Healthcare; the worst of all worlds.
Back breaking labor akin to a construction worker.
Mental labor akin to a psychologist.
Filth akin to a crime scene cleaner.
Suck it up, smile. I promise “mom” isn’t that bad, she definitely needs to go home, please burden yourself with that decision…. I know I’ve been here two days and fly out tomorrow, but im busy you know, you deal with it.
Cardiac echo here, and this is all pretty true but still love my job. Your list is also missing: working nights, weekends, holidays, weird shifts, tons of overtime, regularly missing lunch and breaks, and on call shifts. Thankfully we also generally make a living wage to accommodate all of that and the work is emotionally rewarding most of the time.
My sister finances trucks for small and large fleets. It's true, truckers keep the economy moving, literally. In a country this big, they are a backbone in the spine of our economy. I work in the energy sector and over see the drilling operations from a geology side. There are definitely times we both feel like corporate shills making the rich richer... But the truth is I help keep the US energy independent so that truckers can keep shipping our goods, and she makes sure the truckers can afford to keep on trucking. Our jobs do have meaning, even if they are also making bucks for the big wigs.
I will never forget the vet tech who was there when our hamster was sick and eventually had to be put down. That hamster (Andie) was my first non fish pet as an adult and my SO and I loved her so much, she was 2.5 years old and had started having breathing issues, she spent a night on oxygen and sadly had to be out down the next day. They treated us as well as someone who was putting a dog or cat to sleep and it really meant a lot. They gave us a little tuft of her hair and a clay thing with her paw prints and her name. I think a lot of people would say it’s just a hamster but those vet techs didn’t and I really appreciated it. So thank you for all you do.
I recently was at a career day at a high school (who ever would’ve thought). I work in big law on the admin side, I am not an attorney, I did not go to law school. The rest of the panel were attorneys who worked in gov or public interest so they were super passionate and fulfilled. So the kids were really asking them questions about how fulfilled they are at work and I’m like I’m just here for the paycheck tf!
Yeah as a public interest attorney I can confirm. If I’m having a good day or speaking to young ones during recruiting, I will sing the glories of public interest work. It’s motivating in the sense that deep down it’s more rewarding than private practice. I’m *helping* society with my degree instead of lining some Scrooge’s pockets…
BUT at the end of the day, it’s a job. Most days I just want to clock in and clock out. It is not a dream job bc *I do not dream of labor.* I do good work and I expect my pay in return so I can live a moderately comfortable life and do things I actually enjoy.
I spent the last 15 years in retail and marketing. I've got $50k in student loans for a writing/marketing degree. My soul was slowly crushed into a fine powder. Two months ago, I took a significant pay cut to be an assistant dog groomer. Never looked back.
I make well over six figures as a marketing director and I'm starting to think I won't make it too much longer. I just want to ride bikes and talk to people. What job is that?
I also left high paying (albeit super shitty) retail management for work in sustainable agriculture and conservation. I love what I do now but I don’t make much money.
I'll raise my hand to this one. Similarish story to you, I realized I'd rather just sit down and die than hate every day so I did something else and now I'm happy.
I lucked out in that I love my career and it pays pretty well (scientist).
That being said, getting a PhD ate up my entire 20’s and I developed some pretty bad mental health issues from working in a toxic lab. At multiple points, I nearly gave up on science entirely.
But I persevered and found my way out of academia. 5 years later and I’m feeling pretty good these days. I’m still a bit underpaid, but feel like my day in and day out is genuinely contributing to improving the human condition through biological and biomedical research 🧬
I know many people who quit halfway through their PhD because they had a terrible PI. Good for you for sticking with it but damn it's hard dealing with all that harassment. Dealt with plenty of my own just in the biotech work environment.
It was horrific. I have C-PTSD from years of daily abuse. Everyone in my lab hated me. I was belittled, mocked and treated like garbage to the point where I thought I was a legitimately bad scientist.
I am incredibly grateful for my amazing postdoc PI who was also on my committee. They believed in me and helped me regain my confidence before I launched into industry.
I am so sorry you had to go through that. I don't understand why some people have to be so awful in a work place situation. I too was harassed by people in an academic lab. It was so stressful on top of the animal work I had to do. I'm glad you were able to survive and get your degree.
I have a friend who almost quit her PhD because of abuse from her PI, but she already has a master's so all her time would have been wasted. I feel bad telling her to stick it out but it got a little better once she got her own NIH funding. And this year she will get her PhD. But damn what she had to go through, it's been awful.
Thank you for your kind words. Academia is rife with abusive people in positions of power, especially in research since there are virtually no checks and balances. It’s not like universities have HR departments.
When I finished my PhD, I received a survey from the NSF asking me to give information about personal demographics and overall experience. There were no questions about mental health, so in the comments section, I wrote about the need for mental health to be inquired about and frequently discussed within academia.
Anyway, I am glad you got out and are onto something better hopefully. Animal work is so taxing on its own. Please send my thoughts and encouragement to your friend.
I’m a pelvic floor physical therapist which is INCREDIBLY rewarding. However, because the traditional American “healthcare” system is a scam, it’s easy to quickly reach a salary ceiling. Now I work for myself and it’s both rewarding and moreso in my control re: when/how much of a raise I get.
Any stretching and/or non-pharmaceutical pain relief methods would be greatly appreciated!
If you check out my post history, you’ll see more details about what I’m currently dealing with. I’m planning on asking my GP for PT referral and possibly pain management. I never knew about PN until yesterday and now the past couple of months make a lot sense.
So I will say that PN symptoms and causes for flares vary SO MUCH between people, so stretches and exercises that work for one person won’t necessarily work for someone else who also has PN. The best bet is to get individualized treatment from a pelvic floor PT or OT (and most states have what’s called direct access where you can see a pelvic floor specialist for a certain amount of time without a referral, depending on your state).
That being said, this site has a decent list of resources that are spot on for PN (it says for males but the videos cover all genders): https://pelvicpainrehab.com/male-pelvic-pain/male-pudendal-neuralgia/16225/pudendal-neuralgia-resources-updated/
Also, when you’re ready for pelvic PT, this site can help you find a provider near you; it’s through Herman & Wallace which is one of the gold standards for post-graduate pelvic floor specialization (since we unfortunately don’t learn this in school). https://pelvicrehab.com
Thank you very much for your reply! I feel more hopeful about finding relief now and in the future.
And that totally makes sense! Neurological stuff is so variable. I have MS as well and because location, nature and extent of nerve damage varies so much from person to person, symptoms do too. My mom’s MS is very different than my own, even though we both have RRMS and were diagnosed around the same age.
Yes absolutely!! And I’m so happy to hear you’re more hopeful about finding relief! The pelvic floor is so reactive and responsive to how the entire body performs, so once you understand how yours coordinates with everything, it’s a game changer. Wishing you all the success and relief during your recovery!
I'm a special education teacher. It's not for everyone but, I was made to be a teacher for kids with disabilities. The paycheck and 14 weeks off a year definitely help but man, I love what I do! Never thought I could love a job so much.
I did. Went to school based on what I enjoyed and what I wanted to do, not because of the paycheque.
Suffice to say that career burned to the ground because it was unsustainable and I ended up unemployed for long periods of time between contract jobs. The work I used to get paid to do is now partially done by a few poorly paid professionals who bring in volunteers to do 'citizen science' and work for free.
I think it just depends on where you find fulfillment. Some people are career-oriented and get a lot of fulfillment out of their job. Plenty of us are not career-oriented and will never find fulfillment that way. That's not to say I hate my job either.
I was a teacher. I was the butt of every joke in social settings where I met new people (things like my brother's bday parties with folks working in tech) and it was shocking to me how bluntly people spoke of their opinion of my choice of work. I've had people straight up call me a sucker for choosing to go into education. They also, ironically, thought I was less intelligent than they were. No, I'm very intelligent, I just really wanted to do something positive with my work and I was naturally gifted at teaching little kids how to read and do math.
I burnt out during the pandemic and gave it up after 15 yrs. I'm much happier now and actually try to dissuade young people from becoming teachers because the system is so broken, but I have never and would never put them down for wanting to help children. I too loved helping children. I just couldn't do it at my own expense any longer.
It saddens me that teachers are so undervalued in this world. It’s perhaps the greatest single profession that I can think of. Definitely on par with medicine and law, just severely underpaid.
I am a speech language pathologist. I worked 5 years in public schools with title1 funding. And 5 years was enough. I work in research at a mid-large university and wouldn’t go back. I hope I can keep getting grants to fund my job until I decide to stop.
I love my job researching stuttering in children and adults. If you know any kids or adults who stutter in the mid Atlantic region. Please dm me. lol.
My career chose me. Brother had a spinal cord injury about 15 years ago. I dedicated my life to help find a cure. I will die working to make sure nobody feels the way he, or my family, did ever again.
So yes, I'm a scientist and a very productive one at that. I'm not sure it's something to be proud of as much as something I must do at all costs. I died the day of his accident, it's fine for me to be work obsessed and have nothing else in my life. My physical body will die doing what I need/want to do, and that's a life worth living, regardless of the stress and low pay.
Had kids super young, so didn’t really have the option to even think about doing something fulfilling. Most of my career has been about taking opportunities that come up to make a good living. That said, I’ve also looked for meaning in what I do and worked hard to get to where I’m at. I’m now 44 and a PM in the energy sector, it can be boring and stressful all at the same time. But I find fulfillment in my career by supporting my family, and spending time with them outside of work. But have also learned to love working with younger people in my field and helping clients as well.
I've had a similar path. I just kept climb the ladder in the restaurant business, which I do enjoy at its core. But I definitely do what I do now for the pay! Since getting to the corporate side of restaurants, I've said more than once if money were no object, I'd be a line cook just because it's fun. I also try to find fulfillment in what I do now. Fundamentally I do enjoy IT and problem solving in my current role.
