When I was a kid it always seemed like adults had to suffer to have a career. Very rarely did I meet someone who appreciated their job. Most of them hated going to work in the morning and wanted to be home as early as possible. If they had a decent quality of life they usually sold their soul to get it. Meanwhile, the most fulfilled people did their passions for a living but are living in squalor.
I've never known a person who relaxes by filling out Excel spreadsheets or crunching numbers. They usually partake in some kind of art – Watching TV/movies, listening to music, or even creating something themselves. When given an option for leisure time, most people gravitate towards things created by people with passions or a form of art.
So how come if so many people value art, the people who create the art are paid pretty poorly?
I'll tell you why – It's because people who turn their hobbies and passions into careers get fulfillment from something other than a paycheck. They're willing to eat shit money-wise if it means getting to do their hobby all day. In addition, you have to compete for jobs against tons of other people who are doing the same passion as you and will be willing to do it for even cheaper, or free. You end up having to lowball your payment requirements because if you try to negotiate even a bit there will be a thousand other people who will take your place in a heartbeat.
Even if your job is creative but involves being in an office, a lot of the passion gets sucked out of it. No sane person willingly wants to spend time in an office environment or office building. The appeal of these jobs is they usually pay more because they know they have to pay out to get any kind of employee retention.
I'm currently interviewing with two companies. One is directly involved with my interests and passions, and I'm asking for $70,000. Meanwhile, I'm interviewing with some Workforce Data Service Solutions something or other (I just blindly applied to it and still have no idea what they do after my first interview) and I'm asking for $120,000. The work at Data Management Service Data Database, Inc. would probably be easier overall, but to be surrounded by corporate drones in a shitty office doing something I have no passion in is worth $50,000 more.
And be honest, even if you like your corporate job…..Would you still do it if your paycheck was cut in half?