Career: Salary vs Interests

[Phwoaroah]

What is more important in your opinion? A career which pays very well or a career which aligns with your interests?

For example, would you take a job doing something in a field like marine conservation that really interests you but the realistic maximum you could earn would be £50k p/a.

Or would you take a job in finance/banking where you could realistically earn £200k p/a.

I took the second option. If all jobs paid the same I’d be a scuba diving instructor, but it wouldn’t pay the bills.

Having just moved to a new job in a totally different industry that pays more money, I’d say interest - I’m miserable, I’m not enjoying it and having more money isn’t making up for that.

I took the second option. If I were doing something I was interested in when I was young and choosing my career I'd have been a journalist or working in the arts.

I'm very happy but I don't expect to earn the £200k you talk about for a few more years and I'm 23 years into my career! I love my job. Specialist in a big advisory practice in a professional services firm. Trying to get to partner. It's not been easy. Always been happy with my pay and lifestyle. Its hard to afford to live even moderately well nowadays on a good salary.

I did the latter. Initially I got an admin job on the syndicate desk but really liked it and found the numerate aspects, the links with world economies and the environment really interesting. I went into it with no plan.

DH more rigorously and with a plan chose the law because he wanted to be an MP. Then fell in love with the law and by his mid/late 30s decided to stick with it that politics would never pay

Both children are following much more altruistic paths and doing what they love. DS is an academic and DD teaches SEN at a specialist independent school for significantly neuro diverse children.

The children's choices have been made possible because they have secure foundations behind them and don't have to worry about getting on the property ladder. DH set out his stall early on because he was very poor growing up.

I took the 2nd option and to be earning £200k+ (MN seems to be obsessed with this figure), you really have to sell your soul to the corporate machine, endure 60 hour weeks, wave goodbye to any kind of work/life balance, laugh at the managers jokes - and if someone likes you and you get eventually get promoted to director level you might achieve it. I never did.

Despite what the Daily Mail says, most City workers on the trains into London are not millionaire traders at Goldmans. Just back office drones on unremarkable salaries. Many times I've stood on the platform in the pissing rain and the dark and wanted to just turn round and go home.

I should add, I gave up the City job aged 35 because I was burnt out and had a baby but it got me a house in SW London and a great deal of equity by my late 20s, which is why I could give up work. It gave DH and I a kick start whilst his career was developing.

Do something you love, as long as you won’t be destitute. You spend so much of your life at work and so many people are burnt out and miserable.

My mum worked for 30 years in finance in a job she largely hated. While we were fortunate because she earned well for someone with her (lack of) qualifications, which wouldn’t be possible now, she was adamant that I grow up and do a job I loved rather than a ‘good job’ that made money.

Dh and I both went down career paths we love that are not traditionally ‘high earning’ and we earn well above average. There is always a niche and a means for financial success in every career, but you may need to get creative and take some risks and think outside the box. But I couldn’t do something that made me miserable or bored me to tears.

The thing is most things are interesting when you know a lot about them. A lot of people do find finance interesting and rewarding. I think people need to be cautious about careers that seem obviously interesting as often it’s not the case or at least not to the degree that it would offset low earnings.

I chose the first path, in that I opted for an interesting helpful career that required a good deal of training. If I still worked for the Local Authority, I’d be on 50k full-time.

Later on, I luckily learned that there were other options and chose to work in private practice which pays significantly more, for much less stress. I feel I served my time doing the tough gig first and am happy that I can still practise my profession while affording school fees and lovely holidays.

@TheThingIsYeah

So you do for don't earn that much?

whatever job you do, doesn't have to be forever, so you could well end up having a career where you gave multiple different jobs.

personally, i'd start with the finance job, as financial security is important to me and i would use it as an opportunity to get a foot on the property ladder and build up some savings.

Then, you could look into marine conservation work as a career (or even stay in finance, but keep it as an interest or hobby). i've previously worked in an area adjacent to marine conservation and that industry was low paid with no job security and i saw lots of graduates struggling with their careers and money as the work just wasn't there.

If it's £50k vs £200k I might start to consider the "follow your dreams" option but I think too many people pick careers that only pay £20-30k and that's much more difficult to live on.