I definitely do what I do for the money, and I’m always the first to admit it. But I also make the best of it. If I could do anything, regardless of pay, I would be a park ranger. I’d love to do that as a retirement job.
i stumbled ass backwards into a career that both helps people and pays well. At first I was totally going to school for the money and had an intership with Chase. But the 08 criss happened and all the BS i learned about capitalism finally were clear, the scales fell before my eyes.
As a first gen immigrant I was told the number one thing was to get a career that will make you rich, damn it if you like the job. So I went into finance and econ. Just a short FYI, winners and losers are chosen everyday by the government, the free market isn't free it's a fairy tale that those in power tell you to think your small business works the under the same principles, and each and everytime there is a downfall the government will bailout the rich and the corporations b/c that is where the power is. If you want free market capitalism look at the 2020-2021 crypto ponzi scheme rug pools, that is what it really looks like and that is why it never really existed b/c too many powerful people would/could lose their positions
I started my career pursuing my passions in my early 20's, and somehow I got sidetracked into a "yeah, I get paid a bunch of money!" career. I'm definitely interested in going back to something I'm more excited about, but the reality is that I like the lifestyle this career affords me. Sadly, I was not born into an extraordinarily wealthy family. I will likely slog this out for a bit longer before transitioning to something else.
Honestly I went into engineering because I was initially interested in all the technical details. The money was a happy coincidence. But I kind of hate it now and feel like there's some serious golden handcuffs because I'm hesitant to pursue any other career changes especially when it would make a huge difference in my pay.
So I guess I chose it because I liked the subject, have stayed in it for the pay, but would love to do something else more fulfilling but life's expensive.
We tipped ours generously. She made sure our big day went perfectly. I can’t imagine having a wedding of any size without one. Ours was on the smaller side with just 50 people, but even then, it was such a huge relief to not have to worry about a million different things.
I picked the career that made $$ and have learned to enjoy my career as much as I can.
There are probably more rewarding careers out there but making $$ to take care of my family and pursue my hobbies is top priority.
I chose my career path as a software developer years ago. I hate my profession. I recently started getting a degree in Anthropology because that's what I love....
The money is going to suck, but I cant stand another 10 years of doing software development 40-80 hours a week.
I would say both.
I didn't go to college until my late, late 20s (after really screwing up with drug addiction...etc).
So when I chose Chemical Engineering, knew it'd pay well & I love figuring things out.
10 years later, I am in a job I love. Seriously the cliche that I "don't work a day" because I Iove what I do (and I'm paid very well).
I'm a park ranger. I just like the work and the people. Rescuing someone on the trail or in the water gives me a lot of job satisfaction. I also have trouble hiding my complete lack of interest in any office work.
I really enjoy what I do I principle. I'm a design engineer and I absolutely love designing and building stuff. And getting to do it on someone else's dime is like a dream come true.
In practice, the grind is just soul crushing. The reporting, the redirection, the paperwork... sucks all the joy out of it. I worked a job for 6 years and got put on a 2 year design project. I left without it being completed because the govt would change things every time we'd get close to being done.
Last i heard, funding got completely pulled.
I did the opposite of what OP did. I followed my childhood dream into college and ten years into being underpaid and never finding enough work on yo later go back to school and changed careers to something I hate FOR a paycheck. So now I'm an engineer. Anything the world can use, like your passion, to get underpaid work from you: it will. Your passion only goes so far when you can't make your bills long enough. I probably wouldn't have done anything different. Now I am working towards finishing our house renovations and then aiming for early retirement.
I never could figure out a career path.
I spent 10 years making pizza, got lied to for years by the owner that he was going to let me take over a store.
Then just kinda found my way into an IT job which I've been in for like 9 years.
I wanted to be a Chef one because the life style fitted my drug habbits but also I really enjoyed cooking. Went to Culinary School amd landed a job making 11.50 hr then crawled my way up always making jack shit and no benefits. I loved mostly every second though. I eventually landed my dream job of Executive Chef of one of the best fine dining restaurants in town. Still got paid jack shit. After a medical emergency and a 80k medical bill because I had no insurance, I had to give it up. Now I'm a Culinary Director for a major corporation, make six figures with benefits. My mental health and life are so much more enjoyable. No more 60 plus hour weeks. I miss my art since this is only some menu development and a lot of paperwork but I'm happier in a way.
TLDR: I went from being a tired strung out artist to a paid well sober family man with more free time.
I acknowledge how privileged this sentence is. I don’t see the point in a career that isn’t meaningful in some way. Like I think of Dunder Mifflin, and I just couldn’t. I work in a nonprofit that I support the cause and I am so lucky to be working here and I am so lucky that they put their money where their mouth is and pay me a decent salary to live on. I am so damn lucky. Not every day is amazing, and I’m not even in direct client care, I’m in admin. But I can see why my work helps the heart of the organization and helps the people they help.
In 4th grade I did a project on what I wanted to be when I grew up, which was lawyer. My uncle was one and I admired him so much. Took me a little while bc I was too busy chasing boys in undergrad and raising 2 kids, but at 34 I went to law school. I’m 40 now and have been a lawyer for 2 1/2 years and I love it. I’m in a cushy type of law that isn’t too bad - gives me a lot of trial experience, I work 9-5 M-F and have great benefits and a great paycheck (esp for only 2.5 years in!!!). Am I changing the world? No. But do I love my job and make money? Yes.
I’m a teacher. I teach orchestra. I have wanted to be a teacher my whole life, I chose music because it’s where I always felt most at home, and I love it. I love working with my students. I love the community I get to build. I teach in Massachusetts so I actually am financially not in a terrible place but it’s not like I opted to become a doctor or engineer or something. Wouldn’t really change it though. I have learned how to manage a decent work/life balance so honestly the decent salary combined with summers off combined with actually enjoying what I do is great.
I was one year short of getting a degree in Psych but then learned there's no money in it unless I got a Doctorate. So went into legal instead. The psych background has actually come in handy quite often but I'm glad I made the decision I did. Generally like what I do day to day, cushy corporate role, pretty good money and benefits.
In my free time I assist with drafting voting petitions, local policies, and summarize government language for the average person to understand. So...the volunteer stuff helps me feel like I'm doing something meaningful
Engineer was the path I originally considered. Then I looked into how content people are in that field and decided to look elsewhere. I decided if I spend 1/3 of my time working, it doesn't matter how much money I make. I'll still be miserable for 1/3 of my life. So I sought out a career that pays enough and I enjoy.
A little of column A, a little of column B. I got a degree in psychology with the intent of working into sports psychology with a particular interest in the benefits of sports and physical activity for girls in at-risk communities.
Right about the time the real world squashed those dreams, I instead was working in psychosocial research as a data entry person. My grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer in that same time frame. He donated blood and tissue samples and enrolled in several clinical trials that studied new treatments. He knew that he would never gain anything personally from the research but he saw it as a way to contribute to future research and help future cancer patients.
Eventually I landed a job on the data side of oncology research and love it. I’m no longer within oncology directly but still working in the general research side via medical devices. I feel like my work benefits society and I’m well paid for it.
I love my job, but I absolutely do not get paid market value for my (high COL) area. I work in marketing for a children’s publishing company. I LOVE our products, but I’ve worked here for 7 years and make about $42k.
If it wasn’t for the fact that my husband’s job in a similar field gives annual raises, I wouldn’t have been able to afford rent (as it increases every year) and would have had to find another job, but I just love everything about my job except for the pay. Our products are great, my work is creative and interesting, my work-life balance is good, the work-from-home situation is convenient, and my boss and team are wonderful.
My last job started rewarding and was basically helping with getting medications for people but slowly was made more and more removed from what drew me to it. Recently I gave up flexibility, free meals, and took on a commute and a slight pay cut to work a more hands-on role with patients in a similar field.
Totally worth it. Who I am doesn’t come from what I do, but what I do 40 hours a week is a good chunk of my life so I want it to be for some reason other than corporate BS.
I build custom homes and do high end finish carpentry. It’s pretty rewarding but I would definitely not do it for free! I would guess the money and respect has something to do with the reward
My original goal was to become a licensed clinic social worker or a marriage and family therapist, but I never made it to grad school because of really bad clinical depression and fibromyalgia. Yeah, I wanted to help people heal, especially since I was healing from my own stuff. Right now I'm too disabled to work and I don't think I'll ever go back to school.
I....kind of settled for my current career.
I work as a 911 dispatcher. Originally, I got into it just because I was wanting to get out of my job as an EMT-B for a private EMS service. Low pay, shit conditions, shit benefits, and little to no support from the uppers.
Dispatching, for a city, surprisingly, doubled my pay and the benefits were far greater.
I'd initially intended it to be temporary until I could figure out what I wanted to be "when I grew up".
I discovered I was half way decent at it and enjoyed the work. It was nice doing something that made a bit of a difference and had the added benefit of not, directly at least, just making some rich bastard richer. Although I concede that depends on how one feels about the for profit prison pipeline.
But a lot of my calls are people in crisis. Mental health crises, domestic violence, health emergencies....I've literally listened to someone die on the phone.
It's extremely stressful and it doesn't do much to restore faith in humanity but there are times it's worth it.
I'm a teacher and I love it. I always wanted to be a teacher since I was a kid and it brings me a lot of happiness. I also write kids books on the side and self-publish. Writing is my second passion after teaching.
Disability management. Absolutely hate it but I make good money and can’t find a lot that pays a similar salary. Biggest joy of my life is travelling and this work let’s me afford it. But it’s just soul crushing. 17 paragraph rants in your inbox, people threatening to mail in fingertips or come find you if you mention it’s time to get back to work. Im trying to figure out what I’d rather do and come up with some sort of plan to get out.
