One of the guys I surf with is considering retiring — two years before he had originally planned.
He just couldn’t take his job anymore. And right now he’s sitting down with a financial planner, trying to figure out if he can retire without suffering too much financially.
But he doesn’t mind suffering (a little). As long as he’s out of that job.
This debate comes up often — especially among my friends who, save for some, hate their jobs. They talk endlessly about quitting and doing something they love, even if that requires a substantial pay cut — and, thusly, a huge lifestyle change.
But hardly any of them do it, feeling more secure and comfortable with a steady paycheck and medical benefits.
Most of us would rather suffer in a job we dislike — even hate — than take the risk and follow a passion that may or may not turn into a profitable career.
I hear people — and they seem to always be gainfully employed — say if you follow your passion, the money will come.
Why couldn’t my passion be accounting…?
But is that easier to say than do?
We hear all the success stories about people — think Samuel Adams founder Jim Kock and former Apple chairman Steve Jobs — but what about those who failed? I want to hear their stories.
So what would you rather be — and be honest: unhappy in a job that paid well and provided benefits — or broke but actually happy?
9 Comments
I think the trick is to find a balance between the two.
I wouldn’t mind to take a pay cut and be happier in my job but if that pay cut is too big, making me broke in real life, then how am I supposed to be happy there if I cannot eat what I want or get medical attention if I would need some? It basically cuts both ways 🙂
However, this is not always possible and if I had to make a choice, I think I would go for being broke, rather than being unhappy at work. If I am unhappy at work, I am probably going to slack and would eventually lose my job one way or another (and probably I wouldn’t even care if that were to happen).
Hi Cat!
The last time I had to make a difficult career decision, I took the advice to “follow your passion, the money will come.” I’ve been making a living doing what I love ever since and have no regrets. I have no doubt I would be making more money if I stayed, but being unhappy and dreading showing up to work everyday wasn’t worth it to me. I honestly would rather be broke but happy.
Hey Cat … wow, you kind of got me stumped … I think there is just too many unknowns in those two scenarios … I’d like to say I just want to be happy … but if that also means being broke and maybe homeless … then how can I really be happy??? … but then again, money isn’t my ultimate quest in life … so what then??? …
… sorry, I tend to overthink things … and I might be complicating your simple debate … but … does unhappy mean an unbearable situation??? … does paid well mean $millions??? … do you mean homeless kind of broke??? … or the cannot pay bills kind??? … or the just get by kind??? …
… sorry, my mind is a mess right now … and I don’t have focused thoughts …
… I think I can tolerate a lot … many things that upset and torment friends and co-workers about work may also affect me … but not to the point that I’d quit or be in constant misery … or seek a career change …
… so if I had to answer … I’d reluctantly say I’m okay with being unhappy in a job that paid well … I do that all the time anyway … I think many of us do …
… but check back with me later … I might change my mind …
that’s kind of what got me into my career field, years ago. i went from using my degree (chem) directly in a lab to using that knowledge tangentially in a field that I actually enjoy (occupational health and safety). that I’ve been rewarded financially, to a higher degree than I would have if I stayed on the bench mixing chemicals, is a perk, but not the reason I got into it.
now, though, my “passion” is my family. I can’t fathom making a financial decision that negatively impacts my bottom line to the extent that my family’s lifestyle suffers. it’s only 8 hours a day, so i figure I can suck it up for that amount of time to ensure that my kids get the best experiences i can provide for them.
plus, I like my field and my job so it’s a moot point anyway.
“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” (Abraham Lincoln)
Work has little to do with happiness. Decent health, liberty, and a sense of meaning and purpose seem to me to be make-or-break elements. I have had reasonably high paying jobs, been poor in income and wealth, and had jobs I liked and others I disliked. I can’t say that any of these (pay, wealth, or job) had much of anything to do with my outlook and happiness.
What is it with this philosophy that you need things or money to be happy? Why can’t you just be happy with nothing? Imagine if you could have all of your basic needs met then why must one aspire to go out and buy all the latest and greatest gadgets or even have a need for money? I can pictre a lifestyle where the village or large family having all it’s sustinence needs (hunter gatherer subusistence strategy) being met still have a full and rewarding life without any money.
Take the pay cut, nothing is worth locking yourself in something you hate “just to pay the bills.” In some ways it’s a vicious cycle, you work to pay your bills, but you buy stuff (do stuff) to make you happy, which makes the bills bigger, so you work longer/harder at something you don’t like to… hello back at step 1.
It took me a long time to learn, I rather be poor and starving than hating myself for not having the courage to change my situation. Am I rich and successful? Nope. Do I want to be? Of course I do. Do I have a plan to get there? Nope, but the worst day of being a photographer who shoots practically anything I want, when I want, for who I want is still way, way, way better than the best day as a network engineer who was belittled, unappreciated and overworked. As long as I cover my bills (which sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t), I’m fine.
Agree with Ricky 100% and this is something I’m telling my kids early on. Do something you’re passionate about and forget about making lots of money, status, etc. Its a cycle that is hard to break out of, but if you do you’ll find bliss in knowing you don’t have to play that game and that you can wake up each day, look in the mirror, and say, “if today was my last day on earth, this is exactly what I’d want to be doing”. It’s like taking the red pill.
Have you heard the story/fable of the mexican fisherman? I take that story to heart.
I’ve unplugged from the corporate world. I make more following my passion than I did as a minion in the gears of the great machine. This isn’t my only passion and I could argue I have things I rather be doing but I’m getting to those one step at a time. Using one passion to generate what I need to follow the next… And loving it.
I think one problem for those peering over their cubicle walls is to define their passions. What they think they’d want to spend their time doing is entirely different once they experience it “full-time”… It’s hard to know, you know?
I’m reading this book, Quitter, by Jon Acuff and he addresses why you should not only keep your day dream but appreciate the hell out of it while trying to pursue your dream.
Keeping your day job not only can provide you with needed funding to pursue your dream, it also gives you the flexibility to make the right choices in that pursuit. For example, if you dream of being a motivational speaker, you will be more willing to accept certain gigs which have intangible exposure benefits (less cash) if you are still getting paid by a day job. If you quit too early, it could impeded your chances of success.
Also, as a CPA/Controller who always dreamed of writing (from hanabata days), then completely freaked out at 19 about “making a living” which resulted in a college major change followed by twenty years of financial reports, I can attest to having the daydreams. But the truth is, many corporate types don’t figure in reality to those daydreams. They imagine quitting their job, writing a masterpiece, opening a fun business and that’s that. The reality is creative types also have to hone their skills, train and make the right contacts the way we business types have had to. Boutique and bakery owners don’t work less than we do, they work more as small business owners and have the stress of cash flow to top it all off. It’s hard work and stressful to follow your dream, a lifestyle change is just the tip of the iceberg.
That said, I’m willing to make less in the future, just not right now. But I don’t let that hold me back. For now, I’m giving up things other than the day job to pursue my dreams.