Here’s a hypothetical question for you: would you take a job that you could possibly really enjoy for less money, or keep a job that you have no passion for at all, but are making a good living doing?
Here’s a hypothetical question for you: would you take a job that you could possibly really enjoy for less money, or keep a job that you have no passion for at all, but are making a good living doing?
That’s a no brainer!
At this point in my life no. Because there is a minimum amount of money you need to maintain a lifestyle. My days of shopping for the cheapest ramen noodles so I could make payment on my bills is over.
If i was in a job where i was making considerably more than I needed to survive, then yes I would. But right now taking less money would make living rough.
“Scott”:http://www.kennsarah.net/2005/10/01/soul-searching/#comment-1155, is it really?
“Mike”:http://www.kennsarah.net/2005/10/01/soul-searching/#comment-1156, you bring up a good point: this is, of course, relative to your ability to maintain a budget. A 10% dip in pay could be disasterous for some, while it would only pinch others.
Here’s another thought. Say you come back to your current employer and say, “Hey, I have an offer to go elsewhere.” And they say, “We’ll bump your salary by 5% if you stick around.” You still don’t much like the job, but now the stakes are higher. What then?
I think my lack of pay over the last year answers where I stand on this.
““We’ll bump your salary by 5% if you stick around.” You still don’t much like the job, but now the stakes are higher. What then?”
5% isn’t much. At least not a deal breaker for me … If I was already set on leaving I would need to see at least a 10% boost to start thinking about staying.
Actually, if you want to get down to it … i’m kind of already taking lower pay to do something more interesting than a higher paying job. There are a couple companies around town where I could be making significantly more money (50% more, easily) … but with libraries going digital (and having a provost that loves technology and the library) we have an unlimited number of interesting projects to take on.
Ken,
High income brings with it a certain kind of freedom; a flexible and rewarding career brings a different kind. It can help to make concrete conclusions about what sacrifices will need to be made to get by.
Would you take so-and-so job if it meant renting out your upstairs to messy noisy ne’er-do-wells? That was my position. Things worked out okay. And now May is just around the corner… More decisions. If it makes you feel better, I’m selling my motorcycle.
For you it might mean giving up something else, the more concrete the better. Saying “I’ll spend $500 less on my credit card/month” is a bit amorphous and less useful than, say, looking at apartments and/or cars that cost $500/month less.
The other option is going to a cash or debit-card only existence which forces you into a certain style of living. (If you get a visa check card I’m going to personally come to Newark and shake you). You can certainly try this out before you make career decisions. Bye bye deli sandwiches hello Aldi.
Everyone knows an iPod doesn’t make me happier, but it sure is nice. Real nice.
I think that no matter what you decide, you’ll be better off for the introspection. Good luck on this exciting journey!
Ken,
Good question.
Here’s my ideal (note, I’ve never been able to do this):
Do something you really like, perhaps love.
- OR –
Make obscene amounts of money.
Either way, you have amazing freedom and joy. In one, it’s found in your job, in the other, it’s found in the evenings and weekends, as well as in the stuff you can buy and people you can help with all that spare cash.
Having said that, most of us have somewhat boring, occasionally interesting jobs that help us just get by financially.
Gee…I sound like a someone trying to get you into Amway, don’t I?
Some of us have to make a minimum amount to supoprt our families. That’s being a grownup. Following our dreams at times, appears like an indulgence for the single or double income no kids types.
Here’s a sobering thought from Douglas Coupland. This sounds very middle-aged, but he wrote when he was 33:
–Alan
“Mike”:http://www.kennsarah.net/2005/10/01/soul-searching/#comment-1159, you’re right that the 5% incremental is not a huge gain. The sum total, though, our hypothetical 10% is now 15%. So, for every hundred dollars you’d make at the passionate & cheap gig, you’d make an additional $15 at the lame & well-paying gig. You add enough of those up, and an iPod Nano is a bit easier to afford than it ordinarily would be.
It’s interesting to note that this conversation quickly becomes a quality-of-life discussion. 10% probably won’t cut into your household food budget (i.e. Ramen noodles vs. healthier food with lower sodium content), but it will certainly have an effect on how often you visit your favorite toy store.
Oh, and Mike, if you’ve been at the library since college and you’ve been there a number of years now, you may want to check “salary.monster.com”:http://salary.monster.com because your salary may have slipped behind industry average. I was surprised to find out how much I was underpaid at my last job.
“Russ”:http://www.kennsarah.net/2005/10/01/soul-searching/#comment-1160, good call to point out the long-term financial effects, too. This isn’t a quality-of-life question just in terms of iPod Nanos, but in goals like paying off that college debt or buying a house. At this point, Sarah and I are much further along our journey of a debt-free existence than we were before.
The rewards of having a job that is more “significant” (whatever that means) are definitely the grass on the other side of the fence at this point, and bringing our whole “life” picture into focus is helpful. To work in a cool place with cool people doing cool stuff is nice, but it won’t make a down payment on a house.
