The value of being paid to do what you enjoy

[yorkie]

From the 'Career as a signaller' thread

...The number one reason people work is for money. Ask anybody, survery anybody, any company, look at online blogs, articles. They will all say the same thing. It is human nature, the more money, the better. I dont know what planet you are living on....

True for some people (though I readily accept it's human nature for a lot of people and you will find plenty of vocal people who write books and blogs on such subjects) but not true for everyone.

I could earn more money if I wanted to, by changing the proportion of time I spend on the jobs I do, or by giving some of them up entirely.

I don't do this because I know that if you enjoy the jobs you do, it's more fulfilling (you could say 'better value' if you want to look at it in monetary terms) because it's possible to be paid to do things you enjoy rather than be paid to do things that are a chore.

I have chosen not to earn as much money as I could have done for this reason (I enjoy everything I do, but I would not enjoy it so much if I gave up all the lower paid work and worked exclusively on the better paid work), and I know many others who have made similar choices.

What value can you place on being positive about the work you do? It's difficult to quantify, but it's wrong to value it at zero, in my opinion.

 

[AntoniC]

I agree with Yorkie.
In my case I have been a Civil Servant for 30 + years and have chosen never to be promoted.
I get enjoyment out of the people I work with, not the job I do.
At the end of my career I will get a decent occupational pension , and due to my longtime service I can still retire at 60 if I want ( in 6 years time).
My job is debt collecting and office based so I dont have meet the public
Through work I get an interest free loan (recovered through my salary monthly) to cover the cost of my travel to work
I currently earn just over £20k and I am happy with that !.

 

[Ianno87]

I no doubt could earn more money with my skills working in the financial sector or something.

But yes, I accept (probaby) being paid less to do what I do in railway planning, as the value of a job that gives me motivation to get out of bed every single day (and happiness in doing somethimg I enjoy) is huge.

 

[baz962]

I agree with everyone on here and have been of that opinion since I was around 13 year's old , that I would rather earn less in a job I like. However, to be fair to the poster that Yorkie is quoting , railwanabe is correct. The reason we come to work is to earn money , we don't do it for free and I absolutely love being a train driver . If I didn't need money and I won the lottery perhaps , I wouldn't be working , though I might get a hobby or two.

 

[Bubba]

Some people are lucky and I class myself in that bracket. For the majority of my career I have enjoyed what I do and are now in what I personally deem a very well paid job to say I left school at 15 and didnt go onto University etc.

Career progression has always been important to me. I thrive under responsibility; extra challenges, etc and with that usually comes more money. I suppose part of this drive is money orientated; wanting to be able to live with more luxuries and provide better for the family. But it has always been important to find the right balance between the responsibility and the affect it has on my quality of life - mentally (not financially) which is also connected to whether I enjoy the job.

I have friends still in the same job as when we left school 20+ years ago. To me, they have un-challenging jobs where they turn up, do eight hours and then go home and earn over less than half of what I do but it doesnt mean that they dont love their job.

If everyone worked purely on the basis of what money they could earn, rather than other factors such as a vocation, then we wouldnt have the important workers in the NHS, the armed forces, etc. Everyone is different but there is more to it than simply money.

 

[Ianno87]

I agree with everyone on here and have been of that opinion since I was around 13 year's old , that I would rather earn less in a job I like. However, to be fair to the poster that Yorkie is quoting , railwanabe is correct. The reason we come to work is to earn money , we don't do it for free and I absolutely love being a train driver . If I didn't need money and I won the lottery perhaps , I wouldn't be working , though I might get a hobby or two.

Absolutely. In any job it is important to 'know your value' not repeatedly under-sell yourself remuneration-wise.

 

[alxndr]

I thoroughly enjoy what I do, so as long as enough money appears in my bank account to keep a roof over my head and food on the table I'm happy.

I do get paid well, but if they halved my wages I wouldn't really notice as I don't spend all that much. I can't see the point in spending just for the sake of it and I don't work for the money.

 

[baz962]

I thoroughly enjoy what I do, so as long as enough money appears in my bank account to keep a roof over my head and food on the table I'm happy.

I do get paid well, but if they halved my wages I wouldn't really notice as I don't spend all that much. I can't see the point in spending just for the sake of it and I don't work for the money.

Would you do it for no money whatsoever

 

[gazthomas]

I chose a career on IT over the railway and while I haven't regretted it per se, it is just a means to an end. I would love to have a job that I'm passionate about, but fear of change and I guess to a point greed stops me from doing it

 

[ThameslinkUser]

I chose a career on IT over the railway and while I haven't regretted it per season, it is just a means to an end. I would love to have a job that I'm passionate about, but fear of change and I guess to a point greed stops me from doing it

Greed (and ambition) are usually the reasons people don't do what they enjoy for a career.

 

[gazthomas]

Greed (and ambition) are usually the reasons people don't do what they enjoy for a career.

