there have been other threads about this, but middle class (real middle class, not $300k yr dcum 'middle class') Gen X in particular was sold a bridge about do-good passion careers. |
No, but spouse picked a high paying field. I’m glad we didn’t both decide to be teachers! |
Semi-regrets.... I am a psych and make $138,000...how much do you make? |
No. I’m a public health practitioner married to a journalist. So low paid for highly educated people with desk jobs, but paid way, way more than service workers, or even the average American income.
Every time I think about doing something that pays more I just can’t see caring enough about it to make it through the daily grind. I’ve got to find meaning in the work itself. So because of the way I’m wired I know I wouldn’t do well in many other fields. Do I wish I had oodles of money? Sure! But I don’t want that enough to want a different career. |
Which field did you leave for? I ask because I have a child who is considering architecture. |
I'm married to a journalist and the intense days, long hours and low pay are a tough combo. I sometimes feel like I'm married to someone who is a permanent medical resident. My spouse has to work a lot of holidays too, which is also painful. |
Well yeah. Few people regret marrying rich. |
Yes and no. I work for an environmental nonprofit and make less than what kids out of college make in many industries. But, I sleep well at night.
I know tons of people who work in finance and are very comfortable to very wealthy and I sometimes think I should have gone that way, most of them don’t seem terribly smart after all. But, in the past couple of years, as we approach middle age, I have had many of those finance friends say they wish they were doing something to make the world a better place. So, the grass is always greener. |
Mostly I wish I had not pursued a field that required so much education with such a low cap on earnings (library science). The money is not good enough to justify graduate school loans. I like my job and feel like it is important and worthwhile (and I"m great at it). But you shouldn't need a 3 year masters degree to do it, or if you do, you should make more money. Especially in DC where these jobs are competitive. I work with a decent number of people who have joint JD/MLS degrees and they still aren't making much more than I do. It's dumb.
We either need to be more willing to train people on the job or make graduate school for fields like this less expensive. The current situation makes no sense at all. |
I could have written this. I started in a career where I would have made more money and after five years I switched to teaching. I was born to be a teacher, loved it, and was recognized as an excellent teacher. I think you have to know who you are and what makes you happy. Money is nice, but I have had so many great experiences with people in my life and I feel like I did something important with my life. |
Work for the feds. Never expected wealth, but I did expect my wages to keep up with inflation. They haven't since 2010. |
Eh - I mean you can tell yourself that, but the truth is the finance friends could use their careers - or their money - to make the world “a better place” if they really wanted to. |
Permanent medical resident is such a great way to describe working in journalism, especially as a not-rich (money from family or spouse) person. |
If you’re in a field that pays well in the private sector, you should do that. But federal absolutely pays more for some fields where the private sector market doesn’t exist in the same way (e.g., education, art, research scientist etc). I feel lucky to be making good money as a fed, not rich, but 80-100k more than I would make outside government. |
Yes, but there's a big difference between donating money and being the person who has "boots on the ground". If you like the "thrill" of it all, you will be the "boots on the ground", "frontline" person. Some people need to "feel" what they are doing in the moment. They like to problem solve on an individual level. It has a reward that money doesn't have. |