Title Vs Money

The Corinthian wrote: »

One may have a preference for one or the other, but you cannot maintain either for long. Working in a job you love is great, but only if you can pay the bills with it, after all.

Always choosing 'the money' can backfire even financially. I knew a chap who did a Fas course 14 years ago, at the end of which he was offered to actually teach a similar course at a rate of £300 p.d. He chose this as it was better than a junior developer role which at that stage was anything between £12k and £18k p.a. But after dotcom bubble burst and the teaching dried up he found that he had to start from scratch all over again, while his former classmates were already on £30k to £50k p.a. and in a far better position to find or retain employment.

So within a profession, titles do mean something. If you forego a raise for a better job title, this can mean that your next job will look on you more seriously when you apply, thus resulting in a more senior and better paid role. If your occupation lends itself towards freelancing or contracting, a good strategy is to alternate between title and money; contract for a while and focus on the money, then go back into full time employment and concentrate on padding your CV for your next venture into contracting.

As for titles, in terms of profession, I'll have to say that some of the poorest people I know are barristers. Most earn a pittance. Same goes for many 'CEOs' - during recessions many can't even afford to pay themselves a salary.

The Corinthian wrote: »

There are many cases where a Tesco employee or builder could earn a lot of money (although far fewer for the latter in today's market). Additionally a career in such an area can have far more longer term options than one that appears more attractive in the short term.

A friend of mine got a job with Tesco (back when it was Quinsworth) when he finished his degree. We all thought he was mad. Yet, he instantly became a trainee manager and within five years was in a middle management position in their head office. He later left and moved into finance where he works now, for an international investment bank.

Now, he could have found himself in that same bank had he started in finance, but he would have been surrounded by peers with 2.1 and first-class honours degrees and spent the first few years of his career working 80 hour weeks. He took a less travelled road and got there all the same.

Of course, if you go into somewhere like Tesco and stack shelves with no ambition or ability to do else, then you'll never make a lot of money. However, there's money to be made everywhere and in an environment which is not considered 'sexy' in employment terms competition for advancement is far less cut-throat.

If you're lazy, stupid or lack imagination, then it really doesn't matter what job you go into, you'll get nowhere. Otherwise, look at the long term possibilities of a career, rather than the short-term 'sexiness' that comes with it.