As for selling your motorcycle: this is the most “grown up” decision I’ve heard from a friend regarding limited financial resources in a while–kudos for making the decision to lay down your life for your family.
“Alan”:http://www.kennsarah.net/2005/10/01/soul-searching/#comment-1161, it bears observing that the most pragmatic answer comes from both the oldest of these commenters, and the one with the most children.
Douglas’ lamenting (?) on the topic of compromise is shockingly non-corporate. Aren’t I supposed to be keeping a positive attitude, focusing on my strengths, Sharpening the Saw (plus working on those other “6 Habits”:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671708635/103-0017345-2538240?v=glance), and going from “Good to Great”:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0066620996/103-0017345-2538240?v=glance?
And what of a “created” (in a Genesis sense) worldview of work? Surely the earth I till will return thorns on occasion, but isn’t there some real goodness to be realized in the Kingdom of God by putting my hands and mind to thoughtful, helpful work for society? While keeping in mind that we’re in a world whose most intelligent inhabitants seem bent on bringing about their own distruction, isn’t it practically a Biblical mandate to reverse our self-destructive tendencies with whatever small contributions we bring to our “Circle of Influence” (to use another Coveyism)?
I think this question is sort of the crux of a sort-of Unified Theory of Work that I’ve been wrestling a bit with this year. To hear many people tell it, you’re either “selling out” or “making it” in the world of work. We worship “the entrepreneur”:http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/17/genius.html (who is, in fact, _both_ artist and businessman). However, my friend Jode would say that it’s no offense to God to work in obscurity for the purpose of supporting and loving your family. Two totally extreme perspectives on work that I try to hold in a tension.
I don’t need to resolve the answer to this question any time soon (I’ve got a good 40 years of work left in me to figure it out), but recent circumstance has brought the question back to the forefront of my mind.
The #1 thing that makes people unhappy is not having enough money.
The #2 thing is a job they don’t like.
If you can take a job you love without risking #1, then do it. You’ll be happier. If you are risking #1 in order to solve #2, it’s not a good deal.
Course, by posting this here, you may have caused someone else to make your decision for you.
Hey “Ryan”:http://www.kennsarah.net/2005/10/01/soul-searching/#comment-1165.
I may have caused someone to make this decision for me by posting it here, if, in fact, it is a real decision to be made (it’s still hypothetically a hypothetical situation). Your cost-benefit analysis is very straightforward, and is a similar conclusion that Sarah and I have come to: fringe benefits don’t pay the mortgage.
Ken,
Just to clarify one thing.
When I say “enough” I assume you recognize what “enough” is, and I think you do. Enough means being comfortable that you can pay your rent, and that you’ll be able to eat. It means being secure that your way of life is ongoing, and you don’t have to worry about your next meal. It doesn’t mean constantly scrambling for more more more.
I’m sure you know that, but in case someone else was reading…
-R
Ken,
I think it’s important to know what you want as early as possible in life.
This is very old fashioned. It may become a necessity in our current economy.
Not that people don’t suddenly find their voice at the age of 40 and become incredible successes after almost 2 decades of floundering around. It’s just rare. Really rare. But, seemingly, people believe in this enough to fuel the 1 AM “Become a Millionaire in Real Estate with No Money Down” infomercials.
Think of this: the constant “you can do anything” cheers from your parents and the extended adolescence that College provides most of us leaves us very confused about what we want to do, where we want to live, and what kind of life to live.
If I knew flat out that I was going to live in NYC the rest of my life and try to be invovled in professional ministry I would have:
1. Made as much money as early as possible and bought property as soon as possible.
OR
2. Bit the bullet and have gone to seminary, without 5 kids in tow.
Of course, it would have helped if older Christian couples had mentored us just after our weddding and helped us think this through.
As things appear now, It’s almost (and I’m betting on the almost) impossible for our family to flourish in NYC given the cost of housing and the late start we got in buying property. Unless I have some unknown rich relative who will bequeath me a ton of money, or I make a fortune through some infommercial pyramid scheme, my coop apartment will never appreciate fast enough to catch up with the market so thaT I can put a down payment on a house. 38 years old is generally too late to enter the hottest real-estate market in NYC.
Couple that with the fact that I’m trying to plant a church in a one star denomination with no money, (largely due to the fact of not having a seminary degree) and I win the fool for Christ award.
What am I smoking? Why am I doing this?
Now having said that all that sobering grown up stuff, God is still in the business of miracles. The early church had no hope of succeeding save for the fact that Jesus walked out of the grave and kicked death in the a**. The church is predicated on miracles. If we don’t expect them, we might as well do something more useful with our time, like maybe investment banking or running a funeral parlor.
The moral of the story: wise up, plan earlier, save more, grow up faster.
But remember that God can make masterpieces out of messes and his mercies are new every morning.
Peace,
Alan
Gee,
Looks like a I know how to kill a conversation.
Thanks,
Alan