Obviously, most people take a job to earn the money necessary to pay for their needs, and many people routinely move from one job to another because the new job pays better. After all, that's why we work. Not everyone will agree, but I think a lot of us will agree that a job can be more than a financial necessity. I've had a few jobs that I hated and at least one that I started out liking but learned to hate, but, for the most part, work was more than an income stream for me. Most of the time, I enjoyed going to work, and even when I didn't feel like going to work, I would easily get into the stream of things once I got there. Once I gained confidence in my ability to find work, I would usually move to another job once the one I was doing became less fun. Generally, the new job paid better than the old one, but the salary or per-hour rate wasn't what prompted me to make the change. I liked my first full-time job at a chair factory, but it paid minimum wage and offered few or no opportunities to advance. I took a second job and worked two 40-hour/week jobs for about a year, and I came to enjoy my second job (at a fiberglass boat company) as well. After being promoted at the second job, they started asking me to work overtime, so I had to make the decision to leave my first job. After a while, it became more routine and less fun. Although I didn't hate it, there wasn't any room for advancement, so I moved to California. After a few short-term gigs with another fiberglass boat company in California (which I absolutely hated), as an assistant manager of an apartment building, at a call center, and as a tow truck driver, I found my way into the paper bag business and enjoyed my work. Coincidentally, my work in paper bag plants were also my highest-paying jobs. I didn't enjoy the same job in Texas as much, though. While I was treated pretty well, a lot of other people weren't, and I never knew when I might find myself on the other end of that dichotomy. I left to work in EMS, which resulted in a significant pay cut; by then, I had about $40,000 in the bank, so I felt that I could afford to make the move. As I progressed in EMS, sometimes working in multiple facets of the job simultaneously (teaching, testing, doing, administering), the pay rose to something near what I was earning in the paper bag industry. So that's it. Now, I am semi-retired, so I don't consider my current 30-hour-per-week job the equivalent of a career change since it's supplementary. Have you ever left a job that you loved for another job simply because it paid more? Conversely, have you ever left a job for another one that paid less simply because you thought you'd enjoy the new job more?
The only job I can say that I truly enjoyed was when I was in my 20s; had graduated with an A.A.S. in electronics and got a job at RCA which was a semiconductor manufacturer at the time. My job was to troubleshoot and repair test equipment being operated on the manufacturing floor. I was young and I was pumped and eager to go. The test operators were young women my age who performed hand operations and data recording before automation really took hold. The job was a good part social and not just drudgery.
Good morning to all- The only job I ever left because of money was a teaching job at a small town in Missouri. Since I was the last hired, I was 'RIFFED" which means released due to insufficient funds- the school lost state funding, so we were all told that someone had to go. So the year after I was chosen as Teacher of the Year, I was terminated. I didn't like it. the kids absolutely did not like it. but nothing could be done. I did find it a little odd that the daughter of a School Board member who just graduated from college got hired to replace me the very next year. I suppose they found the money some where... But I found another job in another little town in Missouri that was even better, so sometimes things work out. you all be safe and keep well- Ed