Would you be happiest, earning much more money at a job you don't enjoy...?

Question

or, having a job that you truly love, but don't earn much money??

brad_4_ever - I have absolutely no idea who you are referring to, sorry.

Please understand...I'm not talking about having ajob that you love, but ignoring your financial responsiblities. I'm talking about earning enough to make ends meet, but doing something that you really want to do. :)

Answer 1

I'm going to answer your question according to the stipulations you laid out in both the original query and your follow-up comments, Caroline (i.e., I am not going to make the point that true happiness owes far less to what we are doing in life as it does to with whom we are sharing that life).

The choice is thus comparatively easy for me to make: I'd take the job I love, whilst not making much money, over the big-bucks job that makes me miserable. I've had precious little experience with either, to be honest, as my employment history is not rife with great-paying jobs, whether enjoyable or hateful.

But given the choice, I would very definitely take the job that made me feel enriched and happy at the end of my work day (or work week) even if it did not enrich my bank account. Quality of life, particularly the people in it, is so much more important to me than how much I have by way of material possessions. The former IS my life; the latter is ephemeral, shallow, essentially (and ironically) worthless.

The critical point has been made already by more than one of your answerers but I shall further expand the thought. It is people who make the difference in our lives. It is the people with whom we associate, the people we work with, go to school with, our family, friends and neighbours, these are the key determinants of our relative happiness with our lives, including our jobs. If the workplace is populated by nasty, spiteful people who make each workday perfect drudgery, it matters little what your actual job description is -- or even if you're making loads of money. Conversely, if you work with quality people with whom it is a joy to spend so much of your time (let's face it, setting aside sleep time, we're at work more than we're at home), your job can be quite pleasant even if it's not exactly what you wish to be doing and pays only enough to sustain your accustomed lifestyle.

Yes, of course a pay check is important; it's how we survive in this material world. But a higher rate of pay is NOT going to compensate for a hateful job and/or working with hateful people. The fortunate few manage to marry a job they enjoy with people they like and a sizable pay check, to boot. I'm not amongst that number at present but perhaps someday.... :)

Answer 2

I am not a person who only cares about money ,but i think for your baby you should go with the new job your baby can grow in a more suitable environment and you can afford a better lifestyle.And by the time you can also develop interest in your new job.

Answer 3

You're on a roll, Caroline! Great questions.

I would love to have a job I truly love with less money.
If ya think about it, a job I truly love could not even be considered a job!

To wake up and actually look forward to doing something I love and (for me) something I love would have purpose
n meaning. It'd feel great.

I've read about people in different professions (artists, small business owners, etc.) who hardly make anything but they hardly care about that. They have something bigger than themselves they are involved in. Some "job" that inspires them n tests their abilities. It's the growth and the challenges they love. Their life has purpose n if they don't make much money it doesn't even matter to them. You can always make do n how many more "things" can a person accumulate anyway.........


I've learned to live on very little so money is not an object for me.

I'd rather find that vocation that gives me joy. Even if it's not my life's purpose, just something i don't hate would be nice......but to have a dream and work towards making it become a reality........wow.

"Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living."

Answer 4

It would be nice to make more money but I would rather enjoy may job and make less. If you hate your job it can truly make you miserable not only at the work place but at home as well. A job you hate can also make you hate to get up in the morning and that is a terrible feeling. I'd rather be happy because the happy you are the better you feel on the inside and out. A hated work place can reek havoc for your health.

Answer 5

Personally, have a job that I truly love but don't earn much money. I think it was Coco Chanel who said "Its important to have an end to journey toward, but its the journey that matters in the end." Money's great but if you don't enjoy the life you are living now, today, the "payoff" is only worth so much.

Answer 6

I think it depends on whether or not you can make ends meet on the lesser salary. If you can and the job makes you happy, then definitely go for it. However, you also have to consider your quality of life, bills, and other expenses that you incur on a monthly basis. Doing your dream job is great, but if your checks are bouncing and your car is being repossessed, its not realistic. You have to find a happy medium.

Answer 7

In an ideal world, the latter. I would LOVE to run an animal rescue.
In the real world, I have to work at a job I don't much care for anymore, because I have a mortgage, car payment, credit cards, etc., etc.
The real world stinks!

Answer 8

I'd be really happy if I didn't need to have a job, my friend! ;)

If I could only travel and write and take photographs!

And make money that way, and help my family and friends and people who need, but no job!

I'm moved by love, not by money, always was and always will be!

Love is my fuel!!

Good question, Caroline! :)

Answer 9

work is work. so either way, youll get tired of the same thing after a while, no matter what it is. and a pay check is just a pay check.
so i think if i had to choose, id choose the one with earning more money. cause after a few years, the job youll love would just become the "same ol' sh*t on a different day".

Answer 10

One that you would enjoy. Money is only an object, its not more important than happiness or friends or family like so many greedy people think.