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United States24513 Posts
Which is more important to you at your job (or future job), being well paid or well treated?
It's difficult to answer without me clarifying what I mean by that. Being well treated to me means a few things:
- Your clients, coworkers, and bosses all are polite, respectful, and take reasonable actions when dealing with you. This doesn't mean you can do no wrong or that every evaluation is always positive, just that you don't have much cause to complain about your work environment. No work environment is perfect so obviously you need to cut a little slack here.
- Your work hours are reasonable (no tremendously long shifts or hours at times you don't want to work like 1 AM if you are me).
- You are given the tools/resources you need to succeed.
Being well paid is harder to identify. If I said >75,000 USD per year means being well paid, some people would say "that would make me rich" and others would say "that's not even well paid". How about this: you gross at least six times the rent of a medium sized one bedroom apartment in the area where you live. You might need to modify that if you live in a place with a much different tax/home structure than the USA, but you should get the idea.
So if you had to choose, either being paid well but poorly treated at work (and often feeling like you are at risk of getting fired) versus being paid significantly less but you are well treated, which one would you generally choose?
This isn't that different from the question "which is more important: money or happiness?" Of course money does not equal happiness. When you are well to do, having more money doesn't mean you enjoy your life more (necessarily). However, when it's tough to keep a roof over your head and food on the table, money is almost everything.
Hopefully we all will find jobs that strike that nice balance of paying you well but also allowing you to feel reasonably well treated, but realistically that won't happen for many. If you could choose one of the two jobs I described, right now, which would you choose? Most importantly, why?
This is supposed to be the part where I tell you my answer and my reasoning, but I find it difficult to choose one personally. I will say that being at a job where you are treated poorly (which I have experienced before) isn't something that should be trivialized. It can make your whole life feel terrible (more so than having to live humbly due to a smaller income).
The other part of this is for you to think about how your family situation impacts your answer. If you are already married with 3 children and struggling to get by, you might be honestly willing to take virtually any job that pays well without a high chance of you getting killed or maimed. If you are a young single person who doesn't have many expenses, you might care much more about enjoying your job than making bank right now (or might not). How do you see it?
 
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I much prefer being well treated. I have had very well paying jobs in the past where I worked with douchebags and it was horrible. Last summer I had a job that paid minimum wage but everyone I worked with was very friendly and respectful and I was actually happy to go to work in the mornings.
I'm single with no children so I don't really have to worry about money. If I had children I would do whatever it takes to make sure they have everything they need to have good opportunities in life.
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Well paid if I can move jobs easily (ie within a year) to a similar pay level, well treated otherwise.
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Whatever's best for my family, regardless of how I feel about it.
I have a responsibility to my wife and son. In my particular bizarre case, it's best served by being a stay at home, but, given the stigma attached to that in the South, I could call that bad working conditions, to say the least. Financially it's the ideal option, even though I have to deal with a lot of shit.
So in the choice between money and enjoying the work? Well, I'd probably take the money. Enjoying the work isn't vital, as more money will make it easier to enjoy my own time, and make things better for my wife and kid too. Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't put my own happiness over theirs.
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Well, as I am attempting to get a PhD in chemistry, followed by a managing position in a company, I feel like being well treated is more important, as I can't even have a job without being payed atleast 'decently' (live a comfortable life). A bit more money is nothing compared to a great work environment.
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i've seen all parts of the Software Development industry, and i'd go with well-treated and good work environment over money.
but i also moonlight as a freelancer to make almost as much as i do at my dayjob so i can't honestly say money doesnt play a role in my decisions.
edit:furthermore, i could gross 6xrent with just freelancing but still have my regular job, which shows that i want best of both worlds. but if i had to choose just one, well-treated/good (startup  ) work environment.
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United States24513 Posts
That's a good point... even if you don't make a ton of money at your job, if you enjoy it enough you might feel comfortable making more money outside of the job.
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On May 11 2012 04:16 micronesia wrote:
That's a good point... even if you don't make a ton of money at your job, if you enjoy it enough you might feel comfortable making more money outside of the job.
yeah. thats how i felt. working 40hr/wk fixed developer jobs/contracts allowed me to do my own stuff outside that time.
i've been in jobs where they didnt tell me, basically i was salaried and at a higher pay but ended up working 12-15hr days like everyone else there (even senior devs)
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On May 11 2012 04:15 nath wrote:i've seen all parts of the Software Development industry, and i'd go with well-treated and good work environment over money. but i also moonlight as a freelancer to make almost as much as i do at my dayjob so i can't honestly say money doesnt play a role in my decisions. edit:furthermore, i could gross 6xrent with just freelancing but still have my regular job, which shows that i want best of both worlds. but if i had to choose just one, well-treated/good (startup ) work environment.
See that was my thought, but idk even a low paying software job is well paying so it's hard to compare or relate to the question. Especially with the given criteria, 6xrent as gross income is still 6 figures yearly where I am, but all other goods (food, beer, etc.) are pretty much the same price as everywhere else so even as low as 1/2 of that you can have a pretty comfortable life, so long as you have a roommate or something.
Still overall Work Environment > Money Paid unless kids (or other burden).
Though there's a 3rd factor missing, the importance of your work. I think above both I'd rather be working on something where I'm passionate about the end result.