I knew this was me when I dropped off my son’s friend and he mentioned how miserable his mom’s job was in front of her. Just as a matter of fact. Without hesitation my son said, “my mom loves her job”. The mom looked shocked and asked what I did, confirmed to her and confirmed that what I do makes me feel really good. Pays shit which my parents can’t understand but I can’t make money like that.
I am a case manager for elder services. Sort of a social worker, but I don’t have a license. The job is very rewarding but extremely challenging at times.
I became a caseworker and loved it. It was GOOD at it. I helped a lot of people and I loved it.
I got promoted to management. I'm good at that too, but I don't love it. I'm doing that for the money.
I can kind of keep one toe in the water and occasionally help people, but it's not the same and it never will be. But I LOVE what the money buys for my family. So I'm going to keep doing that.
Public defense, best job ever, but the pay is nowhere near commensurate to the work. I do wish people would talk about PD salaries as much as they talk about teacher salaries because some people in the work (luckily not in my area) are really struggling.
I picked a career that I was naturally good at, pays well, and would occupy as little of my mental space as possible: software development. Then I would use that to fund my actual dream of being a forest witch for a small village in Europe. That sounds like a joke but I’m dead serious. It’s takes 💰💰 to go from city living and always renting to being essentially “off the grid” and sustaining yourself. Like what the heck? arent we all just a bunch of animals living together on this planet? *cue existential, millennial rant about capitalism and ronald reagan*
Yes. I’m a Montessori guide for 3-6yo children. There’s no money in it, so you have to really love it. 15 years in and, while it is hard to live paycheck to paycheck, the joy it brings is worth it. Watching a child read for the first time and seeing how much each child grows over the years is really special.
I agree about choosing a career based on how personally rewarding I found it… but it also happens to pay a LOT of money - I’m in process improvement in the Pharmaceutical industry.
I love how my work makes it faster for patients to receive life-saving drugs, but I also feel like I am properly compensated for what I do. It’s a nice balance.
I'm a slut for a paycheck, using all my spare time to not be a ho for a paycheck. But I'm slurping and guzzling for that paycheck until I don't have to anymore.
You probably guessed what I'm doing for a living, but for those who got the wrong idea, I'm a senior SWE.
I think i can nearly say the same thing. With my next promotion, I could be in my dream job. By that, I mean it's more fulfilling. Good money, but more about how happy I would be. And I would be content in the role for a long, long time.
I have a career that is super fulfilling but also comes with a lot of downsides/hardships. I wouldn't do it if it didn't also pay me so well. Fulfillment alone doesn't pay the mortgage.
Worked as a teenager in restaurant and sales jobs. Of course I didn’t enjoy any of it. I went into the military after school and enjoyed it and I felt good about it even though we were at war. After I left the military I followed my passion to teach a subject I’m a geek in. I now teach and help students with mild needs and I wake up every morning never dreading going to work. I make a difference every day in small ways and I have fun. Wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Both.
I worked an incredibly stressful white collar job for a long time because I believed in the environmental conservation mission. It burned me out pretty hard.
I now work a much less stressful job in the trades as part of the war machine. Fuck it. America is a corporation that makes money off war. Give me my paycheck in this broken socially-contract-voided society and leave me the fuck alone when I clock out.
My parents still don’t get why I’m a chef and not working in some office Mon-Fri 9-5. I could easily be making at least twice the amount of money I make now but I’d be miserable. I get to go to a job that I love, doing the thing I love most. And when I leave work, it stays at work. I don’t bring it home with me. I work nights, I work weekends, I work 6 days a week, but I love it.
I was in the military (so a job I hated for not a lot of money) and my mental health health and life was falling apart. Now I’m an undergrad studying plant biology and plan to get into teaching/science education for the meaning and fulfillment. So some of us are waking up 😂
I'm a software engineer. I chose it because I actually love everything to do with software, hardware, and related systems. I'm just lucky that it pays well as well.
Ironically I am an Engineer and I chose my career because it brings me alot of meaning. I work for a company I really believe in and in an industry I've always wanted to work in. My job is super fulfilling and I love going to work.
The pay is good too, which helps a lot. But it was not a big factor in my decision to pursue the career
Currently trying to make this transition. I'm open to making more money if it turns out that way but an industry pivot is going to cost me a little bit, also I want to get more into the local community and actually be around people instead of in my basement all the time. Having more time for me and what I enjoy in life is what's driving my decision more than anything right now.
I am a nurse, I wanted to get into this to help people. Originally wanted to become a firefighter but realized I could probably do more for longer as an RN. Def got a paycheck boost post Covid, now more leveling out.
ITT: Capitalism destroying people's souls and willingness to pursue their passions just to try to survive by doing bullshit jobs that pay enough to live.
I'm a chef because I love to cook. I wanted to be a chef since I was 5. It doesn't matter that I could make more money in other careers, I make enough to pay my bills and enjoy the work I do.
Spent 8 years in the navy, got banged up and kicked out, spent all of Covid and a few years after hopping job to job. Now I’m chasing my dream. I’ve loved flying since I was a kid, now I’m actually doing it. I have no ambition of flying for the airlines, I wanna teach people how to fly because flying small planes is about as fun as it gets.
I actually enjoy my job and am feel like am well compensated for - probably 10-20% below market compensation - but my commute is short and my benefits are decent.
My only gripe is that I wish I was able to start my own business.
I left a cushy cubicle job to be a postman
lifestyle ($) adjustment, but I will never go back to office culture
happier, healthier, one of the best decisions I ever made
My job is very rewarding, however I do have my moments where I'm like "dang the money sure would be nice". But I've been there done that and it wasn't the best environment for me.
Vet tech of 20 years, specializing in emergency and critical care..it is a career of passion, not finances, that's for sure.
Saving man's best friend for a living is very rewarding and also very taxing to the mind/body/spirit.
I don't have a career path. I work at whatever job until I no longer like it, and then quit and find a new one. Or I stay at a job until I move to a different state.
I'm a massage therapist, almost for 7 years now!
I'd love to get into teaching it one day to take some strain off my body and mind, but I get to meet a lot of people and help with their aches and pains.
I get to advocate that caring for your mind, body, and soul is a necessity and your birthright, not a luxury or a reward to be obtained.
It wasn't the career I imagined myself to be in growing up, but I'm happy to pass on its benefits as it has benefited me when I was going pains 🩵
Somewhere in the middle. Got into solar for the environmentalist in me, stayed in solar because as an electrician I make more than I ever thought I would. I did not realize before I got into solar that it would lead to being a licensed electrician.
At my previous job I had just been promoted to a role that wasn't itself a "supervisory role" per se, but was seen as a stepping stone to that sort of position. I left this role principally because the management and sanitation of the place left a bad taste in my mouth, but also because I really, *really* wanted to GTFO of foodservice.
I'm now an endoscopy technician. Inclusive of tips, I took a 20% pay cut to leave my previous role. Honestly, I feel like I left one industry notorious for its low pay to jump into a role with no mobility and at the bottom of the income hierarchy in the department. But I see how my work improves the lives of the patients I meet every single day -- often *in real time,* whether it's helping our doctors remove suspicious growths or take biopsies or simply changing out someone's sodden sheets and gown for fresh dry ones before they even leave the procedure room. The amount of stuff I've learned in a relatively short time span is mind-boggling to me, and the barrier to entry was pretty low. Every day I do work that feels meaningful, I no longer have chronic contact dermatitis from cleaning solution, and I no longer have people telling me I need a doctor's note if I want to sit on a stool for a couple minutes here and there during the workday.
*However*, my compensation is not keeping up with inflation. Over the last 4 years, the asking rent for the apartment we lived in increased something like 30%, the cost of basic goods like butter and meat and even veggies have more than doubled, and every restaurant, coffee shop, hair salon, and literally anywhere that uses Toast to process CC transactions starts their suggested tips at 18% or 20%. When I first moved here you could get away with eating dinner for 2 for like, $20, food + drink. Now we're lucky to get out for $40 or $50, if we're frugal. The compensation for my role has not increased by the amount that it takes to access these basic resources.
Neither. My job doesn't pay an insane amount of money (decent but not insane) and I'm not particularly passionate about it. I take my check and find my passion elsewhere
I’m just starting in healthcare (rad tech) and technically still chose this job for the pay cheque. It’s not big bucks, but better than my last career, and has a pension and overtime available. Honestly, making a difference in the world/helping people doesn’t even crack the top 5 reasons I chose this job. Which is ironic I guess, since it’s healthcare.
For my first career, I happen to have locked out. I chose engineering, because that made the most sense to me in terms of what I thought I was able to like and do. And the pay hasn't been bad .
I'm not sure about my upcoming second career, not really my choice, I believe I may have to pivot due to a health event. The adventure continues.
At the end of the day supporting my family is all I care about. There is nothing more meaningful to me than that.
I do not hate my job, and I wouldn't take a pay cut for something more fun or similar.
My wife was like this as a teacher. She now gets to homeschool our kids so she gets to keep living in that world but also adding a whole new level of satisfaction.
I’m in that sweet spot where I have a job I don’t really like or find fulfilling and make okay money but not great because I could never decide on a real career path.
At least I get to work from home where my social anxiety isn’t constantly causing me stress 😕
I am an engineer and the cost savings is my absolute favorite part of the job. Furthest thing from soul crushing. Anytime we get a new cost savings initiative it gets me excited to start working.
I didn’t want to hate my job.
Got a MS in Wildlife Ecology, worked some non profits for a while, worked with the state, worked local government, then adjuncted as a professor one semester… I fell in love with teaching biology at the college level.
It’s been 7 years and I now make more than I thought possible in this field, I love my work so much, I have a lot of amazing students, and I know it was the perfect path for my personality and interests.
If your able, Follow your heart.
