Would you rather be happy or financially stable in your career?

In the long run I would have to go with the career path I was passionate about. Historically speaking I’ve wanted to shoot my self after a few years of working at a job I can’t stand… so if I was given the choice and knew I would love it, I would take that path. Work can be a drag if you don’t want to be there.

I would… and did… choose passion.

As long as “doesn’t pay all that well” means I can survive and sock a little money away for savings, I’d go for that in a heartbeat. Money can’t buy happiness, and working a job that I’m not passionate about wouldn’t work for me.

Pay scale will not keep you coming to work and happy. If you are not passionate about what you do, it will become a grind pretty quickly. For various reason I have found myself in both conditions. The career shifts that were over the top in pay never compared to the enjoyment, energy, passion of a career that reward you in the job and difference you are making.
Quality versus Quantity.
An analogy would be do you want tons of mediocre sex or passion filled sex?
Easy answer!

I’m going into Social Work, which doesn’t really pay well, but if I enjoy it and truly work hard at it, I believe that opportunities will open up for me. I also remember this quote:

”If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.”

@Seelix : My mom always says “Money only buys a better grade of misery.”

The latter.

Definitely the one I’m passionate about. I like having a career I love and I wouldn’t want to go to a job every day that I wasn’t happy with.

Well….I guess I’d go for the money, retire early, then indulge in my passion in comfort! Was that cheating…?

Well, seeing as I’ve already gone for security without passion (and found out how much of a crock that is), I’m going for the passion. I’m already broke and desperate for work.

What’s the worst that could happen?

@Dutchess_III Cheating. :)

Crap!

I see my hobbies, as opposed to my vocation, as my primary source of happiness (aside from friends and family and all that jazz). Consequently, most of my hobbies are rather expensive. With these things in mind, I’d rather have a well-paying job that I wasn’t too thrilled with as opposed to a badly paying one that I like, so I can fund my hobbies.

I’ve held jobs in both modes, and I have to say that I would much, much rather hold one where I was happy and where I felt like I was accomplishing something because I was passionate about what I was doing. Money is nice, especially when you have little people about, but it’s not determinative for me now, nor was it when I was young.

In my humble opinion, life is far too short to NOT follow your passion.

@noelleptc I need me a sugar mama. :)

Financially stable. Final answer.

Happiness is the ultimate accomplishment.
On the other hand, although money does not buy happiness, it can stave off plenty of misery.
Still, I would take happiness.
Then, I would go out and make some money, with big happy smile on my face. :)

It’s so easy when you’re young…you can make any decision with plenty of time to reverse it. But then you get to a point when the end is rushing up on you. You start worrying about supporting yourself after retirement and stuff, and it’s too late to do much different. I think the younger you are the more apt you would be to answer “do what I like,” because it’s hard to imagine your life changing much in anyway. When you’re young you could live out of a car and be perfectly happy! That won’t last forever.

Financial stability does a lot for your happiness. It means you don’t have to worry about stuff like food or housing, and it gives you a lot of freedom.

@Haleth Exactly….if you get sick, and can’t pay for the cure, what good is your passion going to do you?

My career didn’t pay all that well, but, I was extremely passionate about what I did. No regrets.

@Dutchess_III Free health care. :)

The latter. As long as I can pay my bills and don’t feel I am being ripped off and taken for granted, I would rather earn less and love what I am doing.

Not here @Jude!

Happy,baby! Life is too short not to be :)

Financially stable because in my own experiences, that allowed me a lot less tension which felt like happiness with just about everything else.

I’d like a job that I’m passionate about.

“Would you choose a career path where the jobs pays really well, but, you’re not %100 passionate about it.”

I’d take a job about which I’m 99% passionate that pays really well.
To me, being 99% passionate=being very- although not 100%- happy with a job.

I had a job about which I was ambivalent that paid well.
Eventually as my perceptions evolved, I began to see the value of my job and became fairly passionate about it.

@Brian1946

You adapted yourself to your circumstances. Not bad,

Everyone knows that cops do not make a lot of money. In this profession, money is not everything. Its the gratification of helping people and catching the bad guys for everyones safety.

There was never a day that I did not look forward to going to work.

Money is not everything. Love your job and love your family. They go hand in hand in a successful marriage and career.

Personally, I’d choose a job I love over one that pays better. (Right now I’m in a compromise situation.) However, like @Seelix said, I wouln’t stay in a job that paid so little that I’d be unhappy or stressed out in the rest of my life, even if I was really passionate about the job. I’d at least want to find a second job!

However, I think if you’re reasonably OK with your paying job (it isn’t soul-draining, but also isn’t fulfilling) you can still find other says to satisfy your need to do something more meaningful. You can volunteer, for instance… or have really fulfilling hobbies.

If you do a job you like, chances are you will excel in it. If you do a job you don’t like, you may end up looking for another job not far down the road.