Picked the higher salary job over the passion project and paid for it

Two years ago I had to choose between a project manager role at a big firm making $78,000 or a lower paying job at a nonprofit for $52,000. I went with the money because I had student loans to pay off. Six months in I was miserable doing status reports and sitting in meetings that felt pointless. I lasted 14 months before I burned out and quit without anything lined up. Now I'm back to a similar nonprofit role and my quality of life is way better even with the pay cut. Has anyone else picked money over happiness and later regretted it?

3 comments

3 Comments

phoenixk645d ago

Joke's on you, you actually thought meetings about meetings would somehow spark joy. Nothing kills a soul faster than a "strategic alignment session" that could've been an email, but instead ate up three hours of your life you'll never get back. I've seen people trade their sanity for a bigger paycheck and end up spending that extra cash on therapy and happy hour drinks just to cope. The nonprofit might pay less but at least when you cry at your desk it's for a cause that matters, not because a VP made you redo a spreadsheet for the fifth time. Next time someone offers you a golden handcuffs situation, just remember: burnout doesn't care about your 401k match.

nina_taylor5d ago

...and the golden handcuffs usually come with a matching set of therapist bills anyway.

dylan4635d ago

Actually the nonprofit world has plenty of pointless meetings too, I've just found they're at least slightly less soul crushing when you care about the mission. But yeah, you're right that trading happiness for a paycheck usually backfires eventually.