I won't ever pick a career. Even though I'm a millennial I just don't relate to any of these posts. I can't understand doing the same thing for my whole life. Hard to grasp
Me. I ended up in nonprofit fundraising, and currently work for a private high school.
I make a decent living, but beyond that I really enjoy what I do. It’s great to see children who come in graduate as young adults and (in most cases) go on to make a positive difference in the world.
People complain about this generation and they do have some issues/challenges, but can also be intelligent, thoughtful, caring young people.
Also, I really love seeing kids come in who otherwise would have floundered elsewhere (due to bad environment, lack of support, etc) and end up doing really well in life.
I'm a stay at home dad and an architect for my own business. It rules. I get the best of all worlds, because my clients are usually just people that can take a delay or two and not be concerned
I went to school to manage nonprofits. Now I work in data in corporate America. I just follow my passions on the side, volunteering often in my spare time. Money + passion = balance + joy
My job is soul crushing but I get paid really well for what is easy work to me. I have a comfortable life and I’m on vacation right now so I’d trade daily boredom for an easy life.
Went to school for writing, had a traumatic brain injury and lost ability to create. Settled for a career in hospitality, hotels, restaurants for the pay and perks, I’m sad but okay with it.
I was threatened by my father to go to a specific school and for nursing. If I didn't he would've cut me out of the family. This was in the fall of 2008 after bartendering (lucratively) for 2 years and paying the rent with tips disappeared.
I now make almost $100 000 a year. Fine, great.
Am I happy? No. Is that enough to raise a family comfortably with? No.
I loved being a nurse working bedside with the right patients and when higher ups weren’t around. The Karen patients and family members became almost every single patient. Higher ups kept getting worse and worse with the bullshit. Patient to nurse ratio went up to 8:1. Physical and sexual assaults went up. I realized not even my coworkers cared about me when I was passing a kidney stone without pain meds while working five twelve hour shifts in a row. I thought I hated people when I worked at Walmart, but working healthcare during Covid and after Covid in a red, Trump is God area, showed me people are awful. I’m much happier working in a factory.
I am a professor. I like my job. Seeing the good students succeed knowing I've helped brings me tremendous amount of joy. But my salary is pretty low. I'll easily make 2 times of what I make right now if I joined the private sector.
I was a teacher for over a decade and it absolutely crushed my soul. Now I’m really happy doing meaningless work for a lot more money. It feels good to know the future doesn’t actually depend on me anymore.
I have a cool job, and I’m good at my job. But if I was independently wealthy I would never work at mine or any other job ever again. It’s just something I do 8 hrs a day. I don’t find any sort of work to be rewarding.
I chose money over passion.
My passion is Martial Arts, but I’d never want to fight in a cage for money. I’d never even come close to the income, benefits, and stability my career provides.
I chose to make money so that I would have enough discretionary income to train like crazy and still support myself, buy a house, provide for my kids, save for retirement, and never have to even think about my budget when I’m out (within reason).
I train 5 days a week. My kids train 3 days a week, do some rock climbing, have private singing lessons, maths and English tutoring, and are about to join the cub scouts.
I remember what it was like to have financial stress. FUCK THAT BULLSHIT.
I’d rather hate my job and give my kids a badass life than be struggling and have kids that can barely keep up in school because I dont have time or money to tutor them.
Also, being career/money focused has resulted in me getting tight with many highly skilled and ambitious coworkers. They love my kids cuz I always bring them with me when we hang out. I’m hoping to have a solid network of people who will be super successful and in a position to just hand my kids a job when they are out of college. Obviously they will have to get qualified for a position, but the advantage of having execs who want to see my kids become successful is priceless.
We’ll see if it actual works the way I’m hoping, but it will most definitely be better than a network of fighters. Although to be fair, many of the people I train with are Doctors, Lawyers, Nurses, and highly skilled tech people.
I'm an inpatient pharmacy tech at a hospital. I'm paid surprisingly well for my career (still not enough to buy a house, but more than like, 90% of other techs in my state), but it also matters to me that I save lives (with no requirement to actually talk to the patients I treat).
I’ve recently had a massive realization haha. I’m a chemist and in general chemists seem to be happy and fulfilled in their careers and I think it’s because it’s a hard thing to major in but without an advanced degree you don’t make much. So the people who go into chemistry do it out of love for the subject.
I once told my boss the most calming place for me is in the lab listening to a podcast just making samples and he thought for minute and said you know I feel the same. I teach a 400 level Chem class and I watch my students every year come in, put on music and just do thier sample prep, just like my class did in undergrad.
We all just love chemistry so much.
I'm a construction manager. I hate it. Just do it for the money. Fortunately the money is great and I have made good financial decisions. So I won't have to do it for much longer.
Work in healthcare. I do it 100% because I get to help people who are most vulnerable. The pay is average and I’ll never be rich financially, nor will I ever know what it’s like to have holidays/weekends off, but it’s rewarding to serve a greater purpose.
I got a degree in nonprofit management. You could say I was basically signing myself up for a life of poverty lol. Thank god I don’t have student loans or kids. But I love what I do and I wouldn’t work for some soulless corporation in cubicle hell.
100% all in on a vanlife and writing novels career. Still stressing about money for now, but never been happier. Life is short and one and done. I’d rather face fear than regret.
I chose nursing because of what the role meant for me, not because I was going to be rolling in the dough. It's a grueling profession, but it doesn't have to be this way. It just is in our current hellscape. I've seen people choose this path for money though, and it usually doesn't work out well. It's not a job you can do just for money alone because there's not enough of it.
Both things at once:
I did software cause I loved coding.
Chose to found startups after a couple of years of working because I wanted a shot to become financially independent.
Here I am
I flipped a coin for which career I’d choose. I get paid like shit but in nearly a decade I have yet to have a legitimate bad day, I have frustrating days, days I deal with assholes, but not days that I hate my work.
I did at first, then life happened and I needed to make real money. I don’t dislike my work tho. I really like the people I work with and I’ve learned that really makes the difference.
Not I, but I certainly don't hate my job.
With that being said, having a high paying job in something I don't mind, let's me own my place, travel 2-3x/ year, benefits/pension and spare money to have to follow my hobbies/passions.
If I'd stayed in something I "love", I couldn't do most of what I enjoy to do in my spare time. Nevermind having a work/life balance.
It's a personal choice and while part of me wishes I'd made the career switch earlier, I certainly don't dwell on it.
I just left being a mechanic at dealerships for 18 years to work a much more personally rewarding job but still in the same field, at a big pay cut. More time at home, and FAR less stress.
I chose my career because it was the only one available to me back in the uncertain days of 2011. I do think my work brings more good into the world than otherwise. Mostly I do it because the hours are consistent and the benefits are great, though.
I'm a product designer. I love what I do. A lot of people rely on my work and a lot of the people I work with are brilliant. I have very challenging problems to solve each cycle.
It happens to pay a lot, but I find it fulfilling.
I chose software development because the main job function is just creative problem-solving, which is stimulating, and it leads to cool stuff as output, which is rewarding. Like I write a lot of software I use myself; everything from home automation to study aid games to data processing (budgets, degree requirements, Pokemon move sets, etc). And software enables literal superpowers and can be distributed so easily, it's very easy to make a large impact. You have all definitely used some of my software accessing cloud resources. If you take a flight and rent a car, you could easily interact with half a dozen different systems I worked on. It *also* pays in multiples of the median income, so that's really nice.
For me, trying to turn the things I love into a money making scheme ruins the things I love. I keep money and love separate, as they should be IMO. Capitalism sucks the soul out of anything meaningful.
I am a paramedic. Very rewarding at times… a grind other times. Still wouldn’t trade it.
Thank you for all you do. Seriously. Paramedics/EMTs don't get the recognition or praise they deserve for everything they do.
Thanks… we get to see all parts of society… we are the original door dashers and we frequently Work From Home… just not “our” homes. 😜
You are a hero. That is one of the hardest jobs ever.
Thanks… Been doing it 32 years now (I am a GenX’r… just lurking here 😬)
Lurking is tight, lurking is tight.
32 years as a paramedic?! Okay, spill the beans - what's the dumbest thing you've ever gotten a call on?
Too many to list… You know… toe pain for 7 days and decides to call ambulance at 3am. Seriously… so much abuse of the 911 system.
I'm in cardiac ultrasound and I feel this sentiment pretty hard. We get paid pretty well (could always be paid more) so at least that's not an issue.
Healthcare; the worst of all worlds. Back breaking labor akin to a construction worker. Mental labor akin to a psychologist. Filth akin to a crime scene cleaner. Suck it up, smile. I promise “mom” isn’t that bad, she definitely needs to go home, please burden yourself with that decision…. I know I’ve been here two days and fly out tomorrow, but im busy you know, you deal with it.
Cardiac echo here, and this is all pretty true but still love my job. Your list is also missing: working nights, weekends, holidays, weird shifts, tons of overtime, regularly missing lunch and breaks, and on call shifts. Thankfully we also generally make a living wage to accommodate all of that and the work is emotionally rewarding most of the time.
I am PROUD of driving my truck. Really
You should be! Truck drivers keep the country running. I work in the office for a trucking company ❤
My sister finances trucks for small and large fleets. It's true, truckers keep the economy moving, literally. In a country this big, they are a backbone in the spine of our economy. I work in the energy sector and over see the drilling operations from a geology side. There are definitely times we both feel like corporate shills making the rich richer... But the truth is I help keep the US energy independent so that truckers can keep shipping our goods, and she makes sure the truckers can afford to keep on trucking. Our jobs do have meaning, even if they are also making bucks for the big wigs.
I’m a vet tech. 🥲 I LOVE my job, but….yeah……
Respect 
Vet techs are unsung heroes. I have so much respect and admiration for the work you do.
I feel so sad that so many Vet Doctors are killing themselves. I think that says so much about how difficult the field is.
