Would you rather have an interesting job that was badly paid or a boring job that was paid very well?

I worked as an accountant in banking for 20 years. Then retrained after having a family as a pilates instructor. So I now have an interesting, rewarding and flexible job that I love. But it doesn't pay as much.
But the money earnt doing the initial corporate job gave me a cushion to fall back on when I wanted to retain and cut my hours.
I absolutely wouldn't swap what I do now, but my first career & the financial security it gave me, definitely made the switch easily.

a really interesting job that's paid well - I have it.
My husband loves his job - one many would think was boring
I know lots of accounts who love their jobs
There's always a way to make money from what you find interesting but quite often the jobs that seem most exciting and interesting on the face of it end up being pretty tedious anyway

I do a very boring job but very well paid, unfortunately I am the breadwinner of the house so cannot change careers. Boo.

At the age of 67 I say go for high paid. You can do interesting in your spare time.

I’m a retired accountant and it wasn’t boring. I worked all round the world, several African countries, South America and Russia. You deal with lots of different people and I like balance sheets.

The age old question!

I went boring and well paid. It's boring in the sense it's corporate and financial services, but while I'd prefer to be a successful travel blogger or something, it's actually quite interesting now I'm at a decent level and I have a lot of autonomy and flexibility.

And the benefits are I'm almost 40 and have a significant pension and should be able to retire at 50-55. And take the kids on some great holidays while they're still primary school age and want to hang out with me!

Having spent 3 decades in a boring but well paid role I’d love to do a job I was passionate about or had a vocation etc. At 50 I feel trapped and it’s impossible to move due to mortgage, obligations, providing for young adult kids etc at uni

I realise I’m in a privileged financial position, but envy people who love what they do

My job pays very well but is unexciting (ux research). I wouldn’t go as far as to say its boring- its ok,
i chose this career path. Did my PhD, loved university research, but love being able to pay the bills more. Went into UX research, no regrets. I get paid to do my job, its not a hobby.

Money every time .

I think all jobs, even those passion projects or super interesting ones all have the same ups and downs at some point. Therefore I would rather take the lows (high workload, long hours etc) with cash being favourable.

I am late 30’s and always been a planner. Whether that’s something to look forward to, or now proper pension planning. As such, I need to plan to be financially comfortable in retirement as I don’t plan on working until the bitter end. Money will afford me to do that, low paying jobs still bring equal amounts of stress but you end up in them for longer. I’m not working my current high stress job (ideally, not at all) until I’m in my 60’s, so I need to keep earning to plan for that.

I'm a secondary teacher and head of a core subject, so in fairness, my salary is pretty good, although not what would be classed as very high earner.

I can honestly say my job is never boring! I enjoy the fast pace of the day, the students and my department team. It is very stressful at times and some in my school are a bit cliquey but I tend to avoid them.

I don't think I could survive sitting in an office doing something boring all day, every day. I need people and mental stimulation 😂

I literally can't focus on boring things so I don't have a choice. I love what I do. It's well paid, relatively, but I'm still poor. I wouldn't do something boring for more money.

Boring and well paid. You can liven up a boring life by chucking money at it.

Boring.

I’m a lawyer. I chose law almost entirely because of the excellent pay and career opportunities.

I don’t hate the work but I don’t have any passion for it. Small bits of it are interesting, a lot of it is very, very dull. It’s afforded me a comfortable, financially secure lifestyle.

Project Management.

each project is a challenge, I get to work with some seriously clever people and the challenges met along the way have a terrific bonding effect on us as a team.

I could have retired years ago, instead I shall continue in this role for as long as they will have me. Great salary and benefits just a welcome side effect.

Boring is subjective isn’t it? I would imagine most people would find my job really boring but I like it.

I think being underemployed is worse than being bored.

Mine is extremely boring and unrewarding, but quite well paid

I'd definitely take the boredom and money.

But if it's a choice between poor pay and flexibility or big money and no flexibility, I'd go for the flex 💯

This comes down to if you have a ‘find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life’ or ‘work to live’ mindset.

I think most people do not have the choice. I choose boring and well paid, unfortunately.

I chose a "worthy" career path. I would firmly discourage my kids from doing likewise. Take the boring well paid job. I work full time, and my life is one long stress about money. I'm exhausted and broke. It's really shit.
If I could go back in time I would 100% choose a boring but well paid career path. No question.

Interesting, busy job. Pay isn’t good. DH is the same.
All of our friends own houses, cars, have holidays…
We don’t have those things. But I want them for DS.
I need to come up with Plan B as my industry is done.

Not sure whether you are saying teaching is interesting or not. I find it stressful and not very well paid so am leaving

Something in between for me.

I started a career which was super interesting to me but very badly paid and I really wanted more money so switched to my current job which is well paid and which I enjoy but less interesting than my first career. I could be better paid for a more boring job but I hate being bored.

I’ve had many boring jobs in my life, and not one of them was well paid.

I now do a job that sounds boring to some but is intellectually challenging & mostly very interesting. It is also very well paid.

On that note, why do you think being an accountant would be boring? I doubt so many young people would go into it (and stay in it) if it was that boring, because it isn’t the best paid profession.

I’d follow the money, excitement don’t pay my bills.

This isn’t a choice for most people because choosing a lower paid job means you still have the means to support yourself so it’s either not that badly paid or there is a second household income bolstering finances or you come from wealth. For most people you take the job that pays the most so that you can make ends meet

I don’t love my job. Most people would think it’s pretty boring (IT support) but it pays well and is very flexible. I used to wish I’d done something that I was more interested in, but this job has given me financial security, allows me to spend loads of time with my family and indulge in lots of hobbles and travel so I’m glad I stuck with it.