with you. Just be aware you are trading your body for cash - which is not a long-term proposition. My advice is to work a job you hate IF it gets you somewhere - whether it be career advancement, cash (that you can leverage) or something else. Otherwise, what's the point? You can almost certainly "exist" (somewhat comfortably) doing something you like.... |
I'm in the middle of the same quandary. I'm giving up on a job that I've been promised, that would have me set for the rest of my life, because I'd have to be away from SWMBO for all but 30 days per year. I would also be under a microscope. Pay is six digits/ year plus car and room and board in a mansion, plus expense account. It's also in the snow belt.
Instead, I'm hoping for a senior management position with a firm here in the Philippines making about 1/5th as much, but enough for me to get a house and a car and be home every night. Failing that, I'm trying to get into the deep-sea oil field. Hard work, good pay, but you are on 28 days, off 28. That would be better for my peace of mind than heading back "home", where I have nothing and nobody. |
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I'll take happiness. Life is too short to be miserable at work I've been on both sides. The happiest I ever was at work is directionally proportional in terms of $ made. The more I made, the more miserable I felt. Back in the late 80's and early 90's, I was making $10.25/hr and woke up every day saying, "Yeah! I get to go to work again today!". Haven't had that feeling since. The resentment increased with the pay. Having those high savings years behind me now, I'm looking for something more easy going, knowing it won't pay as much. |
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I'm quite sure this has been addressed before, but given a choice, would you rather make excellent money at work and be miserable or, would you rather make far less but enjoy complete job satisfaction and contentment? If you are lucky enough to love what you do AND make good money, good for you. That scenario seems rare these days. Find a happy medium.
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I've been on both sides. The happiest I ever was at work is directionally proportional in terms of $ made. The more I made, the more miserable I felt. Back in the late 80's and early 90's, I was making $10.25/hr and woke up every day saying, "Yeah! I get to go to work again today!". Haven't had that feeling since. The resentment increased with the pay. Having those high savings years behind me now, I'm looking for something more easy going, knowing it won't pay as much. My biggest resentment with work pay is knowing that its lower than it could be because the politicians involved in the process would rather fund social services and see us as completely unneeded. I hate politics of the workplace, not the work itself Other than that, I enjoy what I do. The money isn't bad, but its not great either. |
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I am currently working the easiest job I've ever had and it pays well. The trade off is I work with the most worthless, miserable people I have ever known. Everyday, a little bit of my soul dies. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile We must work at the same place... lol |
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I am at a place where I am looking for a new job. Just applied for a position with State Natural Resources, while talking with a recruiter she stated. " You know you will spend time driving alone to sites and be out on foot right." I said, "Yep that is the point." It will be a pay decrease in the beginning.......but I need a break from what I do now. 13 yrs of this stuff is too much.
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My work used to really suck. I was in public accounting, and I hated every minute of it. It paid more than my previous jobs, but I hated it. I transitioned to a full on tax role with a different kind of company, and I really like it there. I work from home, make pretty good money, and the stress is way lower. Sometimes I think to myself that I can go down to Atlanta and find a tax manager role with a big firm and make much more money, but the stress of driving in that traffic and the increased hours is not worth it anymore.
I am now plagued with the feeling, however, that I should be doing more. I now have the time to setup a side business that I could simultaneously run with the work I do at home, but I won't pull the trigger. I spend a ton of time on here reading threads, I go to other gun boards and looks a for sale ads, and I read news. I could be making even more money, but instead I goof off. |
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You need a mix a both. Although you typically don't hear someone on their deathbed wishing for more 1s and 0s in their bank account... Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile Yes you do. Only they say "I wish I could have provided better for my wife....I wish I had more money to leave my children...I wish I had contributed more to (insert church or charity)" People do wish that, they just say it in a different way. |
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I left a job that I wasn't happy at and took a 50% paycut. I only question it when I come on arfcom and see all you SOB's nice guns, night vision, etc. Well, and the threads about the impending financial collapse, makes me think I should have stayed where I was and invested in a survival bunker. |
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I'd rather have a job I enjoy and be content. What is the attraction of having lots of money? Probably the notion that you can be content and happy because of your wealth. But, If I am going to be miserable holding that job, then the money won't help. If I'm going to be happy anyway doing something else, then the lack of money won't matter. |
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I wouldn't know.