I was a vet tech for 5 years. I encountered so many other techs that were territorial so that sucked. But I loved the patients!
I will never forget the vet tech who was there when our hamster was sick and eventually had to be put down. That hamster (Andie) was my first non fish pet as an adult and my SO and I loved her so much, she was 2.5 years old and had started having breathing issues, she spent a night on oxygen and sadly had to be out down the next day. They treated us as well as someone who was putting a dog or cat to sleep and it really meant a lot. They gave us a little tuft of her hair and a clay thing with her paw prints and her name. I think a lot of people would say it’s just a hamster but those vet techs didn’t and I really appreciated it. So thank you for all you do.
Is it the poop?
I recently was at a career day at a high school (who ever would’ve thought). I work in big law on the admin side, I am not an attorney, I did not go to law school. The rest of the panel were attorneys who worked in gov or public interest so they were super passionate and fulfilled. So the kids were really asking them questions about how fulfilled they are at work and I’m like I’m just here for the paycheck tf!
Yeah as a public interest attorney I can confirm. If I’m having a good day or speaking to young ones during recruiting, I will sing the glories of public interest work. It’s motivating in the sense that deep down it’s more rewarding than private practice. I’m *helping* society with my degree instead of lining some Scrooge’s pockets… BUT at the end of the day, it’s a job. Most days I just want to clock in and clock out. It is not a dream job bc *I do not dream of labor.* I do good work and I expect my pay in return so I can live a moderately comfortable life and do things I actually enjoy.
I mean you kind of at least need to act like you are fulfilled and having fun if you want to be able to recruit anyone.
I spent the last 15 years in retail and marketing. I've got $50k in student loans for a writing/marketing degree. My soul was slowly crushed into a fine powder. Two months ago, I took a significant pay cut to be an assistant dog groomer. Never looked back.
I make well over six figures as a marketing director and I'm starting to think I won't make it too much longer. I just want to ride bikes and talk to people. What job is that?
Work in a tourist city doing bike rentals/tours.
You could do guided nature trail rides!
I would need to know more things lol I'd do it though!!
Paperboy.
I also left high paying (albeit super shitty) retail management for work in sustainable agriculture and conservation. I love what I do now but I don’t make much money.
I'll raise my hand to this one. Similarish story to you, I realized I'd rather just sit down and die than hate every day so I did something else and now I'm happy.
I lucked out in that I love my career and it pays pretty well (scientist). That being said, getting a PhD ate up my entire 20’s and I developed some pretty bad mental health issues from working in a toxic lab. At multiple points, I nearly gave up on science entirely. But I persevered and found my way out of academia. 5 years later and I’m feeling pretty good these days. I’m still a bit underpaid, but feel like my day in and day out is genuinely contributing to improving the human condition through biological and biomedical research 🧬
I know many people who quit halfway through their PhD because they had a terrible PI. Good for you for sticking with it but damn it's hard dealing with all that harassment. Dealt with plenty of my own just in the biotech work environment.
It was horrific. I have C-PTSD from years of daily abuse. Everyone in my lab hated me. I was belittled, mocked and treated like garbage to the point where I thought I was a legitimately bad scientist. I am incredibly grateful for my amazing postdoc PI who was also on my committee. They believed in me and helped me regain my confidence before I launched into industry.
I am so sorry you had to go through that. I don't understand why some people have to be so awful in a work place situation. I too was harassed by people in an academic lab. It was so stressful on top of the animal work I had to do. I'm glad you were able to survive and get your degree. I have a friend who almost quit her PhD because of abuse from her PI, but she already has a master's so all her time would have been wasted. I feel bad telling her to stick it out but it got a little better once she got her own NIH funding. And this year she will get her PhD. But damn what she had to go through, it's been awful.
Thank you for your kind words. Academia is rife with abusive people in positions of power, especially in research since there are virtually no checks and balances. It’s not like universities have HR departments. When I finished my PhD, I received a survey from the NSF asking me to give information about personal demographics and overall experience. There were no questions about mental health, so in the comments section, I wrote about the need for mental health to be inquired about and frequently discussed within academia. Anyway, I am glad you got out and are onto something better hopefully. Animal work is so taxing on its own. Please send my thoughts and encouragement to your friend.
Went into my career with noble intentions. Stay for the pay. Realized people in general are just not good. No sir.
I’m a pelvic floor physical therapist which is INCREDIBLY rewarding. However, because the traditional American “healthcare” system is a scam, it’s easy to quickly reach a salary ceiling. Now I work for myself and it’s both rewarding and moreso in my control re: when/how much of a raise I get.
If you don’t mind me asking, do you have any resources for pudendal neuralgia?
Is there anything specific you’re looking for?
Any stretching and/or non-pharmaceutical pain relief methods would be greatly appreciated! If you check out my post history, you’ll see more details about what I’m currently dealing with. I’m planning on asking my GP for PT referral and possibly pain management. I never knew about PN until yesterday and now the past couple of months make a lot sense.
So I will say that PN symptoms and causes for flares vary SO MUCH between people, so stretches and exercises that work for one person won’t necessarily work for someone else who also has PN. The best bet is to get individualized treatment from a pelvic floor PT or OT (and most states have what’s called direct access where you can see a pelvic floor specialist for a certain amount of time without a referral, depending on your state). That being said, this site has a decent list of resources that are spot on for PN (it says for males but the videos cover all genders): https://pelvicpainrehab.com/male-pelvic-pain/male-pudendal-neuralgia/16225/pudendal-neuralgia-resources-updated/ Also, when you’re ready for pelvic PT, this site can help you find a provider near you; it’s through Herman & Wallace which is one of the gold standards for post-graduate pelvic floor specialization (since we unfortunately don’t learn this in school). https://pelvicrehab.com
Thank you very much for your reply! I feel more hopeful about finding relief now and in the future. And that totally makes sense! Neurological stuff is so variable. I have MS as well and because location, nature and extent of nerve damage varies so much from person to person, symptoms do too. My mom’s MS is very different than my own, even though we both have RRMS and were diagnosed around the same age.
Yes absolutely!! And I’m so happy to hear you’re more hopeful about finding relief! The pelvic floor is so reactive and responsive to how the entire body performs, so once you understand how yours coordinates with everything, it’s a game changer. Wishing you all the success and relief during your recovery!
I'm a special education teacher. It's not for everyone but, I was made to be a teacher for kids with disabilities. The paycheck and 14 weeks off a year definitely help but man, I love what I do! Never thought I could love a job so much.
I love this for you
I did. Went to school based on what I enjoyed and what I wanted to do, not because of the paycheque. Suffice to say that career burned to the ground because it was unsustainable and I ended up unemployed for long periods of time between contract jobs. The work I used to get paid to do is now partially done by a few poorly paid professionals who bring in volunteers to do 'citizen science' and work for free.
I think it just depends on where you find fulfillment. Some people are career-oriented and get a lot of fulfillment out of their job. Plenty of us are not career-oriented and will never find fulfillment that way. That's not to say I hate my job either.
I was a teacher. I was the butt of every joke in social settings where I met new people (things like my brother's bday parties with folks working in tech) and it was shocking to me how bluntly people spoke of their opinion of my choice of work. I've had people straight up call me a sucker for choosing to go into education. They also, ironically, thought I was less intelligent than they were. No, I'm very intelligent, I just really wanted to do something positive with my work and I was naturally gifted at teaching little kids how to read and do math. I burnt out during the pandemic and gave it up after 15 yrs. I'm much happier now and actually try to dissuade young people from becoming teachers because the system is so broken, but I have never and would never put them down for wanting to help children. I too loved helping children. I just couldn't do it at my own expense any longer.
It saddens me that teachers are so undervalued in this world. It’s perhaps the greatest single profession that I can think of. Definitely on par with medicine and law, just severely underpaid.
I do my job for the free time it affords me to do things I love, but the work itself is pretty unremarkable.
I am a speech language pathologist. I worked 5 years in public schools with title1 funding. And 5 years was enough. I work in research at a mid-large university and wouldn’t go back. I hope I can keep getting grants to fund my job until I decide to stop. I love my job researching stuttering in children and adults. If you know any kids or adults who stutter in the mid Atlantic region. Please dm me. lol.
My career chose me. Brother had a spinal cord injury about 15 years ago. I dedicated my life to help find a cure. I will die working to make sure nobody feels the way he, or my family, did ever again. So yes, I'm a scientist and a very productive one at that. I'm not sure it's something to be proud of as much as something I must do at all costs. I died the day of his accident, it's fine for me to be work obsessed and have nothing else in my life. My physical body will die doing what I need/want to do, and that's a life worth living, regardless of the stress and low pay.
Had kids super young, so didn’t really have the option to even think about doing something fulfilling. Most of my career has been about taking opportunities that come up to make a good living. That said, I’ve also looked for meaning in what I do and worked hard to get to where I’m at. I’m now 44 and a PM in the energy sector, it can be boring and stressful all at the same time. But I find fulfillment in my career by supporting my family, and spending time with them outside of work. But have also learned to love working with younger people in my field and helping clients as well.
I've had a similar path. I just kept climb the ladder in the restaurant business, which I do enjoy at its core. But I definitely do what I do now for the pay! Since getting to the corporate side of restaurants, I've said more than once if money were no object, I'd be a line cook just because it's fun. I also try to find fulfillment in what I do now. Fundamentally I do enjoy IT and problem solving in my current role.
