Current Events > Would you take a physically or mentally stressful job for more pay?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Or would you be happy with a regular paying job that doesnt put you in a stressful role?

I have a mentally stressful job that doesnt pay well enough lol. More money would help so I could at least feel like its worth it. Id love a less stressful job that pays what I make now.

I'd rather a job be mentally stressful than physically.

I've done all three in my life:

1. Miner in australia, earning a 6 figure salary with all travel, expenses and accommodation paid for. Working 12 hour days, 7 days a week, shifting bags of cement in the australian desert
2. Campaign manager for a marketing start up, managing 50+ campaigns across 30 client accounts, basically stealing customer money and dealing with their phone calls every day. 60+ hours of mental hell
3. Current job - software consultant for a software dev company. Cruisiest job I've ever had. 38 hours a week, always leave on time, 1 hour for lunch, virtually no KPIs, management is very easy going. About half the paycheck of the first two.

If I could go back to my early 20s I would work the first job again and this time be really sensible with my money. If I was financially literate back then I could be set for life now. I don't think I could do that job now, too physically taxing and not stimulating enough.

I would never take the second job again. Worst job I've ever had. Paid decently and I got to live in the city, but the anxiety was overwhelming every day.

My current job is pretty good. pay could obviously be better, but I never feel stressed about going to work and that is invaluable.

Compared to current yeah. Mental stress depends, I've had positions come up in jobs that were simply impossible for anybody. I wouldn't get myself into that again if I can at all avoid it.

Yeah amount of stress matters had a teacher tell me I should be an economist I said no thank you as I had seen the turnover rate and suicide rate for that job.

My job is mentally demanding, but at least I have a decent salary and lots of other benefits.

If anything, I'd rather forego raises for a few years if it meant a lighter workload in return.

Depends on how much more pay. Like, I could choose to start getting more hours at my job, which would mean getting bigger paycheques, but it wouldn't be enough to be worth the additional stress. Especially as more hours would also mean less control over which hours I get scheduled for.

I left a well paying job last year that was incredibly stressful. I put in ten years. I was done. Now I'm in a much less stressful position making regular people money. I enjoy it more but because of my previous job, I don't really need to worry much about money. I could potentially retire in a few years

Jiek_Fafn posted...

I left a well paying job last year that was incredibly stressful. I put in ten years. I was done. Now I'm in a much less stressful position making regular people money. I enjoy it more but because of my previous job, I don't really need to worry much about money. I could potentially retire in a few years

Made me think of a guy on day shift here. He did 30 years as a CO which is enough to retired yet he chooses to still work but not At a Juvenile center. Wonder why. His reticent check from the prison is probably just as much as what he's getting paid here cause I understand he got high ranking.

He claims this is easier bit everyone else I talk to says Juvie is harder sense you have less avenues for dealing with a problematic kid plus the fact they are quicker to act up.

No, I was emotionally abused at a job for 4 years, never again.

No thanks. My current job isn't that stressful most of the time and it already pays pretty well.

I can see the answer to this would matter to someone depending on how desperate they are for money in their life.

Its exactly why a lot of people join the military - because it pays ok. Even if they may have to risk their lives and die to stupid shit on the other side of the world.

Anyway - for me at this stage in my life, hell no. I want less stress not more.

I have recently declined applying for internal jobs that would pay me $4-5 an hour more, either of which I likely would have been a shoo-in to get, because I don't want the heat.

Goldenguy posted...

I have recently declined applying for internal jobs that would pay me $4-5 an hour more, either of which I likely would have been a shoo-in to get, because I don't want the heat.

Even though I wanted Sgt at the prison I never wanted lt. Or cap. I always said it was cause I can't keep a white shirt white (officers and sgts wore Grey they wore white) but honestly while that was partially true I wasn't about to deal with getting calls from the warden during my off time wanting to k ow this happened or that happened and half thr time it was the first the captain or lt. Was hearing of it.

gu-gohan posted...

My job is mentally demanding, but at least I have a decent salary and lots of other benefits.

If anything, I'd rather forego raises for a few years if it meant a lighter workload in return.

So much this.

physical stress to lose weight. Mentally stressful is worse for me.

For double, absolutely. For 10% no way.

pinky0926 posted...

I've done all three in my life:

1. Miner in australia, earning a 6 figure salary with all travel, expenses and accommodation paid for. Working 12 hour days, 7 days a week, shifting bags of cement in the australian desert
2. Campaign manager for a marketing start up, managing 50+ campaigns across 30 client accounts, basically stealing customer money and dealing with their phone calls every day. 60+ hours of mental hell
3. Current job - software consultant for a software dev company. Cruisiest job I've ever had. 38 hours a week, always leave on time, 1 hour for lunch, virtually no KPIs, management is very easy going. About half the paycheck of the first two.
If I could go back to my early 20s I would work the first job again and this time be really sensible with my money. If I was financially literate back then I could be set for life now. I don't think I could do that job now, too physically taxing and not stimulating enough.

I would never take the second job again. Worst job I've ever had. Paid decently and I got to live in the city, but the anxiety was overwhelming every day.

My current job is pretty good. pay could obviously be better, but I never feel stressed about going to work and that is invaluable.

how many days off a month did you get in your first job? That honestly sounds ridiculously tiring.

I've done physically and mentally stressful jobs also. Working 12hour shifts at a printing press after graduating college with a liberal arts degree. 3 days one week and 4 days the other. Grave shift. I hated the job and it was impossible for me to go back to school too with that schedule.

I've also worked another physical job where I was exposed to chemicals (particularly at the end of shift,k. never again.

As I get older, work life balance matters more. Timephysical and mental health are important. I can't compromise those.

Id double my wage in a second for stress and keep it up for 2 years max. That would put me at 320k over two years before taxes and expenses. Realistically Id have a quarter million after its said and done to cruise by on.

I used to have an awesome paying job that just beat the hell out of me physically AND mentally. I walked away from the money