What would you prefer?

So I’ve been working on a very interesting project in college the last few weeks. It is a group project (blah) but regardless our topic is one that is very interesting. I thought I would pose it to the IDO nation and see how everyone responds since many of you have been out in the work force for a good time already.
Our prompt question was: If you had a choice between working a job that you loved but made very little money and a very high paying job that you disliked, which would you choose?
You might be surprised at the findings we have had so far. When polling a younger demographic more have leaned toward the high pay spectrum while the older demographic has said the opposite. Initially I thought that the great job with little money would walk away with it, turns out I was very wrong. We are still gathering opinions yet but all indications are pointing to the majority leaning towards the money and less satisfaction. And don’t worry I won’t use any of these responses, I just thought it would be an interesting discussion. So, what say you?

Higher paying job until I was phased out by new software…then the other.

Yea, we had a lot of those responses.

Higher pay.

-J.

The one with less stress.

Sure you will find replies are heavily based on the situation people are in at the time. The need for money, vs someone that may be a little comfortable… and needing a change in pace. With all the current stressors the last several years on the economy, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the interest in higher pay favored. Need is a huge influence.

Show me the money. I’ve hated every job I’ve ever worked at for the last 42 years and somehow I’ve survived. Payton Manning has a career….I have a job.

I’m just hoping I can retire before I die.

I’m just hoping I can retire before I’m forced to! LOL!

Steve Root wrote:

Show me the money. I’ve hated every job I’ve ever worked at for the last 42 years and somehow I’ve survived. Payton Manning has a career….I have a job.

I’m just hoping I can retire before I die.

It is responses like this that really caught us off guard, not that it is wrong or anything but we expected people who have in the past hated their jobs to chose the opposite and enjoy the luxury of enjoying to get up and going to a job they love every day. Regardless this discussion is just proof that everyone is different.

What Steve said – putting up with a stressful job in order to save for a less stressful retirement has my vote. I don’t expect social security to be around when I’m ready to retire. (or I’ll be dead before reaching what ever age limit they have it raised to) lol

icefanatic11 wrote:

Regardless this discussion is just proof that everyone is different

Only thing that’s proof is that working sucks. I’ve met maybe a handful of people in my LIFE that enjoyed their jobs on the regular.

The “do what you love” is a farce perpetuated by the laughable colleges they have nowadays in order to get you in their doors and achieve, to most individuals, the impossible.

Don’t underestimate the stress caused by being poor. Even if you are happy. Being poor sucks.

-J.

Leaving college I was faced with exactly this decision given the opportunity to play professional sports overseas for very little profit above room and board but with a chance for it to turn into something more or a job/career with great pay working for the man as an Engineer.

I chose the $$ and I’m I’m happy to say I’ve got great career that enables me to provide for my family BUT if I had it to do all over again I would go for less money, more satisfaction… Isn’t that why we all spend as much time as we do talking fishing on IDO

I learned early in my career that most jobs which are stressful enough to cause you to lose sleep over it don’t pay enough to make it worth losing the sleep over.

Well I gave up on a lower paying job that I enjoyed doing for a higher paying one that I do not enjoy nearly as much. Then have passed up on higher paying jobs that I know would suck even more.

Is age the only demographics you have looked at with this? Would be interesting to see the results for gender, race or location. My guess would be many rural folks would lean towards being happy. City folks towards more money because we all know the only reason for someone to live in this hell hole of a city is to make lots of money so they can someday leave it.

Thought the general rule of thumb for motivating the younger generation today was happyness. Older generation where more about the money. Just read a article on that the other day.

Nothing worse than a group project, I definitely don’t miss those. This might open a whole new plastic container of worms but for my age I have a decent paying job that I like most days. But the thing is I’m poor because of student loans and feel like there is no end in sight. So where does that fit in?

For me personally, unless my job is actually fishing or playing golf, there’s no way I’m going to LOVE It. I’m just not that passionate about work. Don’t get me wrong, I work very hard and I have an interesting job, but I don’t live for it.

A high paying job helps me afford to do the things I love HOW I want to do them. Sure, I can go to the park by my house and hit practice golf balls for free, or I can get a membership at a nice club and play 3 times a week. Easy choice.

Or I can go to the local pond and catch 5″ sunnies for little cost every day, or I could buy a boat/cabin or afford to do some fishing trips every year. Easy choice.

So for me, it’s the job I hate that I make a lot of money doing :). I don’t feel bad about it, I also know that it’s kind of a pipe dream to find a job I TRULY love, I just don’t like working very much…

When I read the title in today’s topics I wasn’t sure what to expect. I guessed blondes or brunettes again or perhaps catfish or walleyes – was pleasantly surprised.

And for those options I’ll just answer Yes.

Higher paying job, less money. Work is just that…work. My dissatisfaction with my job only drives me harder to get outside and fish/hunt/explore. Makes it taste sweeter. I kinda wonder from time to time if doing what James does ever get’s old or feels like work. Or the same for any fella that is a guide for that matter. A friend once told me that as soon as your hobby starts feeling like work or a chore, walk away for a while and let the thirst for that hobby rebuild. Otherwise, you could ruin a perfectly enjoyable hobby.