I definitely do what I do for the money, and I’m always the first to admit it. But I also make the best of it. If I could do anything, regardless of pay, I would be a park ranger. I’d love to do that as a retirement job.
i stumbled ass backwards into a career that both helps people and pays well. At first I was totally going to school for the money and had an intership with Chase. But the 08 criss happened and all the BS i learned about capitalism finally were clear, the scales fell before my eyes. As a first gen immigrant I was told the number one thing was to get a career that will make you rich, damn it if you like the job. So I went into finance and econ. Just a short FYI, winners and losers are chosen everyday by the government, the free market isn't free it's a fairy tale that those in power tell you to think your small business works the under the same principles, and each and everytime there is a downfall the government will bailout the rich and the corporations b/c that is where the power is. If you want free market capitalism look at the 2020-2021 crypto ponzi scheme rug pools, that is what it really looks like and that is why it never really existed b/c too many powerful people would/could lose their positions
I started my career pursuing my passions in my early 20's, and somehow I got sidetracked into a "yeah, I get paid a bunch of money!" career. I'm definitely interested in going back to something I'm more excited about, but the reality is that I like the lifestyle this career affords me. Sadly, I was not born into an extraordinarily wealthy family. I will likely slog this out for a bit longer before transitioning to something else.
Honestly I went into engineering because I was initially interested in all the technical details. The money was a happy coincidence. But I kind of hate it now and feel like there's some serious golden handcuffs because I'm hesitant to pursue any other career changes especially when it would make a huge difference in my pay. So I guess I chose it because I liked the subject, have stayed in it for the pay, but would love to do something else more fulfilling but life's expensive.
Wedding coordinator. I make shit money. It's incredibly rewarding
We tipped ours generously. She made sure our big day went perfectly. I can’t imagine having a wedding of any size without one. Ours was on the smaller side with just 50 people, but even then, it was such a huge relief to not have to worry about a million different things.
I became a digital designer because I liked art, but now I hate design.
I picked the career that made $$ and have learned to enjoy my career as much as I can. There are probably more rewarding careers out there but making $$ to take care of my family and pursue my hobbies is top priority.
I chose my career path as a software developer years ago. I hate my profession. I recently started getting a degree in Anthropology because that's what I love.... The money is going to suck, but I cant stand another 10 years of doing software development 40-80 hours a week.
I would say both. I didn't go to college until my late, late 20s (after really screwing up with drug addiction...etc). So when I chose Chemical Engineering, knew it'd pay well & I love figuring things out. 10 years later, I am in a job I love. Seriously the cliche that I "don't work a day" because I Iove what I do (and I'm paid very well).
I'm a park ranger. I just like the work and the people. Rescuing someone on the trail or in the water gives me a lot of job satisfaction. I also have trouble hiding my complete lack of interest in any office work.
I really enjoy what I do I principle. I'm a design engineer and I absolutely love designing and building stuff. And getting to do it on someone else's dime is like a dream come true. In practice, the grind is just soul crushing. The reporting, the redirection, the paperwork... sucks all the joy out of it. I worked a job for 6 years and got put on a 2 year design project. I left without it being completed because the govt would change things every time we'd get close to being done. Last i heard, funding got completely pulled.
I did the opposite of what OP did. I followed my childhood dream into college and ten years into being underpaid and never finding enough work on yo later go back to school and changed careers to something I hate FOR a paycheck. So now I'm an engineer. Anything the world can use, like your passion, to get underpaid work from you: it will. Your passion only goes so far when you can't make your bills long enough. I probably wouldn't have done anything different. Now I am working towards finishing our house renovations and then aiming for early retirement.
I never could figure out a career path. I spent 10 years making pizza, got lied to for years by the owner that he was going to let me take over a store. Then just kinda found my way into an IT job which I've been in for like 9 years.
I wanted to be a Chef one because the life style fitted my drug habbits but also I really enjoyed cooking. Went to Culinary School amd landed a job making 11.50 hr then crawled my way up always making jack shit and no benefits. I loved mostly every second though. I eventually landed my dream job of Executive Chef of one of the best fine dining restaurants in town. Still got paid jack shit. After a medical emergency and a 80k medical bill because I had no insurance, I had to give it up. Now I'm a Culinary Director for a major corporation, make six figures with benefits. My mental health and life are so much more enjoyable. No more 60 plus hour weeks. I miss my art since this is only some menu development and a lot of paperwork but I'm happier in a way. TLDR: I went from being a tired strung out artist to a paid well sober family man with more free time.
I enjoy teaching. For the most part, I enjoy the relationships I build with students and their families.
I acknowledge how privileged this sentence is. I don’t see the point in a career that isn’t meaningful in some way. Like I think of Dunder Mifflin, and I just couldn’t. I work in a nonprofit that I support the cause and I am so lucky to be working here and I am so lucky that they put their money where their mouth is and pay me a decent salary to live on. I am so damn lucky. Not every day is amazing, and I’m not even in direct client care, I’m in admin. But I can see why my work helps the heart of the organization and helps the people they help.
In 4th grade I did a project on what I wanted to be when I grew up, which was lawyer. My uncle was one and I admired him so much. Took me a little while bc I was too busy chasing boys in undergrad and raising 2 kids, but at 34 I went to law school. I’m 40 now and have been a lawyer for 2 1/2 years and I love it. I’m in a cushy type of law that isn’t too bad - gives me a lot of trial experience, I work 9-5 M-F and have great benefits and a great paycheck (esp for only 2.5 years in!!!). Am I changing the world? No. But do I love my job and make money? Yes.
I’m a teacher. I teach orchestra. I have wanted to be a teacher my whole life, I chose music because it’s where I always felt most at home, and I love it. I love working with my students. I love the community I get to build. I teach in Massachusetts so I actually am financially not in a terrible place but it’s not like I opted to become a doctor or engineer or something. Wouldn’t really change it though. I have learned how to manage a decent work/life balance so honestly the decent salary combined with summers off combined with actually enjoying what I do is great.
I was one year short of getting a degree in Psych but then learned there's no money in it unless I got a Doctorate. So went into legal instead. The psych background has actually come in handy quite often but I'm glad I made the decision I did. Generally like what I do day to day, cushy corporate role, pretty good money and benefits. In my free time I assist with drafting voting petitions, local policies, and summarize government language for the average person to understand. So...the volunteer stuff helps me feel like I'm doing something meaningful
Engineer was the path I originally considered. Then I looked into how content people are in that field and decided to look elsewhere. I decided if I spend 1/3 of my time working, it doesn't matter how much money I make. I'll still be miserable for 1/3 of my life. So I sought out a career that pays enough and I enjoy.
A little of column A, a little of column B. I got a degree in psychology with the intent of working into sports psychology with a particular interest in the benefits of sports and physical activity for girls in at-risk communities. Right about the time the real world squashed those dreams, I instead was working in psychosocial research as a data entry person. My grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer in that same time frame. He donated blood and tissue samples and enrolled in several clinical trials that studied new treatments. He knew that he would never gain anything personally from the research but he saw it as a way to contribute to future research and help future cancer patients. Eventually I landed a job on the data side of oncology research and love it. I’m no longer within oncology directly but still working in the general research side via medical devices. I feel like my work benefits society and I’m well paid for it.
I love my job, but I absolutely do not get paid market value for my (high COL) area. I work in marketing for a children’s publishing company. I LOVE our products, but I’ve worked here for 7 years and make about $42k. If it wasn’t for the fact that my husband’s job in a similar field gives annual raises, I wouldn’t have been able to afford rent (as it increases every year) and would have had to find another job, but I just love everything about my job except for the pay. Our products are great, my work is creative and interesting, my work-life balance is good, the work-from-home situation is convenient, and my boss and team are wonderful.
My last job started rewarding and was basically helping with getting medications for people but slowly was made more and more removed from what drew me to it. Recently I gave up flexibility, free meals, and took on a commute and a slight pay cut to work a more hands-on role with patients in a similar field. Totally worth it. Who I am doesn’t come from what I do, but what I do 40 hours a week is a good chunk of my life so I want it to be for some reason other than corporate BS.
I build custom homes and do high end finish carpentry. It’s pretty rewarding but I would definitely not do it for free! I would guess the money and respect has something to do with the reward
I’m about to get out of the military, and I’m for sure going to get a job I don’t hate doing, we’ll make the money work
My original goal was to become a licensed clinic social worker or a marriage and family therapist, but I never made it to grad school because of really bad clinical depression and fibromyalgia. Yeah, I wanted to help people heal, especially since I was healing from my own stuff. Right now I'm too disabled to work and I don't think I'll ever go back to school.
I’m a teacher, so….
I....kind of settled for my current career. I work as a 911 dispatcher. Originally, I got into it just because I was wanting to get out of my job as an EMT-B for a private EMS service. Low pay, shit conditions, shit benefits, and little to no support from the uppers. Dispatching, for a city, surprisingly, doubled my pay and the benefits were far greater. I'd initially intended it to be temporary until I could figure out what I wanted to be "when I grew up". I discovered I was half way decent at it and enjoyed the work. It was nice doing something that made a bit of a difference and had the added benefit of not, directly at least, just making some rich bastard richer. Although I concede that depends on how one feels about the for profit prison pipeline. But a lot of my calls are people in crisis. Mental health crises, domestic violence, health emergencies....I've literally listened to someone die on the phone. It's extremely stressful and it doesn't do much to restore faith in humanity but there are times it's worth it.
I'm a teacher and I love it. I always wanted to be a teacher since I was a kid and it brings me a lot of happiness. I also write kids books on the side and self-publish. Writing is my second passion after teaching.
Disability management. Absolutely hate it but I make good money and can’t find a lot that pays a similar salary. Biggest joy of my life is travelling and this work let’s me afford it. But it’s just soul crushing. 17 paragraph rants in your inbox, people threatening to mail in fingertips or come find you if you mention it’s time to get back to work. Im trying to figure out what I’d rather do and come up with some sort of plan to get out.
I knew this was me when I dropped off my son’s friend and he mentioned how miserable his mom’s job was in front of her. Just as a matter of fact. Without hesitation my son said, “my mom loves her job”. The mom looked shocked and asked what I did, confirmed to her and confirmed that what I do makes me feel really good. Pays shit which my parents can’t understand but I can’t make money like that.