Just being honest. Like many people I came from a very working class family who put work before family at times. The greed element becomes addictive, despite the hard work. It has taken me 25 years to work this out, but I'm in the process of putting things right

 

[alxndr]

Would you do it for no money whatsoever

The lowest compensation I'd go is food, shelter, and £50-100 a month. I still have to survive and that's a bit of pocket money to play with. I wouldn't do it for absolutely free or I'd end up starving and on the streets unless I found a second job, which I probably wouldn't enjoy.

 

[baz962]

The lowest compensation I'd go is food, shelter, and £50-100 a month. I still have to survive and that's a bit of pocket money to play with. I wouldn't do it for absolutely free or I'd end up starving and on the streets unless I found a second job, which I probably wouldn't enjoy.

Exactly, so my point stand's. We work for the money , some for as much as they can make and others do a job or career they enjoy , but for at least enough money to survive.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I agree with Yorkie.

So do I.

Do what you love -- and love what you do. If you do what you love and love what you do, you will be emotionally and mentally more happy - surely that has to be worth quite a bit of money/wages/salary. I have been approached multiple times to move to Houston and Dallas and Boston for quite a bit more money. Why would I do that? I am happy and money does not buy happiness.

 

[gazthomas]

So do I.

Do what you love -- and love what you do. If you do what you love and love what you do, you will be emotionally and mentally more happy - surely that has to be worth quite a bit of money/wages/salary. I have been approached multiple times to move to Houston and Dallas and Boston for quite a bit more money. Why would I do that? I am happy and money does not buy happiness.

Spot on, it has just taken me a while to work it out

 

[edwin_m]

There are some jobs that a lot of people love to do, which often pay less for that very reason. There are also jobs that few people are likely to love but which someone has to do for society to function. Then again there are jobs that aren't necessary or particularly enjoyable in themselves but pay a lot of money, and I guess the people that do those are motivated either by pleasure in having money or pleasure in spending it.

 

[sw1ller]

I enjoy, no, love what I do... but I wouldn’t do it for free. My world revolves around money and this is the most I can earn right now. I have responsibilities. As much as I’d love to be in a position to work for free, I’m just not.

 

[ComUtoR]

I am not motivated by either. I don't love my job but neither do I hate it. I changed my career because I didn't like my previous jobs. I was happy with what I got paid and happy with what I did at the time but eventually those jobs got poisoned for one reason of another. At no point have I ever quit or changed a job for the money.

I work purely because needs must. I am grateful every day that I get paid a decent wage and I find that I live more and more towards the mantra that you should 'work to live, not live to work' If I had enough money in the bank that I didn't have to work; I wouldn't.

I have never been in a position where I have worked purely for the love of it or been in a position where I'm doing something I've always wanted to do. Many people volunteer their services or work somewhere for various personal reasons and I both value and respect those who do. But, people do work solely for money. People are motivated for various reasons and I find it hard to dismiss one way or the other.

Disclaimer:
My favorite job I hever held is the one that paid the least.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I chose a career on IT over the railway and while I haven't regretted it per se, it is just a means to an end. I would love to have a job that I'm passionate about, but fear of change and I guess to a point greed stops me from doing it

I'm kind of similar. I work to live, not live to work, and a job in IT, which I reasonably enjoy, pays very well, the company looks after me well and is a nice community in itself, and basically means I have no money worries and can own a house and decent car and can do more or less whatever I want to do. If all jobs were paid the same I wouldn't be doing that one, though, and I absolutely wouldn't do it for nowt.

 

[Peregrine 4903]

I find this post really interesting as I am someone right at the beginning of my career having just left school. I'm currently doing a Transport Planning Apprenticeship which I am enjoying and my career aim is to work in the rail group in the Department for Transport.

I've always thought I would rather do a job I enjoy, then a better paid job which is less enjoyable but I haven't got to that stage in my career yet to make that decision.

 

[Peter Sarf]

I'm kind of similar. I work to live, not live to work, and a job in IT, which I reasonably enjoy, pays very well, the company looks after me well and is a nice community in itself, and basically means I have no money worries and can own a house and decent car and can do more or less whatever I want to do. If all jobs were paid the same I wouldn't be doing that one, though, and I absolutely wouldn't do it for nowt.

Yes. I used to be in IT. I enjoyed it most of the time. Worst bits were the politics. I never earned the theoretical maximum and stuck with a firm I felt I belonged at. Got made redundant and was too out of date. Not much COBOL around these days and I had not got enough VB and ASP under my belt - probably confidence. Anyway I had enough money and no stupid outlays so had a rest. Now work in facilities management and its not for me. My boss has no clue how to do things, grossly underestimates materials required, wants everything done quicker than possible and forget quality. A long way from IT where you have to carefully think it through and create something that has to work over and over. In fact that might be what I like - being creative.

Looking back though I would like to have had a career in the police but, then again, I wonder if it would really suit me. But I wonder why I never aimed for a job on the railways when I was young.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes. I used to be in IT. I enjoyed it most of the time. Worst bits were the politics.

Very little politics in our company, one of the many reasons I've been there so long (14 years, which is ages in IT - most people don't seem to stay in a role in IT more than 5). We're owned by a corporate now but for about 11 of the 14 we were a small independent, so I'm not someone hiding in a corporate waiting for their pension, either.