Choosing a Career: Fulfillment vs. Salary and the Long-Term Financial Impact

Whether you are a college student or a career changer, it can be a very difficult decision when choosing what field you want to pursue and work in for potentially the next 30+ years. We believe your career choice is one of the most significant factors that influence the direction of your overall financial plan.

Things such as employee benefits, retirement benefits, and obviously annual pay all impact various parts of a financial plan, and your career choice could strengthen or weaken these areas.

Beyond the Paycheck: Why Fulfillment Matters

First and foremost, we believe a career should be rewarding and enjoyable. This is what will drive you to get out of bed in the morning and be excited for a day of work. This passion could cause you to work harder and feel like your life has been more fulfilling at the end of the day.

We believe working in a job that you dislike or even hate can have detrimental consequences on your mental health, and that nobody should be content with a job if their passion truly lies elsewhere.

According to Indeed, here are five of the most rewarding careers:

• Teacher
• Counselor
• Athletic Trainer
• Paramedic
• Firefighter

These roles offer meaningful impact, though they may not provide high salaries.

The Salary Factor: High-Earning Career Paths

However, great pay may not come with your dream job. I know from personal experience that teachers are often undervalued and underpaid.

My wife was a teacher for a handful of years in various districts, and it always surprised me how low the pay was. Teachers are educating and forming the next generation of minds, and it seems their pay is only a few bumps above minimum wage.

We believe low-paying jobs, even if they are incredibly fulfilling and rewarding, can be unappealing, and some may decide not to pursue them as careers. On the other end of the spectrum, here are the top 5 paying jobs according to money.usnews.com:

1. Obstetrician and Gynecologist 2. Psychiatrist 3. Emergency Medicine Physician 4. Orthodontist 5. Anesthesiologist

Education and Entry Requirements Matter

In addition to these two factors, we believe the requirements to enter a career field should also be considered before you decide to pursue it. The list we just shared of top-paying jobs is all medical-related and all require a doctorate degree.

This is a lot of schooling and training that is required, which can be very expensive and time-consuming. However, that may be worth it for the pay once you are in the career. Back to the teacher example – a college degree is still required for some lower-paying jobs. Is it worth spending tens of thousands of dollars a year on college for a job that is on the low end of a pay scale?

The Decision Point: Salary or Fulfillment?

Now, we do want to mention that even a lower-paying job can still achieve financial success. This might be surprising, but according to finance.yahoo.com, the list of top 5 careers that produce millionaires does not correlate with the list of top paying careers.

Sure, the quantity of doctors versus some of these careers might be smaller, so that field might produce fewer millionaires, but this list still reveals that financial freedom is possible for those with lower-paying jobs. We believe it is discipline and an efficient financial plan that can lead to this type of financial success.

Their list is as follows:

• Engineer
• Accountant
• Teacher
• Management
• Attorney

Speak With a Trusted Advisor

If you have any questions about your investment portfolio, retirement planning, tax strategies, our 401(k) recommendation service, or other general questions, please give our office a call at (586) 226-2100. Please feel free to forward this commentary to a friend, family member, or co-worker. If you have had any changes to your income, job, family, health insurance, risk tolerance, or your overall financial situation, please give us a call so we can discuss it.

We hope you learned something today. If you have any feedback or suggestions, we would love to hear them.

Sincerely,

Zachary A. Bachner, CFP®

with contributions from Robert Wink, Kenneth Wink, James Wink, and James Baldwin

Sources:

• Indeed – Most Rewarding Careers
• U.S. News – Best Paying Jobs
• Indeed – Can’t Decide on a Career?
• Yahoo Finance – Careers of Millionaires

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