Have always had to work my ass off to make just enough money to survive. Enjoying the job is secondary. I like what I do, dislike the people I do it for. If I had to choose between making a decent living (enough to buy a decent home, decent car, a rainy day fund and have something left over for fun) and love what I do versus having tons of money and hating every moment of making it, I will take the decent living. I deal with very wealthy people every day. Most seem more miserable then "regular" working folks. Yeah, they have all the toys and money to burn but most kill themselves in the process, forsaking health, family, friends and free time to enjoy themselves for the almighty dollar. Can't take it with you. |
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I'm in the middle of the same quandary. I'm giving up on a job that I've been promised, that would have me set for the rest of my life, because I'd have to be away from SWMBO for all but 30 days per year. I would also be under a microscope. Pay is six digits/ year plus car and room and board in a mansion, plus expense account. It's also in the snow belt.
Instead, I'm hoping for a senior management position with a firm here in the Philippines making about 1/5th as much, but enough for me to get a house and a car and be home every night. Failing that, I'm trying to get into the deep-sea oil field. Hard work, good pay, but you are on 28 days, off 28. That would be better for my peace of mind than heading back "home", where I have nothing and nobody. but you would've been kinda like magnum pi! 
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I was thinking of making a thread just like this with the same question
Im in a similiar situation at work. I make decent money now,but I hate my job,hate the hours, and really starting to hate my coworkers. I should have an opportunity to get a driver route on day shift,but it will be a noticeable decrease in pay. Christ, thats me. I fucking hate my job... It pays well for what I do, but I still hate it
Me too. |
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I'm in the middle of the same quandary. I'm giving up on a job that I've been promised, that would have me set for the rest of my life, because I'd have to be away from SWMBO for all but 30 days per year. I would also be under a microscope. Pay is six digits/ year plus car and room and board in a mansion, plus expense account. It's also in the snow belt.
Instead, I'm hoping for a senior management position with a firm here in the Philippines making about 1/5th as much, but enough for me to get a house and a car and be home every night. Failing that, I'm trying to get into the deep-sea oil field. Hard work, good pay, but you are on 28 days, off 28. That would be better for my peace of mind than heading back "home", where I have nothing and nobody. but you would've been kinda like magnum pi! Except partying would be forbidden, and I would have been driving Higgins. In Detroit.
If it still comes through, I may have to go for it. I still haven't been paid my bonus from A-stan, almost 6 months ago, and things are getting a bit tight, though manageable. |
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I'm worth about $6M and I am happy and content. My brother is worth $26M and is neither happy not content. It is not about the score, but about the journey..... And yet you dont have a membership  Priorities man. When your a baller it's blunts, 40's, and bitches first....ARFCOM team membership comes in last everytime. |
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I spent 17 years on the FD, making shit money and loving every minute of it, if that answers your question. 20 years. I make decent money now, but never enough to satisfy my non-working Princess. She will always wb miserable, no matter how much we have. I will always be happy, even though I can only afford one AR. I will never be rich, and live in debt, but I have loved coming to work everyday for the last 20 years, and I can look back with pride and know I made a difference. Wouldn't trade it for any amount of money. 
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I'm happy but I confess, I'd like to make more. In the last year, I almost doubled my "regular job" income level by wheeling and dealing on ebay and private transactions via Paypal. My PayPal receipts for the last year (payments received) was close to 30K. Most of it was profit. I think I can say that I would thus be perfectly happy with a yearly total income of about 60K. Not very much by most standards, but at this level I really don't want for anything. My needs are fairly simple and I'm all about wheeling and dealing and getting a better deal on used stuff rather than paying through the nose for new stuff. It helps stretch my buying power. CJ |
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I was very fortunate to find both. It was unintentional but worked out well.
Unlimited overtime since 1998. I don't punch a time clock and rarely see my boss. I travel all over the country. As long as the jobs gets done by the deadline I'm free to work out my own schedule. I get paid more than I ever expected to make. I'm not paid salary, I'm paid hourly and they've never questioned my time sheets. The job is challenging and rewarding. The equipment I install is fascinating but my wife says that confirms I'm a geek. The only downsides are I have to work many weekends (based on needs of our customers), and as my kids get older it's harder to stay involved in all their activities. It'll be time to make some changes soon. |