Title says it all. Basically I am at a point where I can choose between 2 jobs.
One would leave me incredibly busy, completely stressed for the next 3-4 years and wouldn’t leave me with a lot of free time in general (it also has a very high burn out quote) and a lot of young people who enter the job leave shortly after. The pay would be good, the job is incredible secure, it would make me a civil servant and it’s a job I would mostly enjoy. I find it incredibly fulfilling and it is a lot of fun. But my job would be pretty much everything I do from then with no real time for other hobbies.
The other job is much more relaxed, it is even more fun and I would work with one of my hobbies. But the pay is dogshit I would make the least of any of my friends, it is less secure and the working hours are funky but regular. It might become very challenging to afford a family on this salary (not impossible though).
I feel like I am fucked either way. Any thoughts?
Is it possible to do the well paid job for a while and grind it out to save some money then switch to the lower paid one after a few years?
I mean my current job has really shitty pay despite my title sounding fancy, so if I could do my dream job and get the same pay, great.
I can’t answer what is best for your situation. Personally as I have gotten older I value my free time far more than money. My job doesn’t pay great, but it’s still more than I use in a month. If my salary doubled tomorrow, it probably wouldn’t change much for me, I don’t have a very extravagant lifestyle. On the other hand, if my free time doubled tomorrow, it would change a lot. My working hours are also “funky” (It’s a 24/7 business so sometimes I work graveyard) but you get used to that.
That’s speaking personally though. Straight out of university when I still had significant debts to pay back? I would value the higher pay, at least on the short term, more.
You mention family though, so that is another thing to consider. Personally I am childfree and never really need to plan for savings for a family. While I currently support my partner due to some stuff, she normally works as well so I don’t actually have dependents normally.