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I had a very high paying job that was basically nonstop super stress. A few years ago I traded it for a job that pays half as much but is much more stable and about 1/100th the stress and half the pay.
While I sometimes miss the money, I wish that I had done this 15 years ago when the kids were still living at home.
Does high salary have to equal high stress job/career?
There's obviously always exceptions to the rule, because I know some Federal GS-13 employees pulling in 6-figures, that don't supervise anybody, love their jobs, never work more than 40 hours a week and have very little to no stress at all in what they do, maybe because it's a government job!
I know they probably are considered "unicrons", but high salary low stress jobs/careers are out there, I guess the hardest part is getting one.
Do you have a choice? If no, then that's the only job. Worth it or not, you're stuck with the low paying job. Meaning lower standard of living. More appropriate question is, is it worth to work your ass off for that high paying job? Yes. That's great.
Depends on how low of a salary vs. how little stress/how high of a salary vs. how much stress.
You hit a point of diminishing returns when more money doesn't always equate to more utility. There's probably also a low-end threshold where you'd always take the money, no matter the delta on the stress.
For me, based on my current location -
$120k and below I'd always take the money
$120k-$250k depends on the job requirements, stress levels, etc etc
$250k+ I wouldn't really care to take on more stress for more money
All figures need to be adjusted for cost of living.
I always worked to live, not lived to work. Don’t get me wrong, I had essentially a global position that was 95% no stress/5% oh **** levels of stress. Pay? I didn’t break six figures until we’ll into my 50’s. Loser right?
Maybe. It was a corporate job in shared services. I was viewed as an expert in a fairly specialized area. It allowed me to travel to Europe, the Middle East and China, places I may not have gone for vacation. Lol
Meanwhile, I did a couple of kayak trips on the Amazon, motorcycles into Mexico for at least four trips, turned in some long-distance cycling performances (well into my 50’s) and had more hobbies than any three of my friends combined.
I also did it to stay in my daughter’s life. Her mother and I divorced when she was 11 and there was no way I was leaving her. That held true until she hit her 30’s.
Yet, as seems to be typical, the last few years of work paid off nicely. As I retired, my wife really stepped up her earnings. We always went well below our means despite my hobbies and managed to acquire a portfolio that shocks even me.
It’s not what you make, it’s what you keep….and invest.
Depends on how low of a salary vs. how little stress/how high of a salary vs. how much stress.
You hit a point of diminishing returns when more money doesn't always equate to more utility. There's probably also a low-end threshold where you'd always take the money, no matter the delta on the stress.
For me, based on my current location -
$120k and below I'd always take the money
$120k-$250k depends on the job requirements, stress levels, etc etc
$250k+ I wouldn't really care to take on more stress for more money
All figures need to be adjusted for cost of living.
I think I've hit the point of diminishing returns for my spending habits. I can comfortably afford everything I want, aside from mega mansions and supercars (don't care for fine art and yachts), but that's OK since I live a pretty modest lifestyle. Right now, I have 1st world problems of figuring out where to park my money in this volatile economy.
I had a $100k job a few years back that was ultra laid back and low stress. I was 30 then and couldn't handle sitting around learning very little and not living up to my potential. If I could go back there when I'm older (right before retirement) and coast, I would though, haha.
Sounds like you're trading one stress (work stress) for another (money stress). Unless you have some other income source you can depend on for a living and work is a hobby for you.
I'd rather have work stress than money stress - at least I can spend away some of that work stress.
So would most people. Living paycheck to paycheck, with no savings, renting, having no funds for anything but the bare minimum, no being able to go, do or buy what one wants, is stressful beyond words.
Living in a situation where one car breakdown - and such people often drive older and unreliable vehicles, - can cause someone to lose their job, misappropriate funds set aside for rent, and ultimately become homeless. Life can be one long catastrophe.
Low wage workers live a life that does not give any room for error. One unforeseen event can lead to financial. and personal catastrophe.
What is so sad is that some of the people who work with our most vulnerable and fragile people, day care workers, nursing assistants, home health care workers, those employed in group homes for the developmentally disabled, direct care workers in nursing homes - are doing very difficult and important work, and they are poorly compensated for their vital work.
Those that get stressed about anything are simply not that intelligent. Anything that is a stressor can be planned for or reacted to.
Sorry that you have such low self esteem that you have to insult others to try to make yourself feel better about yourself. Truly intelligent people never tell others how intelligent they are or put others down for having less intelligence. Intelligent and educated people know that stress levels and intelligence are not related. People with experience in the world and a little wisdom are also aware that stress is unavoidable. We are built to experience stress, it is ingrained in us and at times it is what keeps up alive. And yes, high level decision maker jobs can otter produce a lot of stress, especially where your position makes you responsible for the well being of others and you are not so selfish as to not care what impact your decisions have on them. You can avoid stress to some extent if you are completely self centered and narcissistic, but that is not an indicator of intelligence.
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