If your job is not very lucrative...

[RoxMonster]

Do you ever regret not going into a more lucrative career?

I'm a teacher (and no, this is not going to be a sancti-teacher post about how we should make more money) and I CHOSE this career because it was something I loved and I wanted to do that more than make loads of money.

But I am tired of always worrying about money (H has a teaching certificate but can't find a job around here, so he is doing something else that doesn't make a ton of money). We have enough to pay our mortgage, our bills, put food on the table, etc. We're not destitute by any means.

But in order to build up savings, we are cutting a lot of the fun stuff we want to do, we're cutting small weekend trips, turning down wedding invitations just to save money on clothes/accommodations/gifts, we don't have enough to do a lot of the projects we want to do on the house, etc. I think I get down because a lot of people on GBCN are our age and have much better-paying jobs and (seemingly) a lot more money and I feel like we are way behind. I don't even want to be "rich," I would just love to have a lot more wiggle room than we do.

I don't want budget advice, which is why I didn't post on MM, because I feel like we ARE doing a lot of the things people suggest for saving money. Plus we have no credit card debt, no car debt, etc.  I think this is more of just a vent/whine and wondering how everyone else felt. Some days I regret not going into a career that would make more money, so that we could do fun things like take a big trip once a year, do house projects, easily be able to save a lot for retirement and future purchases, etc. I do love my job, so it's hard to reconcile giving it up for more money (and right now, I'm not even in a position to switch careers, so this is more just musings than anything I could actually do).

So to make it less about me and more a discussion question, if you had to choose between doing the job you love doing and doing a job you may not love but would make you more money to live comfortably/happily, which would you choose?

[MWOS]

fuck yes. someone needed to talk my ass out of this shit like 10 years ago

[W.T.Faulkner]

I chose to be a teacher too, because right now I need to do something I feel is meaningful more than I need to make money.

If ever a time comes when I value money more, and I'm sure it will, I'm taking steps to make sure I can be versatile

[alicenelson]

I have an amazing boss who overlooks my flaws, is generous with allowing me time off whenever I need it, and we have a professional but fun relationship. I've worked for him for going on 18 years. Our office has a family atmosphere. Sure, I could make more money elsewhere, but would probably lose my sanity along the way. It's a personal trade off for me.

[underwaterrhymes]

I'm in the nonprofit sector.

So it has crossed my mind.

But I honestly have no idea what I would do in the for profit world anymore.

[eb777888]

Yes. Very.

I'm a SAHM now and eventually want to get back to work but don't want to be in a cubicle entering numbers all day like I did when I worked. It actually paid really well but was hell. H makes really good money and is so happy in his field and I'm envious. I wish I could have found that for myself.

[Captain Serious]

Nah. I married rich. ;-)

[urbancowgirl]

Yes. I'm in the criminal justice/social services field. I wish I could go back and force my 18 year old self to major in business.

[zoidberg]

Aug 16, 2013 21:07:08 GMT -5 RoxMonster said:

if you had to choose between doing the job you love doing and doing a job you may not love but would make you more money to live comfortably/happily, which would you choose?

[/b][/quote]

I made this decision last year, and I chose a job I love with good work/life balance over money. I could make quite a bit more than I do in a different position, but this one offered me the best mix of fulfillment at work and the ability to have a ton of free time to do what I want outside of work.

Sometimes I feel like kicking myself for making this choice, but I have had jobs that I hated and I try to remember what that felt like. Not worth it for me.

Now, if I could find a job that gave me the lifestyle of my current job with a bigger paycheck, I would take it in a hot second.

[RoxMonster]

Aug 16, 2013 21:20:23 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

This is tough for me. If the question is between job I HATE making a good living vs. job I LOVE but struggling a bit, I'd pick the job I love.

But if the job is just ho hum, I'd rather have money. Or if the job I loved had me really scraping by, I'd choose the other job that pays more.

It's a delicate balance. It's a drain on your energy to be spending 40+ hours a week doing something you hate, but it can be just as bad to be worried about money all the time for 40+ years.

I think this is exactly where I am. I think there are jobs that, while they may not make me rich, would still be a lot more than I make now that I would be OK with doing. Maybe not LOVE them, but not hate them either.

I totally agree that I wouldn't be willing to do a job I downright hate, even if it made me a lot of money. I have had jobs pre-teaching that I loathed, and it was awful dreading going to work the next day. (These were definitely not lucrative jobs, either).

[birdistheword]

I actually left a job where I made significantly more money than I do now because it was slowly eating my soul and making me a very unpleasant person to be around. Sometimes I regret that I couldn't make it work in that job, because money is WAY tighter now. Like, we are on budget lockdown. But overall, I'm happier and more sane. I don't feel like crying every day. So I call that a win.

[noodle]

I don't always love my job, but had a job that I couldn't stand that paid twice, or more, than I am making now.

I wish I loved my job more, but I know that, most of the time, I am still happier than I was in my significantly higher paying job.

[rex]

My career field is grossly underpaid, but it makes me really happy so I try not to care. Working in a special education/therapy field was never going to make me wealthy.

ETA: I am not currently working because of medical reasons, and would not have been able to afford to work at my job once the baby is born because I wouldn't have made enough to even remotely cover daycare.

I have worked as a nanny but not as a career, just as an interim job.

[midnightmare81]

Nope. We live a pretty simple life, so while I wish I made more and am looking forward to a raise, we don't spend enough to really need a lucrative job either.

FWIW, I only make $25k a yr, but I also only pay $50 a month for my HI. So I do think I am doing OK in that way, once I consider the value of my benefits. I would if H wasn't getting his GI bill though, since we couldn't afford to live without it. Thankfully my job has a lot of opportunity to move up, so I am not to concerned. By the time H's GI bill runs out, I should be making a good amount more, at least enough to keep us afloat until he gets a job.

[janiejones]

I left a job for that reason a few years ago. It didn't pay well and the demands on me were too much. But I loved most of it.
We thought we might have to pursue a more expensive adoption route than we were on at the time so I went back to school for a year to switch fields. It worked out ok. But I'm constantly ashamed to tell friends what I do now. My old job was cool, my new job boring as hell.

[Chelle]

My job pays well, but I'll never be rich by any stretch. I love it though and wouldn't do something different just to make more money.

[mrsjuleshs]

I work for an executive search firm as the office manager. I saw an email for an admin position they are trying to fill about $10k above my position. Made it really hard but that company is not flexible with me schedule. Flexibility is more important than a few extra bucks on the psycheck.

[10outof9]

Zoo education isn't a very lucrative field anyway, and the small, privately-owned zoo I work for pays me significantly less than comparable positions elsewhere (since I am the entire Education Department). It's rough sometimes, especially because DH is subbing right now until he can find a full-time teaching position.

I absolutely could not imagine doing anything else, though. I know this is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life, and that makes it (mostly) worth it.