I went the high salary potential and marginal job satisfaction route in college. My aptitude was high for the field I went into. I’ve been at it for 25 years. I wouldn’t say that I hate my job, but lets just say I never get out of bed in a hurry to get to work. I do like my paycheck every couple weeks though. The salary does allow me to afford to do the things I love to do, so it is a tradeoff I am willing to make.

My wife went the other route, spending a lot of money to get her masters from Syracuse in a field she loved that wouldn’t pay her enough to put a roof over her head and buy food if she was on her own. She loves her job.

I guess it comes down to a personal decision that everyone will look differently at.

words of wisdom from an Ol’ Sage

My main fishing partner had chosen the less money, more enjoyable route. After many years of that he’s starting to do something a little more traditional to help with the pocket book.

After screwing off in my 20’s(41 now) I’ve got a career in IT that I mostly enjoy. For the last five years by buddy and I tell each other that we’re jealous of the other’s choices.

For me it boils down to this. I’ve had jobs I absolutely hated but kept them because I had to pay rent. Now I make a decent living that does have stress and isn’t a dream job. With financial security I have avoided moving “up” the corporate ladder because I didn’t think it was worth it.

Summary: until you make enough to at least get by then the choice is simple. After that age, security, and the grass is greener on the other side seems to be the theme.

I miss being unemployed when I could go rock climbing, canoeing, and fishing at a moments notice. No work stress even when I did have jobs then. I had crappy cars that wouldn’t work and worried about how to pay the rent.
Now I drive nice vehicles and don’t have day to day worries about cash. Haven’t been climbing in years nor do I have the time to get canoeing. I have on call duty and need to work nights and weekends. It’s also ruined more than a few weekends at the lake.

Time vs Money. When I had the time I didn’t have the money. Now I’ve got the cash but don’t have the time. It’s a trade off that’s tough to win.

Neat topic, I enjoyed the responses

“It is responses like this that really caught us off guard, not that it is wrong or anything but we expected people who have in the past hated their jobs to chose the opposite and enjoy the luxury of enjoying to get up and going to a job they love every day. Regardless this discussion is just proof that everyone is different.”

Sure…the thing is, who is going to pay you a decent wage to do the things you REALLY like to do? Short answer, nobody. I like fly fishing. Fly fishing is a great way to SPEND money, not MAKE money. What could I possibly do with fly fishing that would pay me a living wage?

You have to do things you don’t like just to survive. I don’t like getting yelled at by idiot bosses, I don’t like the harassment-nazi women in the front office, I don’t like getting up at 5AM, I don’t like being here on a dark cloudy quiet afternoons when I should be on Pool 2 chasing Walleyes. I’m here because I have to do this to support my family. “Going to a job that you love every day” is a myth, it doesn’t exist for 99.99% of the people on Earth.

I hate to sound like such a grouch, but you need to know why the old guys you see always look so grim.

I’m with Steve. For most of us this is not a real choice. Fantasy.
But for those willing to work hard there are many dividends. That’s the way previous generations were taught. Apparently not so much anymore.
And for the small fraction of people that love their job and make a living, keep it to yourself. Nobody likes a bragger.

Most things in life rarely boil down to choice A or choice B. Money, stress, and freedom are all quantitatively relative. Each individual values and responds differently when faced with lack of/excess of money, stress, and freedom. For me the trick is doing work that I like, where the amount of stress is in proportion to the paycheck. When the responsibility to paycheck ratio gets out of whack, that is when I and most people start really getting stressed out.

I have to remind myself everyday, that this is the only life I’m going to live. What am I going to fill it up with? Chasing the almighty dollar, or trying to create good memories? It is not as easy of a choice as you would think.

JD Winston wrote:

I kinda wonder from time to time if doing what James does ever get’s old or feels like work. Or the same for any fella that is a guide for that matter.

Not speaking for James mind you, but for me, when the fish bite and the weather decent, it never gets old or feels like work.

But when the weathers terrible and fishing couldn’t get any tougher, it gets old and feels a lot like work. Especially when you get home from one of those tough trips. I just want to go inside, sit in the recliner, watch T.V. and drink a beer but instead, I’ve got to get the boat & gear in order for the next days trip which you already know is going to be some tough fishing. Right about then is when it gets old and feels like work!

Here’s one for you: http://www.anglersall.com Oldest fly shop in Denver. Owner is younger, started his career in commercial banking, and made the less money switch to owning a fly shop.

Did I mention that I hate him when he tells me about how great that choice is? Jealousy of course.

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation” – Henry David Thoreau

I know I am in the minority, but I generally really like my job and I make good money. I also have a lot of education and high student loans I have to pay off. My general thought is that the more education you get, the better job you get – both monetarily and in terms of day-to-day satisfaction. I have also chosen to not work for corporations because I hated working at one. Also, I run my own small business which is successful. I have a time problem and a stress problem, but it is worth it to be on my own and on my own schedule. I don’t work for the man and I consciously made that decision. Best decision I ever made. Follow your muse.

There is no definitive answer to that question. But I think Joel B stated it best – the one with the least amount of stress. In your youth, you want it all, so money matters. Later in life, you want to plan for retirement, once again – money matters.

I think to get a true and accurate response to this question you need to have been on both sides of this discussion,which I have. It makes me laugh when you hear people say money can’t buy happiness. If being financially secure doesn’t give you a kind of security and comfort to do what makes you happy in life than most likely you haven’t struggled to put food on the table or risked loosing everything you have to provide that. So that being said I prefer the route of financial security