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On May 11 2012 04:21 Logo wrote:Show nested quote +On May 11 2012 04:15 nath wrote:i've seen all parts of the Software Development industry, and i'd go with well-treated and good work environment over money. but i also moonlight as a freelancer to make almost as much as i do at my dayjob so i can't honestly say money doesnt play a role in my decisions. edit:furthermore, i could gross 6xrent with just freelancing but still have my regular job, which shows that i want best of both worlds. but if i had to choose just one, well-treated/good (startup ) work environment. See that was my thought, but idk even a low paying software job is well paying so it's hard to compare or relate to the question. Especially with the given criteria, 6xrent as gross income is still 6 figures yearly where I am, but all other goods (food, beer, etc.) are pretty much the same price as everywhere else so even as low as 1/2 of that you can have a pretty comfortable life, so long as you have a roommate or something. Still overall Work Environment > Money Paid unless kids (or other burden). Though there's a 3rd factor missing, the importance of your work. I think above both I'd rather be working on something where I'm passionate about the end result.
yeah, in my case im passionate about the means itself, so although i also value the importance of the work (passionate about the ends) i also really enjoy just building things and solving problems in a creative, flexible way.
i also live in the #1 most educated city in the US, Madison Wisconsin  and its cheap as fuck to live well out here in the midwest. so i wasnt thinking 6 figures at all, but not too far from it.
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Everyone will answer with whatever they lack, or they were taught was more important. I would take the job with the highest income per hour, even if I were to work with jerks for a jerk because I'm pisspoor and any extra bit of income would be a huge bonus. Obviously, some brat from a rich family would choose whatever's more convenient (I'm not saying that everyone who would do that is a spoiled brat), because money's not a problem.
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I think it depends on the ratio of the two... for example give me a billion dollars and ill take whatever shit you could possibly throw at me
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As somebody taking the good pay for the horrible job, and used to do the former I'd take the job where I enjoy myself. With some luck I will be soon.
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Definitely well treated.
I honestly doubt having a family to care for would change that.
Of course, like Rice said, if the amount of money would be something absolutely ridiculous that would allow me to quit my job anyway, then I'ld go for the pay.
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On May 11 2012 04:40 Incze wrote:
Everyone will answer with whatever they lack, or they were taught was more important. I would take the job with the highest income per hour, even if I were to work with jerks for a jerk because I'm pisspoor and any extra bit of income would be a huge bonus. Obviously, some brat from a rich family would choose whatever's more convenient (I'm not saying that everyone who would do that is a spoiled brat), because money's not a problem.
Im not sure if a brat from a rich family would be content with a low salary. but in terms of the hunger for more that you are describing, definitely exists from those with immigrant/not-rich backgrounds.
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I'd like to have a job I enjoy going to and feel a sense of fulfillment from. But I guess that isn't what you asked exactly?
I think it would suck to go to a job where you feel like people don't even like you enough to give you common respect. That would decrease quality of life a lot. I would think that if your job provides for your means, gives you a little spending money, and doesn't make you worry about the future, adding more money on top of that doesn't increase your quality of life THAT much. And for some people, just getting a basic level of respect is good enough and more money on top of that gives them the freedom to do what they want on their own time.
I don't think it's so much an either or situation, as it is whether or not one of them has a severe lack. Once you get to a minimum level (basic respect, or basic means provided for), it doesn't feel like that important a decision. Of course you're going to spend most of your time at work, so it's good if you have people you like, but then there is so much value to the novel experiences a good income can afford, such as travel and eccentric hobbies.
If I were actually given a choice, I'd probably take a job with people I really liked and that was generally fulfilling and find inexpensive ways of amusing myself in my free time, over a job which gave me money but I felt every relationship with my co-workers was superficial and unfulfilling. However, I'd take the job that gave me money if it happened to be that the job itself was something that was really fulfilling and I just got a basic respect from the people I worked with. Like if I got to do my dream job, but it was with mediocre people, I'd be okay with that, but if I'm not working my dream job I don't care about money that much I just wanna be around people I like.
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All $$$$$.
I treat people like shit (mostly because they are compared to me), so if someone outranks me or whatever and wants to be pissy, I'm not hypocritical enough to complain as long as I get paid well.
This said as a college student who's had a few unskilled jobs. I'd imagine the workplace would be similar regardless of skill required for the job.
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On May 11 2012 05:01 Noyect wrote:
Definitely well treated.
I honestly doubt having a family to care for would change that.
Of course, like Rice said, if the amount of money would be something absolutely ridiculous that would allow me to quit my job anyway, then I'ld go for the pay.
It might if it would make the difference of being able to have your kid(s) attend higher education without a massive debt burden by time they graduate.
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When I was younger (skill-less noob), I would take any job that paid well. Did construction for a few years. But it's not for me. I decided to hell with the money, if I'm working everyday, all day long, It better be doing something I enjoy. And I happen to like video games and programming. I taught myself how to program and got accepted into college. Now I make games, money isn't great, but I love what I do and I haven't been treated better anywhere else. And I know as my skills grow, so will my pay. My advice is to follow your passion, money will follow (hopefully).
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Blazinghand
United States25550 Posts
Honestly, I need the money. I'd like to be able to settle for a "treated well" job, but I really can't afford it. I'd need to go for "well paid". Some of us got student loans.
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EPT
