Substitute teacher - I get paid by the day, no salary, but by working at a daycare in the summer I made $18k last year
Hours - 37.5 at work, 15-20 looking for work on my districts subbing site ( I'm considered a contract worker, pick assignments each day)
Happiness- 4/10 - being off work in the daylight to run is nice , but never being able to buy anything, go on vacation, or eat meals out blows. Some days the job is 7/10 , others it's 1/10. Don't study liberal arts kids.
Buy and sell video games
100k clear
Hours when ever i feel like
Running 100miles a week all doubles sometime triples.
Pretty happy 8-10
Single
29
work at hedge fund (invest money for institutions and very wealthy people)
base $250k, bonus: last year ~$1.5M (best year so far). In 8 years my pay has ranged from $200k to close to $2m last year, with average being in mid to high 6 figures.
Hours: office hours I set my own schedule and is probably around 50 hours in the office, but really my job is a lifestyle where you either have to commit to win and make it a priority, or you will fail
Happiness: Overall a 6 or 7, but very volatile. I like what I do, but it is all consuming. Bad stretches it is a 1 and I am very close to being clinically depressed and good days a 9 or 10.
High School Chemistry Teacher, Girls Cross Country and Track Coach
$60,000
65 hours/week
Encompasses about 40 hours either in the classroom or prepping/grading and about 25 hours at practice or prepping for practice.
8/10
In general, I love my job(s). The kids are fun, both in class and in athletics. The teaching can become somewhat mundane, but the coaching keeps me on my toes. I wouldn't change it.
26 years old.
Single
Undergraduate degree in chemistry and physics education.
Graduate degree in exercise physiology.
there looks like a sweet spot here.
making too little in dead-end job makes you more likely to be unhappy.
making a lot in a soul-sucking job makes you more likely to be unhappy.
Phd student.
34k + insurance
Probably average 50 hours a week. Sometimes 75, sometimes 25. I take about 3 weeks off a year.
Happiness is probably 6/10 right now, but i am in a hard stretch. Usually it is an 8.
Married w 2 young kids. Wife is full time mom.
Air Traffic Controller
40 hours/week (overtime pay if I'm called in for more)
$109k last year (32 y/o, 7 years experience, pay has increased each year)
Full health/dental/vision, 401k matching, pension plan, good job security
7/10 happiness with the career-- I've never had a passion for any specific career field but I don't dread going in and it provides time and money to do the things I enjoy. It can be challenging and provides a sense of accomplishment when you conquer a tough scenario but outside of work I find only about 1 in 2 people who ask what I do have any idea what ATC is. Responses range from people thinking I'm the guy with the orange sticks on the tarmac to people being unaware that aircraft require any direction or advisories in flight at all. I do sometimes wish my job provided a wider range of creative thought as well as more social opportunities. Also when you work for the government, a lot can change with the political landscape. Some changes are good and some are bad but the decisions are rarely made by people involved enough to really understand how they affect our mission and career.
Market Development Sales Manager
$105k+$20k bonus+$10k in stocks+$6k for car yearly
Beni's- 401k match 6%, pension 6% now (goes all the way to 15% a year after 15 years). Great medical, 32 vacation days a year plus the normal 12 days everyone gets off. Cell phone, internet, and gas when driving for work paid for.
Work Hours- When I'm in the office I work 6:30am-4:00 and work from home Fridays, when I travel I could be working 80+ hours. With that being said part of that work is eating great food and drinking great whine. i also can work from home whenever I want.
Happiness- Depends on the day but between 4-7. My happiness has less to do with the job and more to do with how I judge myself. It is a great job with a lot of upside.
I am 32 years old and a former D1 XC coach who only was making $31k from 24-27.
That's a pretty decent salary for a 26yo teacher CoachO. My school pays state minimum almost.
31
Biology teacher / Head track (JH and HS girls) / Head XC (JH and HS boys and girls, no assistants) / Basketball (JH girls).
50-70 hours, 20 hours in summer
$42,000
It can be highly rewarding but I invest a lot into it and it takes an emotional toll sometimes. Being at a small school the kids (and I) split time between a lot of things, and can't be great at any of them. For instance the majority of the track team also plays basketball, so I get 6 weeks to get them in shape before our district meet. Many are also doing another spring sport at the same time. The training has to be highly modified which is very frustrating.
Software development.
