Why money shouldn’t be your number one decision maker

Every week, news articles flash across my screen (thanks to Google News) with the headlines like, “The Top 5 undergraduate degrees that are getting paid the most,” and “Degrees ranked on Salary.” For the longest time, I was tempted by these career fields that listed high starting salaries. The only problem was, I realized I have no passion for the career field and my only motivation would, in fact, be the money and for me, that just isn’t enough.

In high school, we are often told by close family or friends to get a job that pays a lot. Is that really what matters? I have met a countless number of people in college who have switched majors because they were inundated with the all-consuming fear of being unemployable when graduating. In turn, making sure to pick a major that is known to have a high job market.

In reality, any undergraduate degree supplies you with knowledgable skills and those skills can be used to be marketable in the job market. Some may just have to be a bit craftier than others. For example, building a resume by doing creative work on the side, getting involved in the community or picking another area of study. There are so many options to broaden a degree. Don’t give up.

In fact, according to the World Health Organization people spend a third of their life at work. That’s thousands of hours spent in a workplace that you or may or may not view as fulfilling.

However, let’s say the deciding factor of your major is money, that’s totally fine. I just hope you at least have a small part of interest in something that you’re spending a large part of your life doing.

Another thing people to forget to consider is lifestyle.

If you want to live a lavish lifestyle than what you do and how to get there is different from somebody who wants less (but still may be perfectly happy).

My dad always told me and still does, “Live within your means. That’s how you stay out of trouble.”

All I’m saying is, waking up to a job that makes you happy, keeps you content, or challenges you in a positive way should be the goal. Nobody wants to wake up every day struggling to get by (and there are more struggles than just money).

At the end of the day, everybody is different in what they value or what they choose to do with their interests and what their circumstances are. But, being happy isn’t all based on the idea of monetary exchange.

So, let’s all take a deep breath, and realize that there’s more to life than what’s long been assumed to be the keys to unlock the American dream.