I'm not sure if I should be posting here. I'm a long-time lurker, and rarely a poster. So up front, my apologies.
Also up front: Tl;dr: I don't make a lot of money, but I love the work I do. Is it worth it to continue, or do I go for a higher-paying shit job to take in the dough?
I'm a journalist who has been working in the field for about nine years. I've always enjoyed writing, and absolutely love it. When I was a kid, I imagined I would somehow make money writing for a living, and I do. The job itself is wonderful, and I'm surrounded by veteran reporters who have been at that same paper for 40+ years. The benefits are great, I use my degree, I never regret going to work, and I'm fulfilled with my work. There are more times than not that I feel as though I have made a difference in the world, believe it or not. Especially with the current political climate, I believe the watch dogs of the world are more important than ever.
For all of this, I feel quite fortunate. However, not surprising, journalism doesn't pay well. While the paper where I work is doing well for a number of reasons, writing isn't really a field you go into if you want to make the big bucks. My wife and I are doing okay financially, but we live minimally and are good budgeters. But there are certain goals and things we want that could be expedited if I could bring home more money at the end of the day. Recently, someone offered me a job where I could potentially make double what I'm making now (I make $26,000 annually), working in a mortgage department for a large bank. Ugh. Even thinking about it makes my heart sink.
So I've been struggling lately. Anyone I talk to says follow your heart, or money doesn't buy you happiness, or you can't take it with you, etc. But...sometimes a little voice in the back of my mind asks: what the hell are you doing making shit money when you've got a family and a life to build? I feel selfish at times, and am genuinely curious what some of you folks think. Is it worth it trading a happy and comfortable work environment for more money? Is there real value in that at all?
I'm 30, my wife is 32. We have a little savings/an emergency fund, we snowball budget pretty hardcore, and consider ourselves in an okay situation financially. We bring in $2,740/mo and monthly expenses are around $1,790 a month.
Submitted January 14, 2017 at 07:11AM by catphishphriend http://ift.tt/2jIGO8b