40 hours. Rarely more than that.
105K, good benefits
6/10. It is a good job but gets mundane at times.
Fitness Equipment Sales Rep
$80-90k per year (all commission) plus decent benefits
Lots of flexibility as long as you can get produce orders and take care of your customers. Was able to coach HS track for years, but now that I'm married with a baby, I've had to give up coaching.
In addition to the flexibility, I get to meet a lot of people who are fitness oriented and pretty positive to work with. Occasionally will get to meet sports celebs through job (had dinner with Dan O'Brien a couple of years ago). The down side is that since I work with a lot of public employees (park and rec, university), they aren't big thinkers.
Happiness factor: 7/10. While my job can get very boring at times (I've been at it for over eight years), I understand that it would be very hard to make the money I do with the flexibility I have in another job. Biggest thing for me right now is knowing that I am not being pushed to be the best I can be. I am very comfortable right now, which isn't always the best place for an ambitious person.
Professor (PhD), tenure-track medium-sized university
4 years experience - 2 more years to tenure
$120 K + $8 K to teach an extra class
15-20 hours a week
30 years old
Happiness 10/10
Banking. $300-315k depending on year.
30-40 hours per week.
Some travel. Plenty of office face time, mundane, boring paper work, and politics.
Could probably make an extra $100-200k if I chose a purely sales role and was willing to travel 2-3 days per week and work 50-60 hours. Did it before and not worth it.
12 years experience. MBA from top tier school. Plenty of years where I made myself working 7 days a week.
7/10 happiness but some days are 1/10. Biggest struggle is boredom with the repetitiveness, monotony, and office politics. Hard to advance above a certain level given entrenched senior leaders that do very little.
On the flip side I get lots of free time for family and working out and have manageable stress. It's not a lifestyle like other finance jobs I've had.
Project Coordinator (gov't contracted construction)
50K/yr
40-45 hrs/wk
24 yrs old
8/10
The hours are flexible so I can get all my runs and workouts done in the morning no problem. Only reason I'm not 10/10 is that I can't work from home...yet
Appraisal Review Analyst - Regional Bank
$75K + medical / 401K / Pension
Work 30-40 hrs week and with schedule being pretty flexible. Work is pretty mundane and repetitive with no real upward trajectory. It does however, give me ample family / training time.
Happiness Level - 6/10. It's not the most fulfilling work, but I value my "off" time far more than my career so I'm much happier overall.
Hey Coach a,
Yes, I lucked out. I student taught in a great school district and they needed a science teacher when I graduated. They liked me enough to hire me I guess.
We are a large school and most of our kids are one or two sports athletes. I don't necessarily push being a one sport athlete, but most of ours are. One of my top XC and track girls is also one of the better basketball players in her grade, but it's atypical.
We are also get paid much better in terms of coaching than most school districts around us. I can't complain.
High School History Teacher
Head Girls XC
Distance Coach Girls Track
30-40 hours off season, 50-60 sometimes in-season... summers 0 :)
75k combined
9/10 I love having a job that allows me to coach and also allows for me to have the time to train and be home at a decent hour. Probably drops to a 5/10 during indoors because there are times I don't get home from meets until close to midnight (up at 5am) and that gets tough at 43
Public policy specialist
40 hours a week
90K plus benefits
Usually an 8 but has varied a in past 2 years due to major life transitions. Before great lifestyle but high cost of living and debt. Now new/better job and no debt but lifestyle has its pluses and minuses.
Freelance writer/translator. Sometimes an hour or two a day, sometimes 20 hours a day. Sometimes $500 a month, today made $16,000. Have never been happier at any time in my life.
Financial management consultant (owner/employee) - $80k for about 20 hours a week of billable work. I stated the business 6 months ago and am still growing it. Will hopefully be able to get to a stable 40 hours a week and be in the $200k range. Happiness level was higher at first but now is say 6/10. The work is easy, but there is significant stress hanging over my head. Things are looking up but there is a high learning curve as a new business owner.
Previous job was trading strategist at top I-bank. Pay was adequate but bonuses were lower the last two years while hours and responsibility increased. I made $180k in my last year but health deteriorated. On an hourly basis I made burger flipper money. Awful situation and more senior peers felt stuck.
Soon to be bright college grads - don't go to a big bank. Go PE or good hedge fund if possible or large non-banking corporation.