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

[malificent7]

When I was young I went for the "interesting" worthwhile jobs like teaching/now NHS. Now I am older I wish I had gone into something that paid a lot better like accounting etc.
My interesting job is the average uk wage and tbh honest is not that interesting day in day out and the environment is toxic. Id rather be loaded. Anyone else feel the same?

Often the interesting jobs that are well paid are difficult to get into. Competitive at the very start ( A levels and degree level) so only available to the academically elite. The justification for the this is a whole different debate though.

I chose interesting and well paid so that it would fit around family life. It sort of worked and I was able to choose my hours and work/life balance. I could work 2-3 days a week and earn well over the average income but not the full time income that would have put us in the very comfortable income range.

I now work one day a week ( I’m 60 and have taken my well earned pension) and still earn around average income. My lifetime earnings, on which my pension is based, is lower than it would have been had I worked full time but my pension is still considerably higher than the uk average household income.

I do feel very lucky to have had the choice of an interesting and well paid career but it was stressful at times. I will miss working when I give up completely and I am planning to take up some hobbies to try and replace the creative side of the job.

I think that well paid but boring gives you the option to work part time and enjoy work/life balance by accepting an average income.

What did you do @Angrymum22 ? It sounds like a great balance!

I do a boring job that is well paid. I used to wish I’d followed my passions but now I have children I’m glad of the money. We’re not rich but we can pay the mortgage and put food on the table.

I did the exact opposite! 🤪

I guess this is one of those ones where people are likely to say the opposite of what they chose.

I chose boring (but very stressful and demanding with long hours) and well paid and honestly I am so so jealous of people in interesting jobs.

Equally, though, I do completely agree with the comments on the thread about the importance of money. It’s very difficult to be happy and poor, especially now.

Boring & well paid all the way!

I worked so, so hard to earn my degree for nursing. When I qualified I was walking away with £700 less per month than I earn now, having left the profession in a boring, mundane remote role. I have it a whole lot easier now for more money.

If there was a more boring job for an extra £700 a month than I earn now, I would take it. As a pp said, work to live not vice versa.

I think it depends on what stage of life you are at. If I were still working for an employer and coming up to retirement I would prefer boring and well paid. You can always find something to do in work. My identity is not tied up in a job and never has been. I take my pleasure and my selse of self from the interests I have outside work.

Lex335...what do you do. I am thinking of doing a remote job...currently clinical nhsband 6 but fed up with lowish pay, toxic culture and commute.

I do a job i enjoy, i wouldn't change it for a boring job. But maybe if I was to pick again I would have chosen NHS rather than private route though for higher pay, more overtime, better pension.

lol, I did last 16 yrs

job you love always for me!

Boring job, that's well paid and has flexibility.

In fact, I think flexibility is one of my key criteria at this stage in my life. What's the point on having a super interesting job if it's inflexible.

Some of my high salary friends have said they wish their salary wasn't so relied upon. I think they have a lot of pressure at work which isn't helped by boarding school fees

I've sent you a dm :)

I am in a less well paid job I love but I also have an excellent pension, annual leave, very flexible boss and workplace policies and it's almost fully remote.

My previous job paid me £15k more but I was bored out of my skull whilst simultaneously stressed and the level of anxiety and depression this led to was absolutely horrendous.

I'm saving £££ on parking, fuel, tolls, meal deals, pottering round the shops at lunch time and dog care. And we're down to one car from two. It almost balances out evenly in the end.

What price your sanity?

I also chose interesting "worthwhile", not so well paid jobs at the start of my career.

It was a reasonable choice back then because there was no COL crisis and the smaller salary was still livable.

My problem is that since then wages have completely stagnated and the cost of everything has gone up. I wasn't expecting that to happen.

My first salary of £25,000 would be equivalent to £44,000 today. For a single person living in a shared house! No wonder it felt like enough.

I have an very rewarding job (Youth/Behaviour Mentor) but the pay isn't great. However, I'd prefer to be doing something in genuinely passionate about as it makes going into work in the morning a lot easier.

Any job as long as it is not stressful and exhausting.
I would take the well-paid but boring job.

I left my boring and well paid job to be a maths tutor part time and stay with my kids. Hourly, it’s very well paid, but I don’t really make that much because I’m only part time. I did it because DH makes enough for me to do that, and because I have my own personal savings and investments that would keep me and the kids right if it went tits up. Also if I can always scale up my tutoring if needed.

Without financial security I would pick the boring job all day every day. I would work it with the goal of saving enough to have a fun job in X amount of time. I can do boring things as long as I feel there’s an end to it - being bored with a goal in mind is fine, but just being bored forever would drive me mad.

Not saying maths tutor is the most exciting cool job in the world, but it’s very rewarding and it can be really fun when you get to teach a real nerdy kid who loves maths (rare, but they exist).

I work for a charity and LOVE my job, I’m
badly paid compared to others with my level of responsibility in other fields, but it’s absolutely worth it for me. I work with some
amazing people and I’m incredibly proud of the work we do.

I've never had a boring job - but if I did I'd leave. I've been a physio, a customer support advisor, a copywriter/general dogsbody for an 'influencer', a shop-worker, and a cleaner. They've all been brilliant - until they weren't so then I left (or didn't renew the contract as I'm now self-employed). But never because of boredom, even though some people might think that things like cleaning would be boring.

You spend so long at work that it's important to enjoy what you do, but for all you know, those 'boring' well-paid jobs might not be boring at all.

The boring one because then you can have a more interesting life with all the money! Also helps set your kids up for the future.

I started my nurse training aged 18 and now, aged 60ish, I don't regret a thing. I love my job. I get tremendous fulfilment from it. I work in a Dementia Unit and I love being able to bring tiny moments of joy to my patients' lives.

My 4 children, meanwhile, have all gone into corporate jobs and out earn me by several thousand. They're happy, I'm happy.

There's more to life than money, for me. I have a lovely little cottage by the sea, with chickens, dogs, a view of the sea from every window, the cottage is mortgage free and tbh, I can't think what I'd spend the extra money on. Maye 5 star holidays instead of 3 star?

All the jobs I've ever had have been both mind numbingly boring and woefully remunerated.

So I'd take boring and well paid any day.

When I was a kid, there were a few years when my dad was out of work and my mom was the sole earner (with a teacher's salary). I still remember my mom sitting at the table every month, counting money and putting it into different envelopes — and somehow it was never enough, we always had to borrow because something always came up. I also remember feeling ashamed about things like wearing hand-me-down clothes (kids can be really cruel), or skipping field trips because I couldn't bring myself to tell my mom that she needed to pay for another thing. Because of that, I always felt I had to make money — ideally a lot — so I’d never have to be poor again. Would I have loved to study history or philosophy instead? Absolutely. But then I wouldn’t be where I am now. I chose a career that’s demanding, sometimes boring, but very well-paid, and I moved up quickly. And honestly, it feels good to have financial security. I will probably be able to retire and live comfortably at 50, so it's definitely worth it.

Did boring and well paid. Never again.

Now teaching and my pay (ignoring inflation) has just got back to where I was. It is the best job in the world and I'm never going back!