What would you prefer? A job that you love and that you find satisfying or a job that stresses you out everyday? Now consider the fact that the job that stresses you out pays almost double the salary of your satisfying job. Would you still go for the job that makes you happy?
It’s one of the age old questions: do you work to live or do you live to work? Often times, people say they would do anything to make their dream salary. But would they really? The San Francisco Chronicle this week took a look at some of the jobs in the country that have a high salary but are extremely stressful. They start with one of the most known professions: a stock broker. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS), the average salary of a stock broker is $70,190. Everyone knows that stock brokers tend to make a good chunk of change, but their job is generally a very stressful one. As the Chronicle pointed out, it’s stressful enough trying to invest and keep safe your own money but when you are dealing with other people’s money the stress level is likely to increase. On top of that, your job is dependent on the market. That means, when the market goes down, so do your dollar signs.
A detective or criminal investigator is another job that pays pretty well but can be extra stress-inducing. Statistics show that they make about $68,820 a year. The life of a detective may seem glamorous or fun on CSI: New York or Law and Order, but if you really take a second and think about what these people have to deal with everyday, it might not be the most glamorous job. Dealing with crime and death almost every day can take a large toll on people and often times it’s difficult for people in these positions to make the transition between their life and their work. When you are dealing with death or crime everyday, it’s hard to forget it when you clock out at the end of the day.
Another position highlighted was that of a surgeon. According to the BLS a surgeon makes an average of $225,390 a year. That number is extremely high and may be a big enough motivator for some to choose this profession, but can you handle the stress that goes along with the job? When you mess up at work chances are you’ll have to pay some kind of consequence, but the odds of that consequence effecting anyone else are slim. When you’re a surgeon and you mess up at work, it could be the difference between life or death. Obviously, when someone is looking to be a surgeon they are fully aware of the responsibility and importance of their position, but it is still important to note how big of a responsibility they carry. As a surgeon, sometimes it is soley up to you to make sure your patient survives- and sometimes, they don’t. That responsibility alone can be very stressful.
Almost everyone will admit that they would love to make more money than they do right now. But before you loathe large numbered salaries, take a second and think if you would be able to handle the amount of stress that comes with those large numbers. If not, the job that makes you really happy but doesn’t pay so well might not look so bad after all.
SOURCE: The San Francisco Chronicle
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