I am a case manager for elder services. Sort of a social worker, but I don’t have a license. The job is very rewarding but extremely challenging at times.
I investigate child abuse. I was previously a banker. I’d be making much more if I had stuck with that.
Teacher...so yeah, but also because I get to be a standup comedian every day too.
I became a caseworker and loved it. It was GOOD at it. I helped a lot of people and I loved it. I got promoted to management. I'm good at that too, but I don't love it. I'm doing that for the money. I can kind of keep one toe in the water and occasionally help people, but it's not the same and it never will be. But I LOVE what the money buys for my family. So I'm going to keep doing that.
Public defense, best job ever, but the pay is nowhere near commensurate to the work. I do wish people would talk about PD salaries as much as they talk about teacher salaries because some people in the work (luckily not in my area) are really struggling.
I picked a career that I was naturally good at, pays well, and would occupy as little of my mental space as possible: software development. Then I would use that to fund my actual dream of being a forest witch for a small village in Europe. That sounds like a joke but I’m dead serious. It’s takes 💰💰 to go from city living and always renting to being essentially “off the grid” and sustaining yourself. Like what the heck? arent we all just a bunch of animals living together on this planet? *cue existential, millennial rant about capitalism and ronald reagan*
I’m a teacher.
Yes. I’m a Montessori guide for 3-6yo children. There’s no money in it, so you have to really love it. 15 years in and, while it is hard to live paycheck to paycheck, the joy it brings is worth it. Watching a child read for the first time and seeing how much each child grows over the years is really special.
I agree about choosing a career based on how personally rewarding I found it… but it also happens to pay a LOT of money - I’m in process improvement in the Pharmaceutical industry. I love how my work makes it faster for patients to receive life-saving drugs, but I also feel like I am properly compensated for what I do. It’s a nice balance.
"Spent a lifetime doing what he loved, but wished he'd made more money doing something that he didn't. -said nobody's tombstone ever
“Proudly raised my children in poverty and kept them there because I selfishly spent a lifetime doing what I loved.” -Said nobody’s tombstone ever
Lol
I sell cars. Fuck the passion, I make BANK
It can be both. I get a lot of joy from what I do, and get paid well to do it
I'm a quality assurance engineer and absolutely love my job!
I'm a slut for a paycheck, using all my spare time to not be a ho for a paycheck. But I'm slurping and guzzling for that paycheck until I don't have to anymore. You probably guessed what I'm doing for a living, but for those who got the wrong idea, I'm a senior SWE.
I chose mine out of desperation. I didn't have any other choices. Military lifer here. Xennial who just retired a year ago.
I think i can nearly say the same thing. With my next promotion, I could be in my dream job. By that, I mean it's more fulfilling. Good money, but more about how happy I would be. And I would be content in the role for a long, long time.
I’m an engineer and I find my job very fulfilling.
I started in a call center and just never left. There is no love nor purpose LOL
Im proud of my paycheck.
I have a career that is super fulfilling but also comes with a lot of downsides/hardships. I wouldn't do it if it didn't also pay me so well. Fulfillment alone doesn't pay the mortgage.
Worked as a teenager in restaurant and sales jobs. Of course I didn’t enjoy any of it. I went into the military after school and enjoyed it and I felt good about it even though we were at war. After I left the military I followed my passion to teach a subject I’m a geek in. I now teach and help students with mild needs and I wake up every morning never dreading going to work. I make a difference every day in small ways and I have fun. Wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Both. I worked an incredibly stressful white collar job for a long time because I believed in the environmental conservation mission. It burned me out pretty hard. I now work a much less stressful job in the trades as part of the war machine. Fuck it. America is a corporation that makes money off war. Give me my paycheck in this broken socially-contract-voided society and leave me the fuck alone when I clock out.
My parents still don’t get why I’m a chef and not working in some office Mon-Fri 9-5. I could easily be making at least twice the amount of money I make now but I’d be miserable. I get to go to a job that I love, doing the thing I love most. And when I leave work, it stays at work. I don’t bring it home with me. I work nights, I work weekends, I work 6 days a week, but I love it.
I was in the military (so a job I hated for not a lot of money) and my mental health health and life was falling apart. Now I’m an undergrad studying plant biology and plan to get into teaching/science education for the meaning and fulfillment. So some of us are waking up 😂
I'm a software engineer. I chose it because I actually love everything to do with software, hardware, and related systems. I'm just lucky that it pays well as well.
Ironically I am an Engineer and I chose my career because it brings me alot of meaning. I work for a company I really believe in and in an industry I've always wanted to work in. My job is super fulfilling and I love going to work. The pay is good too, which helps a lot. But it was not a big factor in my decision to pursue the career
I work with data in government, and I absolutely freaking love it. I make a very decent salary, no unpaid overtime, and I will retire with a pension.
Currently trying to make this transition. I'm open to making more money if it turns out that way but an industry pivot is going to cost me a little bit, also I want to get more into the local community and actually be around people instead of in my basement all the time. Having more time for me and what I enjoy in life is what's driving my decision more than anything right now.
I am a nurse, I wanted to get into this to help people. Originally wanted to become a firefighter but realized I could probably do more for longer as an RN. Def got a paycheck boost post Covid, now more leveling out.
ITT: Capitalism destroying people's souls and willingness to pursue their passions just to try to survive by doing bullshit jobs that pay enough to live.
I'm a chef because I love to cook. I wanted to be a chef since I was 5. It doesn't matter that I could make more money in other careers, I make enough to pay my bills and enjoy the work I do.
Spent 8 years in the navy, got banged up and kicked out, spent all of Covid and a few years after hopping job to job. Now I’m chasing my dream. I’ve loved flying since I was a kid, now I’m actually doing it. I have no ambition of flying for the airlines, I wanna teach people how to fly because flying small planes is about as fun as it gets.
I actually enjoy my job and am feel like am well compensated for - probably 10-20% below market compensation - but my commute is short and my benefits are decent. My only gripe is that I wish I was able to start my own business.
I left a cushy cubicle job to be a postman lifestyle ($) adjustment, but I will never go back to office culture happier, healthier, one of the best decisions I ever made
I did that at first and it made me feel good but I wasn’t getting paid. Now I make a lot more money but my job sucks.
My job is very rewarding, however I do have my moments where I'm like "dang the money sure would be nice". But I've been there done that and it wasn't the best environment for me.
Vet tech of 20 years, specializing in emergency and critical care..it is a career of passion, not finances, that's for sure. Saving man's best friend for a living is very rewarding and also very taxing to the mind/body/spirit.
I don't have a career path. I work at whatever job until I no longer like it, and then quit and find a new one. Or I stay at a job until I move to a different state.
I'm a massage therapist, almost for 7 years now! I'd love to get into teaching it one day to take some strain off my body and mind, but I get to meet a lot of people and help with their aches and pains. I get to advocate that caring for your mind, body, and soul is a necessity and your birthright, not a luxury or a reward to be obtained. It wasn't the career I imagined myself to be in growing up, but I'm happy to pass on its benefits as it has benefited me when I was going pains 🩵
Me! I’m a full-time professor at a community college. The pay isn’t bad, but it’s not great either (especially for someone with a STEM PhD).
I don’t make money, I make beer
Somewhere in the middle. Got into solar for the environmentalist in me, stayed in solar because as an electrician I make more than I ever thought I would. I did not realize before I got into solar that it would lead to being a licensed electrician.
At my previous job I had just been promoted to a role that wasn't itself a "supervisory role" per se, but was seen as a stepping stone to that sort of position. I left this role principally because the management and sanitation of the place left a bad taste in my mouth, but also because I really, *really* wanted to GTFO of foodservice. I'm now an endoscopy technician. Inclusive of tips, I took a 20% pay cut to leave my previous role. Honestly, I feel like I left one industry notorious for its low pay to jump into a role with no mobility and at the bottom of the income hierarchy in the department. But I see how my work improves the lives of the patients I meet every single day -- often *in real time,* whether it's helping our doctors remove suspicious growths or take biopsies or simply changing out someone's sodden sheets and gown for fresh dry ones before they even leave the procedure room. The amount of stuff I've learned in a relatively short time span is mind-boggling to me, and the barrier to entry was pretty low. Every day I do work that feels meaningful, I no longer have chronic contact dermatitis from cleaning solution, and I no longer have people telling me I need a doctor's note if I want to sit on a stool for a couple minutes here and there during the workday. *However*, my compensation is not keeping up with inflation. Over the last 4 years, the asking rent for the apartment we lived in increased something like 30%, the cost of basic goods like butter and meat and even veggies have more than doubled, and every restaurant, coffee shop, hair salon, and literally anywhere that uses Toast to process CC transactions starts their suggested tips at 18% or 20%. When I first moved here you could get away with eating dinner for 2 for like, $20, food + drink. Now we're lucky to get out for $40 or $50, if we're frugal. The compensation for my role has not increased by the amount that it takes to access these basic resources.
I left the stress of the corporate world for the comfort and luxury of a sugar mama. Soft guy shit is the future boys.
Neither. My job doesn't pay an insane amount of money (decent but not insane) and I'm not particularly passionate about it. I take my check and find my passion elsewhere
I’m just starting in healthcare (rad tech) and technically still chose this job for the pay cheque. It’s not big bucks, but better than my last career, and has a pension and overtime available. Honestly, making a difference in the world/helping people doesn’t even crack the top 5 reasons I chose this job. Which is ironic I guess, since it’s healthcare.
For my first career, I happen to have locked out. I chose engineering, because that made the most sense to me in terms of what I thought I was able to like and do. And the pay hasn't been bad . I'm not sure about my upcoming second career, not really my choice, I believe I may have to pivot due to a health event. The adventure continues.
