7 ms·

Ask any postal carrier if they would take a job that paid $20K more. I guarantee they will say yes. Stop thinking everyone is happy with their job because they

Ask any postal carrier if they would take a job that paid $20K more. I guarantee they will say yes. Stop thinking everyone is happy with their job because they have "a good life." Money still rules this world. Why else do people spend 8-10 hours a day trying to make money?

danudey 10y ago
Stop thinking that making more money is the only thing that would make people happy, or that making enough to live on and be comfortable isn't enough for anyone.
snoman 10y ago
> Money still rules this world Probably says more about you than it does the people you're talking about.
nommm-nommm 10y ago
Do you honestly not know anyone who is "overqualified" for their job but happy? I know quite a few. Have a friend who went to school for business. Realized once he started working in business he absolutely hated it. Took a huge pay cut to work for a non profit. Much happier. Another person I know spent many years trying several different careers. Got a bachelor's degree, did work studies, job shadowed, got licences. Didn't like any of them. She is happy in food service where she works now.
72deluxe 10y ago
Depends what your perspectives are. Money is a means to an end, and accumulating assets and material belongings doesn't lead to true happiness (just more stuff to maintain). I have a friend who has hardly anything and he is free to move around the world and do menial work in different locations, but importantly he is able to move freely and live in different parts of the world for as long as he wants, even if he has little materially.
mywittyname 10y ago
Don't discount the value of a pension. If they make $50k/yr + 2% inflation adjustments for 20 years, they would retire making $75k/yr. Their pension would pay them roughly half that, plus the value of their TSP (401k). If you're a 45 year old programmer and feel like you're nearing the end of your valuable career, it might make sense to take the pay cut and make the transition. The pension alone is the equivalent of adding another $1MM to your retirement portfolio (assuming 4% safe withdraw rate). As a person who is scared by the prospect of programming into my 50s, I could see making this move. A 50% reduction in pay until retirement sounds more appealing to me than a sudden 100% reduction in pay at some indeterminate point in the future.

danudey 10y ago

Stop thinking that making more money is the only thing that would make people happy, or that making enough to live on and be comfortable isn't enough for anyone.

snoman 10y ago

> Money still rules this world Probably says more about you than it does the people you're talking about.

nommm-nommm 10y ago

Do you honestly not know anyone who is "overqualified" for their job but happy? I know quite a few. Have a friend who went to school for business. Realized once he started working in business he absolutely hated it. Took a huge pay cut to work for a non profit. Much happier. Another person I know spent many years trying several different careers. Got a bachelor's degree, did work studies, job shadowed, got licences. Didn't like any of them. She is happy in food service where she works now.

72deluxe 10y ago

Depends what your perspectives are. Money is a means to an end, and accumulating assets and material belongings doesn't lead to true happiness (just more stuff to maintain). I have a friend who has hardly anything and he is free to move around the world and do menial work in different locations, but importantly he is able to move freely and live in different parts of the world for as long as he wants, even if he has little materially.

mywittyname 10y ago

Don't discount the value of a pension. If they make $50k/yr + 2% inflation adjustments for 20 years, they would retire making $75k/yr. Their pension would pay them roughly half that, plus the value of their TSP (401k). If you're a 45 year old programmer and feel like you're nearing the end of your valuable career, it might make sense to take the pay cut and make the transition. The pension alone is the equivalent of adding another $1MM to your retirement portfolio (assuming 4% safe withdraw rate). As a person who is scared by the prospect of programming into my 50s, I could see making this move. A 50% reduction in pay until retirement sounds more appealing to me than a sudden 100% reduction in pay at some indeterminate point in the future.