Comments on: Five Jobs For People Who Like Money and Five Jobs For People Who Don’t

By: TtT

TtT — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:49:44 +0000

I just graduated as an RN; demand, salary, and interest directed my choices here. While I don’t have a job yet, I have experience in the ‘lowest’ paying jobs. I made 52k+ a year as a professional server in a 4 diamond resort. now i’m wondering if a ‘real’ job is going to be able to match that.

Numbers, numbers, numbers.

By: T2

T2 — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:56:53 +0000

I’ve been in sales my whole career. The only reason I got into it was that was my first job out of college with a business degree. Now I’m stuck in it and at 34 I realize I hate selling. What to do?

By: TStrump

TStrump — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:55:40 +0000

The only reason why I studied business in College and am now an accountant, was because of the money.
I had that idea hammered into my head when I was young – go to school to get a job with the best salary.
As I approach 40, I’m trying to move into things I love or am passionate about.
I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I just pursued what I loved in my 20′s – I can tell you, accounting wouldn’t be it.

By: T

Sat, 16 May 2009 14:22:21 +0000

Good point. In addition, it’s not clear whether malpractice insurance has already been subtracted out of the physicians’ salaries – my bet, given how high OB/Gyn’s are on the list, is no. That can make a HUGE difference.

By: Kate

Kate — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:52:14 +0000

My career choice was informed by quality of life more than anything else. For me that meant : a realistic 40 hour work week, a job that felt ethically & intellectually rewarding, a paycheck that allowed me to live decently (but not excessively). After working in a consulting job that paid very well, but expected me to work very long hours and to be in contact on days off, I decided to go back to get an advanced degree so that I could work as a librarian.

While I take home far less in pay (and increased my student loan debt), I am considerably happier every day as I love my job while I’m there and don’t think much about it when I’m not. I actually have a life outside of work now. And because I’m happier I actually can live without a lot of extras in my life. I spend far less than I did when I made much more money.

By: Green

Green — Thu, 14 May 2009 21:35:02 +0000

Remember that the numbers presented are wages and do not include things like tips, bonuses stock options, etc. Also, benefits like insurance, vacation time, continuing education, free parking, etc. are quite valuable. Make sure you look at total compensation and not just a wage/salary when considering a job.

For example: While a physician may have a high wage and great health benefits they rarely get significant bonuses.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:19:37 +0000

Your #s make sense. I am a physician that trained in Ohio and now practice in beautiful San Diego, CA. Along with the higher cost of living comes a drop in salary. The “Sun Tax” applies because there are more people willing to do just about any job in a desirable place to live. There are rural towns in the middle of nowhere with few physicians that are willing to pay a significant premium to attract them to move and stay. I assumed this logic applies to most fields with supply and demand issues, not just medicine.

By: Anca

Anca — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:37:42 +0000

I chose engineering because I wanted to know I’d be able to pay bills once I graduated. I think there’s a huge disconnect between the working world and helping young people decide what they want to do with their lives. If people want college to be “for learning” that’s fine, but there needs to be a smoother transition into the real world.

By: Twiggers

Twiggers — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:09:05 +0000

When I started college it was all about the money. I was miserable in the pre-med classes and thrived in my psych classes. I just finished a PhD in psychology and am going out on a low paying post-doctoral research position. Eventually I hope to end up as a tenure-track professor….the pay sucks, but I LOVE what I do! I haven’t looked at a clock during the day in years!

By: guinness416

guinness416 — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:00:42 +0000

What’s a “bartender helper”, a bar back? I wonder if that includes tips. Actually some of the other low end jobs are tipped out too, I think.

If I told you my job title you wouldn’t know what the hell I do, but I’ve generally had three or four job offers at any one time because nobody in North America studies my profession. We’re a bunch of Aussies, Brits, Paddies and Asians. I’d love to see a list of “well kept secret jobs” like that.

By: Sonny

Sonny — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:28:49 +0000

When deciding my career field, I first looked at my interests and then I looked at the money. I love my work but I am not thrilled with the money in my career field so I am working on getting my MBA to hopefully improve my earnings in the future. We’ll see how much it helps!