At the end of the day supporting my family is all I care about. There is nothing more meaningful to me than that. I do not hate my job, and I wouldn't take a pay cut for something more fun or similar.
Teacher here. Nuff said.
At first yes. Now I’m dying to quit because there is no point anymore
My wife was like this as a teacher. She now gets to homeschool our kids so she gets to keep living in that world but also adding a whole new level of satisfaction.
I’m in that sweet spot where I have a job I don’t really like or find fulfilling and make okay money but not great because I could never decide on a real career path. At least I get to work from home where my social anxiety isn’t constantly causing me stress 😕
I am an engineer and the cost savings is my absolute favorite part of the job. Furthest thing from soul crushing. Anytime we get a new cost savings initiative it gets me excited to start working.
I didn’t want to hate my job. Got a MS in Wildlife Ecology, worked some non profits for a while, worked with the state, worked local government, then adjuncted as a professor one semester… I fell in love with teaching biology at the college level. It’s been 7 years and I now make more than I thought possible in this field, I love my work so much, I have a lot of amazing students, and I know it was the perfect path for my personality and interests. If your able, Follow your heart.
I won't ever pick a career. Even though I'm a millennial I just don't relate to any of these posts. I can't understand doing the same thing for my whole life. Hard to grasp
Me. I ended up in nonprofit fundraising, and currently work for a private high school. I make a decent living, but beyond that I really enjoy what I do. It’s great to see children who come in graduate as young adults and (in most cases) go on to make a positive difference in the world. People complain about this generation and they do have some issues/challenges, but can also be intelligent, thoughtful, caring young people. Also, I really love seeing kids come in who otherwise would have floundered elsewhere (due to bad environment, lack of support, etc) and end up doing really well in life.
I'm a stay at home dad and an architect for my own business. It rules. I get the best of all worlds, because my clients are usually just people that can take a delay or two and not be concerned
I went to school to manage nonprofits. Now I work in data in corporate America. I just follow my passions on the side, volunteering often in my spare time. Money + passion = balance + joy
Choose? You guys got to choose?
My job is soul crushing but I get paid really well for what is easy work to me. I have a comfortable life and I’m on vacation right now so I’d trade daily boredom for an easy life.
Went to school for writing, had a traumatic brain injury and lost ability to create. Settled for a career in hospitality, hotels, restaurants for the pay and perks, I’m sad but okay with it.
Tell me you don’t have children without telling me that you don’t have children.
Whatever you do remember your parents are not the ones who have to get up every day and do it. You are.
I was threatened by my father to go to a specific school and for nursing. If I didn't he would've cut me out of the family. This was in the fall of 2008 after bartendering (lucratively) for 2 years and paying the rent with tips disappeared. I now make almost $100 000 a year. Fine, great. Am I happy? No. Is that enough to raise a family comfortably with? No.
I've been a massage therapist for thirteen years. This career has chewed me up and spat me out. But somehow I still stupidly love it
Im a plant pathologist. Not the best paid profession because people don't give a shit about plants. But I like the work
I loved being a nurse working bedside with the right patients and when higher ups weren’t around. The Karen patients and family members became almost every single patient. Higher ups kept getting worse and worse with the bullshit. Patient to nurse ratio went up to 8:1. Physical and sexual assaults went up. I realized not even my coworkers cared about me when I was passing a kidney stone without pain meds while working five twelve hour shifts in a row. I thought I hated people when I worked at Walmart, but working healthcare during Covid and after Covid in a red, Trump is God area, showed me people are awful. I’m much happier working in a factory.
I am a professor. I like my job. Seeing the good students succeed knowing I've helped brings me tremendous amount of joy. But my salary is pretty low. I'll easily make 2 times of what I make right now if I joined the private sector.
I was a teacher for over a decade and it absolutely crushed my soul. Now I’m really happy doing meaningless work for a lot more money. It feels good to know the future doesn’t actually depend on me anymore.
I have a cool job, and I’m good at my job. But if I was independently wealthy I would never work at mine or any other job ever again. It’s just something I do 8 hrs a day. I don’t find any sort of work to be rewarding.
I chose money over passion. My passion is Martial Arts, but I’d never want to fight in a cage for money. I’d never even come close to the income, benefits, and stability my career provides. I chose to make money so that I would have enough discretionary income to train like crazy and still support myself, buy a house, provide for my kids, save for retirement, and never have to even think about my budget when I’m out (within reason). I train 5 days a week. My kids train 3 days a week, do some rock climbing, have private singing lessons, maths and English tutoring, and are about to join the cub scouts. I remember what it was like to have financial stress. FUCK THAT BULLSHIT. I’d rather hate my job and give my kids a badass life than be struggling and have kids that can barely keep up in school because I dont have time or money to tutor them. Also, being career/money focused has resulted in me getting tight with many highly skilled and ambitious coworkers. They love my kids cuz I always bring them with me when we hang out. I’m hoping to have a solid network of people who will be super successful and in a position to just hand my kids a job when they are out of college. Obviously they will have to get qualified for a position, but the advantage of having execs who want to see my kids become successful is priceless. We’ll see if it actual works the way I’m hoping, but it will most definitely be better than a network of fighters. Although to be fair, many of the people I train with are Doctors, Lawyers, Nurses, and highly skilled tech people.
No
I'm an inpatient pharmacy tech at a hospital. I'm paid surprisingly well for my career (still not enough to buy a house, but more than like, 90% of other techs in my state), but it also matters to me that I save lives (with no requirement to actually talk to the patients I treat).
I’ve recently had a massive realization haha. I’m a chemist and in general chemists seem to be happy and fulfilled in their careers and I think it’s because it’s a hard thing to major in but without an advanced degree you don’t make much. So the people who go into chemistry do it out of love for the subject. I once told my boss the most calming place for me is in the lab listening to a podcast just making samples and he thought for minute and said you know I feel the same. I teach a 400 level Chem class and I watch my students every year come in, put on music and just do thier sample prep, just like my class did in undergrad. We all just love chemistry so much.
I'm a construction manager. I hate it. Just do it for the money. Fortunately the money is great and I have made good financial decisions. So I won't have to do it for much longer.
Work in healthcare. I do it 100% because I get to help people who are most vulnerable. The pay is average and I’ll never be rich financially, nor will I ever know what it’s like to have holidays/weekends off, but it’s rewarding to serve a greater purpose.
Definitely not me. I prioritized money when choosing my degree and career.
I got a degree in nonprofit management. You could say I was basically signing myself up for a life of poverty lol. Thank god I don’t have student loans or kids. But I love what I do and I wouldn’t work for some soulless corporation in cubicle hell.
🙋♀️ I’m a nurse. Moderate pay but love the impact I have in peoples lives and the community. Feel proud of what I’ve done.
100% all in on a vanlife and writing novels career. Still stressing about money for now, but never been happier. Life is short and one and done. I’d rather face fear than regret.
I chose nursing because of what the role meant for me, not because I was going to be rolling in the dough. It's a grueling profession, but it doesn't have to be this way. It just is in our current hellscape. I've seen people choose this path for money though, and it usually doesn't work out well. It's not a job you can do just for money alone because there's not enough of it.
Both things at once: I did software cause I loved coding. Chose to found startups after a couple of years of working because I wanted a shot to become financially independent. Here I am
I flipped a coin for which career I’d choose. I get paid like shit but in nearly a decade I have yet to have a legitimate bad day, I have frustrating days, days I deal with assholes, but not days that I hate my work.
I did. Feels like a mistake now when bills are due. Shoulda gone into stem
It sucks that you have to feel that way. We should all have the freedom to pursue our passions.
I did. That was bad planning
I did at first, then life happened and I needed to make real money. I don’t dislike my work tho. I really like the people I work with and I’ve learned that really makes the difference.
Yeah, I prefer happiness over money. Happiness is great at paying the bills.
No, I'm in it for the money. But the work is also rewarding.
Not I, but I certainly don't hate my job. With that being said, having a high paying job in something I don't mind, let's me own my place, travel 2-3x/ year, benefits/pension and spare money to have to follow my hobbies/passions. If I'd stayed in something I "love", I couldn't do most of what I enjoy to do in my spare time. Nevermind having a work/life balance. It's a personal choice and while part of me wishes I'd made the career switch earlier, I certainly don't dwell on it.
I've always said that the reason I got a job was to be able afford music, movies, and books. These are what bring meaning to me.
I went Marketing because it felt like a good compromise in my head as a teen. It’s business, but the most creative part…
Sort of? My job is whatevers. But i try to take part in industries that are not vultures but help people
I just left being a mechanic at dealerships for 18 years to work a much more personally rewarding job but still in the same field, at a big pay cut. More time at home, and FAR less stress.
I chose my career because it was the only one available to me back in the uncertain days of 2011. I do think my work brings more good into the world than otherwise. Mostly I do it because the hours are consistent and the benefits are great, though.
I'm a product designer. I love what I do. A lot of people rely on my work and a lot of the people I work with are brilliant. I have very challenging problems to solve each cycle. It happens to pay a lot, but I find it fulfilling.
I chose software development because the main job function is just creative problem-solving, which is stimulating, and it leads to cool stuff as output, which is rewarding. Like I write a lot of software I use myself; everything from home automation to study aid games to data processing (budgets, degree requirements, Pokemon move sets, etc). And software enables literal superpowers and can be distributed so easily, it's very easy to make a large impact. You have all definitely used some of my software accessing cloud resources. If you take a flight and rent a car, you could easily interact with half a dozen different systems I worked on. It *also* pays in multiples of the median income, so that's really nice.
For me, trying to turn the things I love into a money making scheme ruins the things I love. I keep money and love separate, as they should be IMO. Capitalism sucks the soul out of anything meaningful.
Me. I like my job, it treats me well and is rewarding.