Do what you love OR do what pays big bucks

amother

Black

Tue, Jul 19 2016, 8:34 pm

I am considering being a social worker and I a pretty passionate about it. I can't think of another field that interests me, but I am open to suggestions. It just seems like realistically I won't be making much money as I do not have time for more schooling past a MA and I will have to start off working under someone, (and I also don't see my self working full time).

Should I just decide to be a dentist or accountant, even though those do not interest me at all so I can hope for a higher salary? (I am pre-master's degree at this point)

amother

Oak

Tue, Jul 19 2016, 11:10 pm

Unless you're actually ambivalent about the other options you mentioned -

OK so you put the time and money into becoming a dentist, then can't get a job or open your own practice and don't make a lot of money. All that effort into a career you hate.

Have you had any jobs before? Anything that you liked or hated? If you had one that you hated, would you want to be stuck in that soul crushing field for life?

From my experience I need to be happy getting out of bed in the morning and working something that is fulfilling and stimulating to me. I have worked 2 jobs where I was probably clinically depressed but stayed on to make money/be occupied. Now I'm in a career that I love. If I needed to supplement with sometjing that I hate but that brings in money I could do it, but I couldn't to begin with commit myself to a path that I know will make me unhappy.

Miri7

Tue, Jul 19 2016, 11:57 pm

amother wrote:

Psychiatric nurse practitioners make very good money. You can do a combination of therapy and med management.

This is a great idea. If you know you want to do social work or therapy, do some research into ideas like these where you could earn more by doing what you're passionate about.

amother

Honeydew

Wed, Jul 20 2016, 3:42 am

I love my field but I do regret going into it. I have had lots of success, but the pay is fairly poor and it is hard work, and hard to find work in the field. As long as I was single, it was great. Now I have a family to raise and support and am having a hard time doing both.
In the past I would have said - do what you love. Now I would say - find something you like that pays better. and has easier hours.

amother

Seashell

Wed, Jul 20 2016, 4:28 am

You know, even notoriously poorly paying or difficult to break into fields have paths that can be more financially successful while allowing you to do what you love. I know someone who is a talented musician. His parents worried so much when he was younger and insisted on a career in music. They imagined him waiting tables in his 30s while still waiting for his big break. But he was actually realistic and understood that talented as he is, his odds of a record deal were too slim to not have a reasonable backup. So he teaches music (in public school, so has decent salary, benefits, and job security), gives private lessons evenings and weekends and get like 50 an hour for it, and gets his performance fix by playing gigs when he gets them. He understood it was unlikely to make a living on gigs alone, so he found a different way to have a successful music career. Get creative. You can prime yourself to go into administration, which can make good money. You can freelance or consult on the side to make extra money. Just because what you love is not known for making the big bucks, doesn't mean you have to give up on it. It takes more thought, more planning, more work, but you can find a way to make a good living doing what you love.

miami85

Wed, Jul 20 2016, 8:35 am

If you were telling me that your passion is to be a librarian, then I would say find something with a little more $$ potential.

If you do have a passion for SW, then its not necessarily so terrible, it's a degree with room to grow and specialize and eventually get your license once you have working experience. If you have the passion it will drive you to work harder, become more successful, and less likelihood of burning out.

However, having professional experience working with some social workers. I will echo what one of my supervisors that once said that a social worker's primary role is not counselling, its working with individuals and navigating the social service options. (The theoretical basis is very different from psychology.) Therefore starting out the salaries are rather meager as you rely much more on public funding, but there's room to grow and bump up your salary.

I had a roommate who worked as a dental hygienist and was interested in going to dental school and was working on her applications. Her experience working as a hygienist turned her off from dental school completely. She got married a short time later and I never found out if she pursued it. I would hate to think that if you are "nonchalant" about dental school, and went to all that schooling to find out that you hate it.

Personally I went into one field b/c I needed the money to fund my "passion" degree, and I found that my original field--while I was "OK" at it, I wasn't successful, and I became loathsome of the career. Now that I'm doing what I want to be doing, I'm overall happier and I have room to grow.

ora_43

Wed, Jul 20 2016, 8:44 am

It depends how much money you need to be happy (or rather, to not be unhappy due to a lack of money).

If you need more than the job pays - IMO it's often not worth doing what you love at work if it means suffering during all of the non-work hours of your life. There needs to be a balance.

Be careful - just because a career pays well for those people who manage to succeed in it, doesn't mean it pays well for everyone. I've seen students struggle to get through an engineering major they hated based on the assumption that engineering pays well - well yeah, it pays pretty well, but not if you're at the bottom of your class and hate what you're doing and it shows. Then you're going to struggle to get any job in engineering at all.

That's an extreme example. But yeah, you don't need to love your job, but if you go in *hating* your field you could end up without either a job you like or a decent salary.

amother

Babyblue

Sun, Aug 21 2016, 2:55 pm

I would not suggest pursuing dentistry or accounting if you do not have any interest in these fields. I went to dental school after convincing myself that it was an ideal career path for me- science related, flexible hours, good salary. After 2 years of schooling and a lot of money spent on tuition, I realized that I did not like the profession at all and I did not want to spend the rest of my life doing this. So I dropped out before my third year. I constantly regret choosing a career that I deep down knew I wasn't going to like and chose just for the lifestyle. Dentistry is one of those professions where you either are very passionate about- are the artistic and creative type or you see yourself being fine with it. If you have no interest at all, as you say you do I would not pursue this profession. Hope this is helpful

Amarante

Sun, Aug 21 2016, 6:06 pm

To me, it's not so black and white. Only a very lucky few LOVE their jobs because after all, a job is what you get paid to do.

There are aspects of even great jobs that are wretched and much of what makes a job bearable is your boss or your co workers or the field. For example the most obvious would be lawyer where one could hate being a tax lawyer but very much enjoy some other aspect.

To deliberately train for a field that pays little is a mistake for most people because most jobs are not so fantastic all the time. If one is putting in the hours, make the most doing something that is reasonably interesting or has other compensations.

I am sure hordes of women would prefer jobs other than teaching but the pay is good and the hours make it easier to raise a family than many other fields.

As others have written, really try to figure out what is attractive and not attractive in various fields and then find as well paying a job as possible that enables you to use more of your skills and interests than something else. Perhaps a consultation with a really good counselor would help because most people just don't know all the possible ways people earn a living.

saralem

Sun, Aug 21 2016, 8:42 pm

I just have to add my two cents. I AM a social worker and I LOVE what I do. I finished my Masters degree many years ago and have worked in the field for more than 30 years. I am so, so passionate about what I do. Yes, many years ago I thought about law school and I'm sure I would've earned much more in law. Wasn't meant to be. Although SW is not a lucrative field, it has provided us with a very stable, decent living with excellent benefits. I knew I would never make a lot of money but I am so happy I made the choices I did.

cooksallday

Sun, Aug 21 2016, 11:36 pm

I'm also a social worker running programs for Alzheimers patients. I love what I do, it pays pretty decent and good benefits. I'm sure I could make a lot more money in another field but a) I'm happy and b) I've only been working for a little while and it takes time to get higher paying positions

heidi

Mon, Aug 22 2016, 2:20 am

I used to do what pays big bucks, but hated it and felt I wasn't really using my brain. The I went back to my first passion, social work. Now I'm working like a dog in a very very high pressure job for very little money. But I wouldn't go back to the big buck, low brain power job.
I am considering looking for something else within my field, but I have learned that nowhere (at least in Israel) is social work a well paid job.