It's also much easier to switch later from a £50/100/200k job than the other way around...

No. Not in my wildest dreams.

I have colleagues who I've worked alongside with over the years who have got to that level - (the amount of tax they pay is eye-waterimg but that's another matter)

Some are good and deserve it, others I've been left scratching my head thinking, Director? They couldn't direct their way out of a wet paper bag. Sometimes it's just good timing and luck.

In my case I just don't think I really wanted it enough. I'd rather just go home than be a yes man or subscribe to that jacket-on-the-back-of-chair mentality.

I'm not ungrateful, I've done ok, got a nice house, holidays etc, and until I got made redundant no money worries as such. However it's come at a price in that for the last 25 years I have hated getting out of bed 5 days out of 7, and I often wish I'd gone for the 1st option.

Some great points. Especially that a career is not forever, and whilst not always straightforward, skills are transferable.

I agree that working long hours in the city for £50k would definitely not be worth it, but £200k would be. Those kinds of jobs are not out of reach for someone with my qualifications, but definitely would mean working nonstop. For some people they might enjoy it.

Depends, a bit if both. A well paying career that you don't hate, enjoy, then enables you to enjoy life, do things you want to, without having to worry about money.

One thing it's worth bearing in mind and it happened to me both in my first career, in the City and has happened again in my second career, is that (ime) high paying roles come with responsibility and from that arises very little free time. In both careers I have been time poor and nowadays, in the twilight of my working life, have not enough time to spend the money and, at this stage, not much to spend it on. But if I lose 2 stone, I guess I could have a tummy tuck

Very much this. You get grief from above and you get grief from below. The marginal tax rate above £100k is very high, so unless you are earning mega dollar I’m not sure the extra hours and responsibility is worth the hassle half the time.

I’ve seen so many people ‘married’ to their jobs in the City, I bet the divorce rate amongst senior roles is much higher than the general population. And because they spend so long at work they invariably need a cleaner, a nanny; there’s the maintenance to the ex-wife and the kids private school fees. I used to say to the AVPs who wistfully regretted their career choices, that when you factor all this in they probably take home more than the directors.

Neither for me, work life balance wins everytime.
A job that pays £200k but has you working all hours under the sun would not be my cup of tea but neither would doing something I loved for poor pay but worrying about the next bill that came in.

I work in a flexi role now, not the most interesting subject area but with room to move upwards / sideways. Financially I'm fairly comfortable due to living in a cheap area and it gives me the work life balance I need for my DD.

It matters what you value. Some people want a lot of money in the bank but not much of a life outside of work. They are married to their earnings. For these people, I often wonder if there is an element of regret in later years as to the sheer amount of their lives they gave to work. We’re not here for long and in my humble opinion some things are more valuable than money, as long as you’ve got a comfortable lifestyle do you need any extra on top? The thing is, money sort of loses its value the more of it you have ……you’re left thinking of the great sacrifice you made and let’s be frank, you can’t take it with you.

The middle way is best - a modest but comfortable salary that doesn’t require you to sell your life and soul and leave you with regret years later when you realise that the only thing you’re ever really gifted with in this life is time. Don’t waste it collecting metal

I would take the higher paid option as that opens so many hobby options, and when you have enough money you can leave your job and move into something you enjoy

The career I moved into at 50 didn't really exist 10 years ago and only really took off due to covid. I now have a new career path and 2 steps left for me to reach c-level. But management isn't as fun as the actual job!

Sorry that fouled off track. My point was that careers can change. Experience and side steps are a great way to get beyond the 50k.

Only on MN would someone say a salary of £50k is not a good salary.
You do know the full time average salary is only about £31k?

@Phwoaroah I would take the second option, get yourself financially secure and when you have enough assets and funds, pursue the first option.

Money buys options. Don't underestimate its value

I did the 1st. I work in heritage in a job that I find fascinating. It's not a great salary and I've been made redundant before now. I worked my way up the ladder and earned around £42k a few years ago, but now I'm very part time and earn the equivalent of around £38k. It's very flexible and although I'd love a bit more money (50k would do me fine!), I wouldn't give it up for a better paid boring job. We own our own house with only a small mortgage and we have a lifestyle to fit our income so we do OK.